MEMOIRS 


OF 


SERVICE  AFLOAT, 


DURING   THE 


WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES. 


BY 

ADMIRAL  RAPHAEL  SEMMES, 

OP  THE  LATE  CONFEDERATE  STATES  NAVT, 

Author  of  "  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,  during  the  Mexican  War." 


Illustrated  with  Steel  Engraved  Portraits  and  Six  Engravings  from  Original  Designs 
'  printed  in  Chromo-  Tints. 


BALTIMORE: 

KELLY,  PIET  &  CO.,  174  BALTIMORE  STREET. 

NEAV  YORK,  L.  P.  LEVY  J    LOUISVILLE,  KY.,  P.  I.  DIBBLE  4  CO.  J    ST.  LOUIS,  MO.,  J.  HART  4  00.  J 

RICHMOND,  VA.,  R.  T.  TAYLOR  ;    NEW  ORLEANS,  LA.,  C.  W.  JARRATT. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL.,  H.  H.  BANCROFT  4  CO. 

LONDON:  RICHARD  BENTLEY. 
1869. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1868,  by 
KELLY,   PIET   &    CO. 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of 

Maryland. 

SPRECKFLS 


PRESS    OF 
<ELLY,    PIET    &,    CO. 


TO  THE  MEMORY 


OF    THOSE 


Sailors  aitir  Salta  0f  %  S0u%rn  States, 

WHO   LOST   THEIR   LIVES,    IN   THE   WAR   BETWEEN    THE   STATES 

IN   DEFENCE   OF   THE   LIBERTIES   WHICH    HAD   BEEN 

BEQUEATHED  TO  THEM  BY  THEIR  FATHERS, 

THIS   VOLUME   IS   RESPECTFULLY 

AND  AFFECTIONATELY 

INSCRIBED    BY 

THE   AUTHOR. 


101539 


PEEFACE. 


A  NUMBER  of  publications  have  appeared,  first  and  last, 
concerning  the  author  and  his  career,  as  was  naturally  to 
have  been  expected.  The  Alabama  was  the  first  steamship 
in  the  history  of  the  world  —  the  defective  little  Suiter 
excepted  —  that  was  let  loose  against  the  commerce  of  a 
great  commercial  people.  The  destruction  which  she  caused 
was  enormous.  She  not  only  alarmed  the  enemy,  but  she 
alarmed  all  the  other  nations  of  the  earth  which  had  com 
merce  afloat,  as  they  could  not  be  sure  that  a  similar 
scourge,  at  some  future  time,  might  not  be  let  loose  against 
themselves.  The  Alabama,  in  consequence,  became  famous. 
It  was  the  fame  of  steam.  As  a  matter  of  course,  she 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  book-makers  —  those  cormo 
rants  ever  on  the  lookout  for  a  "speculation.'1  A  number 
of  ambitious  liter ateurs  entered  the  seductive  field.  But  it 
was  easier,  as  they  soon  found,  to  enter  the  field  than  to 
explore  it,  and  these  penny-a-liners  all  made  miserable  fail 
ures, —  not  even  excepting  the  London  house  of  Saunders, 
Otley  &  Co.,  to  whom  the  author  was  induced  to  loan  his 
journals,  in  the  hope  that  something  worthy  of  his  career 
might  be  produced.  To  those  who  have  chanced  to  see  the 
"Log  of  the  Slimier  and  Alabama"  produced  by  that  house, 
it  will  be  unnecessary  to  say  that  the  author  had  no  hand 
in  its  preparation.  He  did  not  write  a  line  for  it,  nor  had 
he  any  interest  whatever  in  the  sale  of  it,  as  the  loan  of  his 
journals  had  been  entirely  gratuitous.  So  far  as  his  own 
career  was  concerned,  the  author  would  gladly  have  de 
volved  the  labor  of  the  historian  on  other  shoulders,  if  this 

iii 


IV  PREFACE. 

had  been  possible.  But  it  did  not  seem  to  be  possible,  after 
the  experiments  that  had  been  made.  AVith  all  the  facilities 
afforded  the  London  house  referred  to,  a  meagre  and  barren 
record  was  the  result.  The  cause  is  sufficiently  obvious. 
The  cruise  of  a  ship  is  a  biography.  The  ship  becomes  a 
personification.  She  not  only 

"Walks  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life," 

but  she  speaks  in  moving  accents  to  those  capable  of  inter 
preting  her.  But  her  interpreter  must  be  a  seaman,  and  not 
a  landsman.  He  must  not  only  be  a  seaman,  he  must  have 
made  the  identical  cruise  which  he  undertakes  to  describe. 
It  will  be  seen,  hence,  that  the  career  of  the  author  was  a 
sealed  book  to  all  but  himself.  A  landsman  could  not  even 
interpret  his  journals,  written  frequently  in  the  hieroglyph 
ics  ^of  the  sea.  A  line,  or  a  bare  mark  made  by  himself, 
which  to  other  eyes  would  be  meaningless  would  for  him  be 
fraught  with  the  inspiration  of  whole  pages. 

Besides,  the  Alabama  had  an  inside  as  well  as  an  outside 
life.  She  was  a  microcosm.  If  it  required  a  seaman  to  inter 
pret  her  as  to  her  outside  life,  much  more  did  it  require  one  to 
scive  an  intelligible  view  of  the  little  world  that  she  carried  in 
her  bosom.  ~No  one  but  an  eye-witness,  and  that  witness  him 
self  a  sailor,  could  unveil  to  an  outside  world  the  domestic 
mysteries  of  the  every-day  life  of  Jack,  and  portray  him  in 
his  natural  colors,  as  he  worked  and  as  he  played.  The  fol 
lowing  pages  may,  therefore,  be  said  to  be  the  first  attempt 
to  give  anything  like  a  truthful  picture  of  the  career  of  the 
author  upon  the  high  seas,  during  the  late  war,  to  the 
public.  In  their  preparation  the  writer  has  discarded  the 
didactic  style  of  the  historian,  and  adopted  that  of  memoir 
writing,  as  better  suited  to  his  subject.  This  style  gave  him 
more  latitude  in  the  description  of  persons  and  events,  and 
relieved  him  from  some  of  the  fetters  of  a  mere  writer  of  his 
tory.  There  are  portions  of  the  work,  however,  purely  his- 
'torical,  and  these  have  been  treated  with  the  gravity  and 
dignity  which  became  them.  In  short,  the  author  has 
aimed  to  produce  what  the  title  of  his  book  imports  —  an 
.historical  memoir  of  his  services  afloat  during  the  war.  That 


PREFACE.  V 

his  book  will  be  generally  read  by  the  Northern  people  he 
does  not  suppose.  They  are  scarcely  in  a  temper  yet  to  read 
anything  he  might  write.  The  wounds  which  he  has 
inflicted  upon  them  are  too  recent.  Besides,  men  do  not 
willingly  read  unpalatable  truths  of  themselves.  The  people 
of  America  being  sovereign,  they  are  like  other  sovereigns, — 
they  like  those  best  who  fool  them  most,  by  pandering  to 
their  vices  and  flattering  their  foibles.  The  author,  not 
being  a  flatterer,  cannot  expect  to  be  much  of  a  favorite  at 
the  court  of  the  Demos. 

A  word  now  as  to  the  feeling  with  which  the  author  has 
written.  It  has  sometimes  been  said  that  a  writer  of  history 
should  be  as  phlegmatic  and  unim passioned  as  the  judge 
upon  the  bench.  If  the  reader  desires  a  dead  history,  in 
other  words,  a  history  devoid  of  the  true  spirit  of  history, 
the  author  assents  to  the  remark.  But  if  he  desires  a 
living,  moving,  breathing  picture  of  events  —  a  personam 
instead  of  a  subjectam,  the  picture  must  not  be  undertaken 
by  one  who  does  not  feel  something  of  that  which  he  writes. 
Such  a  terrible  war  as  that  through  which  we  have  passed 
could  not  be  comprehended  by  a  stolid,  phlegmatic  writer, 
whose  pulse  did  not  beat  quicker  while  he  wrote.  When 
all  the  higher  and  holier  passions  of  the  human  heart  are 
aroused  in  a  struggle — when  the  barbarian  is  at  your  door 
with  the  torch  of  the  incendiary  in  one  hand,  and  the  up 
lifted  sword  of  diabolical  revenge  in  the  other,  — feeling  is  an 
important  element  in  the  real  drama  that  is  passing  before 
the  eyes  of  the  beholder.  To  attempt  to  describe  such  a 
drama  with  the  cold  words  of  philosophy,  is  simply  ridiculous. 
If  the  acts  be  not  described  in  words  suited  to  portray  their 
infamy,  you  have  a  lie  instead  of  history.  ISTor  does  it  fol 
low  that  feeling  necessarily  overrides  judgment.  All  pas 
sions  blind  us  if  we  give  free  rein  to  them ;  but  when  they 
are  held  in  check,  they  sharpen,  instead  of  obscuring  the 
intellect.  In  a  well-balanced  mind,  feeling  and  judgment 
aid  each  other ;  and  he  will  prove  the  most  successful  histo 
rian  who  has  the  two  in  a  just  equipoise.  But  though  the 
author  has  given  vent  occasionally  to  a  just  indignation,  he 
has  not  written  in  malice.  He  does  not  know  the  meaning 


VI  PREFACE. 

of  the  word.  He  has  simply  written  as  a  Southern  man 
might  be  supposed  to  think  and  feel,  treading  upon  the  toes 
of  his  enemies  as  tenderly  as  possible.  If  he  has  been  occa 
sionally  plain-spoken,  it  is  because  he  has  used  the  English 
language,  which  calls  a  rogue  a  rogue,  notwithstanding  his 
disguises.  When  the  author  has  spoken  of  the  Yankee  and 
his  "  grand  moral  ideas,"  he  has  spoken  rather  of  a  well- 
known  type  than  of  individual  men.  If  the  reader  will  bear 
these  remarks  in  mind  as  he  goes  along,  he  will  find  them  a 
key  to  some  of  the  passages  in  the  book.  In  describing  nat 
ural  phenomena,  the  author  has  ventured  upon  some  new 
suggestions.  He  submits  these  with  great  diffidence.  Me 
teorology  is  yet  a  new  science,  and  many  developments  of 
principles  remain  to  be  made. 

ANCHOKAQE,  NEAR  MOBILE,  ALA., 

December,  1868. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.  PAG, 

A  Brief  Historical  Retrospect 17 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Nature  of  the  American  Compact        .......     24 

CHAPTER  III. 

From  the  Foundation  of  the  Federal  Government  down  to  1880,  both 
the  North  and  the  South  held  the  Constitution  to  be  a  Compact 
between  the  States  ..........  36 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Was  Secession  Treason  ? 46 

CHAPTER  V. 
Another  Brief  Historical  Retrospect 52 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Question  of  Slavery  as  it  affected  Secession         .....     62 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Formation  of  the  Confederate  Government,  and  the  Resignation  of 

Officers  of  the  Federal  Army  and  Navy 7] 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Author  proceeds  to  Montgomery,  and  reports  to  the  New  Government, 

and  is  dispatched  northward  on  a  Special  Mission      .         .         .         .81 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Commissioning  of  the  Sumter,  the   First  Confederate  States   Ship 

of  War 93 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Preparation  of  the  Sumter  for  Sea — She  drops  down  between  the 
Forts  Jackson  and  St.  Philip  —  Receives  her  Sailing  Orders  —  List 
of  her  Officers 97 

CHAPTER  XI. 

After  long  Waiting  and  Watching,  the  Sumter  runs  the  Blockade  of  the 

Mississippi,  in  open  Daylight,  pursued  by  the  Brooklyn     .         .         .  108 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Brief  Sketch  of  the  Officers  of  the  Sumter  — Her  First  Prize,  with  other 

Prizes  in  Quick  Succession          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .120 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Rapid  Work  —  Seven  Prizes  in  Two  Days  —  The  Sumter  makes  her  First 

Port,  and  what  occurred  there   ........  132 

xi 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV.  PAGE 

The  Sumter  on  the  Wing  again  —  She  is  put  wholly  under  Sail  for  the 
first  time  —  Reaches  the  Island  of  Cura9oa,  and  is  only  able  to 
enter  after  a  Diplomatic  Fight 144 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Sumter  at  Cura9oa  —  Her  Surroundings  —  Preparations  for  Sea  — 
Her  Captain  solicited  to  become  a  Warwick  —  Her  Departure  —  The 
Capture  of  other  Prizes  —  Puerto  Cabello,  and  what  occurred  there  .  155 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Steaming  along  the  Coast  of  Venezuela  —  The  Coral  Insect,  and  the  Won 
ders  of  the  Deep  —  The  Andes  and  the  Rainy  Season  —  The  Sumter 
enters  the  Port  of  Spain  in  the  British  Island  of  Trinidad  .  .170 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

On  the  Way  to  Maranham  —  The  Weather  and  the  Winds  —  The  Sumter 
runs  short  of  Coal,  and  is  obliged  to  "bear  up"  —  Cayenne  and 
Paramaribo,  in  French  and  Dutch  Guiana  —  Sails  again,  and  arrives 
at  Maranham,  in  Brazil 188 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Sumter  at  Maranham — More  Diplomacy  necessary  —  The  Hotel 
Porto  and  its  Proprietor  —  A  week  on  Shore  —  Ship  coals  and  sails 
again 210 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  Sumter  at  Martinique  —  Proceeds  from  Fort  de  France  to  St.  Pierre  — 
Is  an  Object  of  much  Curiosity  with  the  Islanders  —  News  of  the  Arrest 
of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  on  board  the  British  Mail  Steamer,  The 
Trent  —  Mr.  Seward's  extraordinary  Course  on  the  Occasion  .  .  232 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Arrival  at  St.  Pierre  of  the  Enemy's  Steam-sloop  Iroquois  —  How  she  vio 
lates  the  Neutrality  of  the  Port — Arrival  of  the  French  Steamer-of- 
War  Acheron  —  The  Iroquois  blockades  the  Sumter  —  Correspond 
ence  with  the  Governor  —  Escape  of  the  Sumter  ....  252 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

The  Sumter  pursues  her  Voyage  across  the  Atlantic  —  Capture  and  Burn 
ing  of  the  Arcade,  Vigilant,  and  Ebenezer  Dodge  —  A  Leaky  Ship 
and  a  Gale  —  An  Alarm  of  Fire  ! 268 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Voyage  across  the  Atlantic  pursued  —  Christmas-day  on  board  the  Sum 
ter —  Cape  Fly-away,  and  the  Curious  Illusion  produced  by  it  —  The 
Sumter  passes  from  the  Desert  Parts  of  the  Sea  into  a  Tract  of  Com 
merce  once  more  —  Boards  a  large  Fleet  of  Ships  in  one  Day,  but 
finds  no  Enemy  among  them  —  Arrival  at  Cadiz  ....  283 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Annoyance  of  the  Spanish  Officials  —  Short  Correspondence  with  the  U.  S. 
Consul  —  The  Telegraph  put  in  Operation  by  the  Officials  between 
Cadiz  and  Madrid  —  The  Sumter  is  ordered  to  leave  in  twenty-four 
Hours — Declines  Obedience  to  the  Order  —  Prisoners  land,  and 
Ship  Docked  after  much  ado  —  Deserters  —  Sumter  leaves  Cadiz  .  297 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

The  Sumter  off  Cadiz  —  The  Pillars  of  Hercules  —  Gibraltar  —  Capture 
of  the  Enemy's  Ships  Neapolitan  and  Investigator  —  A  Conflagration 
between  Europe  and  Africa  —  The  Sumter  anchors  in  the  Harbor  of 
Gibraltar;  the  Rock;  the  Town;  the  Military;  the  Review,  and  the 
Alameda  .  306 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER  XXV.  PAQa 

The  Sumter  still  at  Gibraltar  —  Ship  crowded  with  Visitors  —  A  Ride  over 
the  Rock  with  Colonel  Freemantle  —  The  Galleries  and  other  Sub 
terranean  Wonders  —  A  Dizzy  Height,  and  the  Queen  of  Spam's 
Chair  —  The  Monkeys  and  the  Neutral  Ground 320 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

The  Sumter  in  Trouble  —  Finds  it  impossible  to  coal,  by  reason  of  a 
Combination  against  her,  headed  by  the  Federal  Consul  —  Applies 
to  the  British  Government  for  Coal,  but  is  refused  —  Sends  her  Pay 
master  and  Ex-Consul  Tunstall  to  Cadiz  —  They  are  arrested  and  im 
prisoned  in  Tangier  —  Correspondence  on  the  Subject  —  The  Sumter 
laid  up  and  sold 329 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

Author   leaves    Gibraltar   and   arrives   in    London  —  Mr.   Commissioner 

Mason  —  Confederate   Naval    News  —  Short   Sojourn   in    London 

Author  embarks  on  board  the  Steamer  Melita  for  Nassau — Receives 
new  Orders  from  the  Navy  Department — Returns  to  Liverpool          .   346 

_ CHAPTER   XXVIII.  — — 

A  Brief  Resume  of  the  History  of  the  War,  from  the  date  of  the  commis-   •& 
sioning  the  Sumter,  to  the  commissioning  of  the  Alabama  —  Secretary 
Mallory  and  the  Difficulties  by  which  he  was  surrounded  —  The  Reor 
ganization  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy          .....  361 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

The  Legality  of  the  Equipment  of  the  Alabama,  and  a  few  Precedents  for   -^ 
her  Career,  drawn  from  the  History  of  the  War  of  1776    .         .         .  370 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  Equipment  of  the  Alabama  illustrated  by  that  of  sundry  Colonial  ^k 
Cruisers  during  the  War  of  1776  —  Benjamin  Franklin  and  Silas  Deane 
sent  to  Paris  as  Chiefs  of  a  Naval  Bureau  — The  Surprise  and  the  Re 
venge —  Captains  Wickes  and  Conyngham,  and  Commodore  John  Paul 
Jones 388 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Author  leaves   Liverpool  to  join  the  Alabama  —  Arrives  at  Terceira —    , 
Description  of  the  Alabama  —  Preparing  her  for  Sea — The  Portu-    *£- 
giiese  Authorities  —  The  commissioning  of  the  Ship  —  A  Picture  of 
her  Birth  and  Death  —  Captain  Bullock  returns  to  England  —  The 
Alabama  on  the  High  Seas 400 

CHAPTER   XXXII. 

The  Alabama  a  Ship  of  War,  and  not  a  Privateer — Sketch  of  the  Person 
nel  of  the  Ship  —  Putting  the  Ship  in  Order  for  Service  —  Sail  and 
Steam  —  The  Character  of  the  Sailor  —  The  First  Blow  is  struck  at 
the  Whale  Fishery  — The  Habitat  and  Habits  of  the  Whale  — Cap 
ture  of  the  Ocmulgee 414 

CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

Capture  of  the  Starlight;  Ocean  Rover;  Alert;  Weather  Gauge  —  A 
Chase  by  Moonlight  —  Capture  of  the  Altamaha;  Virginia;  Elisha 
Dunbar —  A  Rough  Sea,  Toiling  Boats,  and  a  Picturesque  Conflagra 
tion  in  a  Gale 428 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

The  Yankee  Colony  of  the  Island  of  Flores  — What  the  Captains  of  the 
Virginia  and  Elisha  Dunbar  said  of  the  Alabama  when  they  got  back 
among  their  Countrymen  —  The  Whaling  Season  at  the  Azores  at  an 
End  —  The  Alabama  changes  her  Cruising  Ground  —  What  she  saw 
.and  what  she  did  .  445 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   XXXV.  PA01 

Capricious  Weather  of  the  Gulf  Stream  —  Capture  of  the  Packet-Ship 
Tonawanda;  of  the  Manchester  and  Lafayette  —  A  Cyclone,  the  Ala 
bama's  First  Gale  —  How  she  behaved 463 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

The  Physiognomy  of  Ships — Capture  of  the  Lafayette  —  Decree  of  the 
Admiralty  Court  on  board  the  Alabama  in  her  Case,  and  in  that  of 
the  Lauretta  —  The  Criticisms  of  the  New  York  Press  —  Further 
Evidence  of  the  Rotary  Nature  of  the  Winds  —  The  Lauretta  cap 
tured —  The  Crenshaw  captured  —  The  New  York  Chamber  of  Com 
merce  cries  aloud  in  Pain  —  Capture  of  the  Baron  de  Castine,  and  of 
the  Levi  Starbuck — Capture  of  the  T.  B.  Wales  —  Lady  Prisoners  .  479 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

The  Calm-Belts  and  the  Trade-Winds  —  The  Arrival  of  the  Alabama  at 
the  Island  of  Martinique  —  The  Curiosity  of  the  Islanders  to  see  the 
Ship  —  A  Quasi  Mutiny  among  the  Crew,  and  how  it  was  quelled  .  498 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

The  Alabama  at  Martinique  —  Is  blockaded  by  the  Enemy's  Steamer  San 
Jacinto  —  How  she  escaped  the  Old  Wagon  —  The  Island  of  Blan- 
quilla,  the  Alabama's  new  Rendezvous  —  Coaling  Ship  —  A  Yankee 
Skipper  and  his  Alarm — How  the  Officers  and  Men  amused  them 
selves  at  this  Island  —  The  Alabama  sails  again  —  Capture  of  the 
Parker  Cooke,  Union,  and  Steamer  Ariel  ......  514 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

The  Alabama  is  disabled  by  an  Accident,  and  stops  to  repair  her  Ma 
chinery —  Proceeds  to  her  New  Rendezvous  at  the  Areas  Islands, 
and  thence  to  Galveston  —  Engagement  with  the  United  States 
Steamer  Hatteras,  which  she  sinks 536 

CHAPTER  XL. 

The  Alabama  proceeds  to  Jamaica,  where  she  lands  her  Prisoners  and 
refits  —  Her  Commander  visits  the  Country  —  Intercourse  with  the 
English  Naval  Officers  —  Earl  Russell's  Letter  —  Preparations  for  Sea 
—  A  Boat  Race  by  Moonlight,  in  which  Strange  Tactics  are  prac 
tised —  Captain  Blake  of  the  Hatteras  complains  of  "Dixie"  being 
played  by  the  English  Bands  —  How  the  Matter  is  settled  .  .  551 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Departure  from  Jamaica — Capture  of  the  Golden  Rule  —  Coasting  the 
Island  of  Hay ti  — Capture  of  the  Castelaine  — The  Old  City  of  St. 
Domingo  and  its  Reminiscences  —  The  Dominican  Convent  and  the 
Palace  of  Diego  Columbus  —  Capture  of  the  Palmetto,  the  Olive 
Jane,  and  the  Golden  Eagle  —  How  the  Roads  are  blazed  out  upon 
the  Sea  —  Captain  Maury •  563 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

The  Crossing  of  the  30th  Parallel — The  Toil-Gate  upon  the  Sea  —  How 
the  Travellers  pass  along  the  Highway  —  Capture  of  the  Washing 
ton ;  John  A.  Parks;  the  Bethia  Taylor ;  thePunjaub;  the  Morning 
Star;  the  Kingfisher;  the  Charles  Hill;  and  the  Nora  —  Alabama 
crosses  the  Equator  —  Capture  of  the  Louisa  Hatch  —  Arrival  at 
Fernando  de  Noronha •  581 

CHAPTER   XLIII. 

Fernando  de  Noronha  —  Its  Famous  Peak  —  Is  a  Penal  Settlement  of 
Brazil  —  A  Visit  from  the  Governor's  Ambassadors  —  A  Visit  to  the 
Governor  in  return  —  The  Aristocracy  of  the  Island  —  Capture  of 
the  Lafayette  and  the  Kate  Cory  —  Burning  of  these  two  Ships  with 
the  Louisa  Hatch  —  Prisoners  sent  to  Pernambuco  —  The  Cloud  Ring 
and  the  Rainy  and  Dry  Seasons 596 


CONTENTS.  XV 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

The  Alabama  leaves  Fernando  de  Noronha  for  a  Cruise  on  the  Coast  of 
Brazil  —  Enters  the  great  Highway,  and  begins  to  overhaul  the 
Travellers  —  Capture  of  theWhalers  Nye  ;  Dorcas  Prince  ;  Union  Jack; 
Sea  Lark  —  A  Reverend  Consul  taken  Prisoner  —  Alabama  goes  into 
Bahia  —  What  occurred  there  —  Arrival  of  the  Georgia — Alabama 
proceeds  to  Sea  again  —  Capture  of  the  Gildersleeve  ;  the  Justina;  the 
Jabez  Snow  ;  the  Amazonian  ;  and  the  Talisman  ....  610 

CHAPTER  XLV. 

The  Alabama  continues  her  Cruise  on  the  Coast  of  Brazil  —  American 
Ships  under  English  Colors  —  The  Enemy's  Carrying-Trade  in  Neutral 
Bottoms  —  The  Capture  of  the  Conrad  —  She  is  commissioned  as  a 
Confederate  States  Cruiser  —  The  Highways  of  the  Sea,  and  the  Tac 
tics  of  the  Federal  Secretary  of  the  Navy  —  The  Phenomena  of  the 
Winds  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere  —  Arrival  at  Saldanha  Bay,  on 
the  Coast  of  Africa 626 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

The  connecting  Thread  of  the  History  of  the  War  taken  up  —  A  brief  Re-  ^ 
view  of  the  Events  of  the  last  twelve  Months,  during  which  the  Ala 
bama  has  been  commissioned  —  The  Alabama  arrives  at  Cape  Town 

—  Capture  of  the  Sea-Bride  —  Excitement  thereupon  —  Correspond 
ence  between  the  U.  S.  Consul  and  the  Governor  on  the  Subject  of  the 
Capture 642 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 
A  Gale  at  Cape  Town  —  The  Alabama  gets  under  way  for  Simon's  Town 

—  Capture  of  the  Martha  Wenzell  —  The  Tuscaloosa  —  Her  Status  as  a 
Ship  of  War  considered  —  She  proceeds  to  Sea  —  The  Alabama  follows 
her  —  They,  with  the  Sea-Bride,  rendezvous  at  Angra  Pequena  .  660 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

The  Alabama  on  the  Indian  Ocean  —  The  Passengers  questioned,  and  con 
tracted  with  —  The  Agulhas  Current  —  The  brave  West  Winds  —  A 
Theory  —  The  Islands  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  —  The  Tropic  of  Cap 
ricorn —  The  South-east  Trade-Winds,  and  the  Monsoons  —  The  Ala-  I/ 
bama  arrives  off  the  Strait  of  Sunda  —  Capture  of  the  Amanda  — 
Runs  in  and  anchors  under  the  Coast  of  Sumatra  ....  674 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

The  Alabama  passes  through  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  seeing  nothing  of  the 
Wyoming  —  Burns  the  Winged  Racer  just  inside  of  the  Strait  —  The  ' 
Malay  Boatmen,  and  their  Alarm  —  Alabama  makes  for  the  Gaspar 
Strait,  and  burns  the  Contest,  after  an  exciting  Chase  —  She  passes 
through  the  Carimata  Passage  —  Discharges  her  Prisoners  into  an 
English  Ship  —  Miniature  Sea-Serpents  —  The  Currents  —  Island  of 
Pulo  Condore  —  Arrives  at  Singapore  ......  690 

CHAPTER  L. 

The  Alabama  at  Singapore  —  Panic  among  the  Enemy's  Shipping  in  the 
China  Seas  —  The  Multitude  flock  to  see  the  Alabama  — Curious  Rumor 
concerning  a  Portion  of  her  Crew  —  The  Author  rides  to  the  Country 
and  spends  a  Night  —  The  Chinese  in  possession  of  the  Business  of 
Singapore  —  Alabama  leaves  Singapore  —  Capture  of  the  Martaban, 
alias  Texan  Star  —  Alabama  touches  at  Malacca  —  Capture  of  the 
Highlander,  and  Sonora  —  Alabama  once  more  in  the  Indian  Ocean  708 

CHAPTER  LI. 

The  Alabama  crosses  the  Bay  of  Bengal  —  The  Pilgrims  to  Mecca,  and 
how  they  received  her  Boarding-Officer  —  The  Burning  of  the  Emma 
Jane  — The  Town  of  Anjenga,  and  the  Hindoos  — The  Great  Deserts 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

PA  08 

of  Central  Asia,  and  the  Cotton  Crop  of  Hindoston  —  The  Alabama 
crosses  the  Arabian  Sea  —  The  Animalculse  of  the  Sea  —  The  Comoro 
Islands  —  Johanna,  and  its  Arab  Population  —  The  Alabama  passes 
through  the  Mozambique  Channel  —  Arrives  at  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope 722 

CHAPTER  LII. 

The  Alabama  again  in  Cape  Town  —  The  Seizure  of  the  Tuscaloosa,  and 
the  Discussion  which  grew  out  of  it  —  Correspondence  between  the 
Author  and  Admiral  Walker  —  Action  of  the  Home  Government,  and 
Release  of  the  Tuscaloosa 738 

CHAPTER  LIII. 

The  Alabama  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  —  Leaves  on  her  Return  to  Europe 

—  Capture  of  the  Rockingham,  and  of  the  Tycoon  —  She  crosses  the 
Equator  into  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  and  arrives  at  Cherbourg  on 
the  llth  of  June,  1864  —  The  Engagement  between  the  Alabama  and 
the  Kearsarge 744 

CHAPTER  LIV. 
Other  Incidents  of  the  Battle  between  the  Alabama  and  the  Kearsarge 

—  The  Rescue  of  a  Portion  of  the  Crew  of  the  Alabama  by  the  Eng 
lish   Steam-Yacht  Deerhound — The  United   States  Government  de 
mands  that  they  be  given  up  —  The  British  Government  refuses  Com-  ^ 
pliance  —  The  rescued  Persons  not  Prisoners  —  The  Inconsistency  of  ^ 
the  Federal  Secretary  of  the  Navy 761 

CHAPTER  LV. 

The  Federal  Government  and  the  English  Steam- Yacht  Deerhound  —  Mr. 
Seward's  Despatch  —  Mr.  Lancaster's  Letter  to  the  "Daily  News" — 
Lord  Russell's  Reply  to  Mr.  Adams,  on  the  Subject  of  his  Complaint 
against  Mr.  Lancaster  —  Presentation  of  a  Sword  to  the  Author  by 
the  Clubs  of  England ;  of  a  Flag  by  a  Lady 774 

CHAPTER  LVI. 

Author  makes  a  Short  Visit  to  the  Continent  —  Returns  to  London,  and 
embarks  on  his  Return  to  the  Confederate  States  —  Lands  at  Bagdad, 
near  the  Mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  —  Journey  through  Texas  — 
Reaches  Louisiana;  crosses  the  Mississippi,  and  reaches  his  Home 
after  an  Absence  of  four  Years  .  789 

CHAPTER  LVII. 

Author  sets  out  for  Richmond  —  Is  two  Weeks  in  making  the  Journey  — 
Interview  with  President  Davis  ;  with  General  Lee  —  Author  is  ap 
pointed  a  Rear-Admiral,  and  ordered  to  command  the  James  River 
Squadron  —  Assumes  Command  —  Condition  of  the  Fleet  —  Great 
Demoralization  —  The  Enemy's  Armies  gradually  increasing  in  Num 
bers  —  Lee's  Lines  broken  . 799 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 

The  Evacuation  of  Richmond  by  the  Army  —  The  Destruction  of  the  James 
River  Fleet — The  Sailors  of  the  Fleet  converted  into  Soldiers  —  Their 
helpless  Condition  without  any  Means  of  Transportation  —  The  Con 
flagration  of  Richmond,  and  the  Entry  of  the  Enemy  into  the  Con 
federate  Capital  —  The  Author  improvises  a  Railroad  Train,  and 
escapes  in  it,  with  his  Command,  to  Danville,  Va 807 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

Interview  with  President  Davis  and  Secretary  Mallory  —  Author's  Com 
mand  organized  as  a  Brigade  of  Artillery  —  The  Brigade  marches  to 
Greensboro',  N.  C. —  Capitulation  between  General  Joseph  E.  John 
ston  and  General  Sherman  —  Dispersion  of  Johnston's  Command  in 
Consequence  —  Author  returns  Home,  and  is  arrested  —  Conclusion  817 


MEMOIRS  OF  SERVICE  AFLOAT 


CHAPTEK     I. 

A   BRIEF   HISTOKICAL   RETROSPECT. 

FJ1HE  disruption  of  the  American  Union  by  the  war  of  1861 
was  not  an  unforeseen  event.  Patrick  Henry,  and  other 
patriots  who  struggled  against  the  adoption  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  by  the  Southern  States,  foretold  it  in  burning 
words  of  prophecy ;  and  when  that  instrument  was  adopted, 
when  the  great  name  and  great  eloquence  of  James  Madison 
had  borne  down  all  opposition,  Henry  and  his  compatriots 
seemed  particularly  anxious  that  posterity  should  be  informed 
of  the  manly  struggle  which  they  had  made.  Henry  said, 
"  The  voice  of  tradition,  I  trust,  will  inform  posterity  of  our 
struggles  for  freedom.  If  our  descendants  be  worthy  of  the 
name  of  Americans,  they  will  preserve,  and  hand  down  to  the 
latest  posterity,  the  transactions  of  the  present  times;  and 
though  I  confess  my  explanations  are  not  worth  the  hearing, 
they  will  see  I  have  done  my  utmost  to  preserve  their  liberty." 

The  wish  of  these  patriotic  men  has  been  gratified.  The 
record  of  their  noble  deeds,  and  all  but  inspired  eloquence, 
has  come  down  to  posterity,  and  some,  at  least,  of  their  descen 
dants,  "worthy  of  the  name  of  Americans,"  will  accord  to 
them  the  foremost  rank  in  the  long  list  of  patriots  and  sages 
who  illustrated  and  adorned  our  early  annals. 

But  posterity,  too,  has  a  history  to  record  and  hand  down. 
We,  too,  have  struggled  to  preserve  our  liberties,  and  the  lib 
erties  of  those  who  are  to  come  after  us;  and  the  history  of  that 
struggle  must  not  perish.  The  one  struggle  is  but  the  com 
plement  of  the  other,  and  history  would  be  incomplete  if  either 

17 


18  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

were  omitted.  Events  have  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  Henry, 
and  those  who  struggled  with  him  against  the  adoption  of  the 
Federal  Constitution.  Events  will  equally  vindicate  the  wis 
dom  of  Jefferson  Davis,  and  other  Confederate  patriots,  who 
endeavored  to  preserve  that  Constitution,  and  hand  it  down, 
unimpaired,  to  their  posterity. 

The  wisdom  of  a  movement  is  not  always  to  be  judged  by 
its  success.  Principles  are  eternal,  human  events  are  transi 
tory,  and  it  sometimes  takes  more  than  one  generation  or  one 
revolution  to  establish  a  principle.  At  first  sight,  it  may  ap 
pear  that  there  is  some  discordance  between  Patrick  Henry 
and  Jefferson  Davis,  as  the  one  struggled  against  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution,  and  the  other  to  preserve  it.  But  they 
were,  in  fact,  both  engaged  in  a  similar  struggle ;  the  object 
of  both  being  to  preserve  the  sovereignty  of  their  respective 
States.  Henry  did  not  object  so  much  to  the  nature  of  the 
partnership,  into  which  his  State  was  about  to  enter,  as  to  the 
the  nature  of  the  partners  with  whom  she  was  about  to  con 
tract.  He  saw  that  the  two  sections  were  dissimilar,  and  that 
they  had  different  and  antagonistic  interests,  and  he  was  unwill 
ing  to  trust  to  the  bona  fides  of  the  other  contracting  party. 
"I  am  sure,"  said  he,  "that  the  dangers  of  this  system  are  real, 
when  those  who  have  no  similar  interests  with  the  people  of 
this  country  are  to  legislate  for  us  —  when  our  dearest  interests 
are  to  be  left  in  the  hands  of  those  whose  advantage  it  will  be 
to  infringe  them." 

The  North,  even  at  that  early  day,  was  in  a  majority  in  both 
houses  of  Congress ;  it  would  be  for  the  advantage  of  that 
majority  to  infringe  the  rights  of  the  South ;  and  Henry,  with 
much  more  knowledge  of  human  nature  than  most  of  the 
Southern  statesmen  of  his  era,  refused  to  trust  that  majority. 
This  was  substantially  the  case  with  Jefferson  Davis  and  those 
of  us  who  followed  his  lead.  We  had  verified  the  distrust  of 
Henry.  What  had  been  prophecy  with  him,  had  become  his 
tory  with  us.  We  had  had  experience  of  the  fact,  that  our 
partner-States  of  the  North,  who  were  in  a  majority,  had 
trampled  upon  the  rights  of  the  Southern  minority,  and  we 
desired,  as  the  only  remedy,  to  dissolve  the  partnership  into 
which  Henry  had  objected  to  entering  —  not  so  much  because 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.         19 

of  any  defect  in  the  articles  of  copartnership,  as  for  want  ot 
faith  in  our  copartners. 

This  was  the  wisdom  of  Jefferson  Davis  and  his  compa 
triots,  which,  I  say,  will  be  vindicated  by  events.  A  final  sepa 
ration  of  these  States  must  come,  or  the  South  will  be  perma 
nently  enslaved.  We  endeavored  to  bring  about  the  separa 
tion,  and  we  sacrificed  our  fortunes,  and  risked  our  lives  to 
accomplish  it.  Like  Patrick  Henry,  we  have  done  our 
"utmost  to  preserve  our  liberties;"  like  him,  we  have  failed, 
and  like  him,  we  desire  that  our  record  shall  go  down  to  such 
of  our  posterity  as  may  be  "  worthy  of  the  name  of  Ameri 
cans." 

The  following  memoirs  are  designed  to  commemorate  a  few 
of  the  less  important  events  of  our  late  struggle ;  but  before  I 
enter  upon  them,  I  deem  it  appropriate  to  give  some  "  reason 
for  the  faith"  that  was  in  us,  of  the  South,  who  undertook  the 
struggle.  The  judgment  which  posterity  will  form  upon  our 
actions  will  depend,  mainly,  upon  the  answers  which  we 
may  be  able  to  give  to  two  questions :  First,  Had  the  South  the 
right  to  dissolve  the  compact  of  government  under  which  it 
had  lived  with  the  North  ?  and,  secondly,  Was  there  sufficient 
reason  for  such  dissolution  ?  I  do  not  speak  here  of  the  right 
of  revolution — this  is  inherent  in  all  peoples,  whatever  may 
be  their  form  of  government.  The  very  term  "revolution  " 
implies  a  forcible  disruption  of  government,,  war,  and  all  the 
evils  that  follow  in  the  train  of  war.  The  thirteen  original 
Colonies,  the  germ  from  which  have  sprung  these  States,  exer 
cised  the  right  of  revolution  when  they  withdrew  their  alle 
giance  from  the  parent  country.  Not  so  with  the  Southern 
States  when  they  withdrew  from  their  copartnership  with  the 
Northern  States.  They  exercised  a  higher  right.  They  did 
not  form  a  part  of  a  consolidated  government,  as  the  Colonies 
did  of  the  British  Government.  They  were  sovereign,  equally 
with  the  Northern  States,  from  which  they  withdrew,  and 
exercised,  as  they  believed,  a  peaceful  right,  instead  of  a  right 
of  revolution. 

Had,  then,  the  Southern  States  the  peaceful  right  to  dissolve 
the  compact  of  government  under  which  they  had  lived  with 
the  North?  A  volume  might  be  written  in  reply  to  this  ques- 


20  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tion,  but  I  shall  merely  glance  at  it  in  these  memoirs,  referring 
the  student  to  the  history  of  the  formation  of  the  old  Con 
federacy,  prior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States;  to  the  "Journal  and  Debates  of  the  Convention  of  1787," 
that  formed  this  latter  instrument;  to  the  debates  of  the  seve 
ral  State  Conventions  which  adopted  it,  to  the  "  Madison  Papers/' 
to  the  "Federalist,"  and  to  the  late  very  able  work  of  Dr.  Bled- 
soe,  entitled  "Is  Davis  a  Traitor?  "  It  will  be  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  which  I  have  in  view — that  of  giving  the  reader  a 
general  outline  of  the  course  of  reasoning,  by  which  South 
ern  men  justify  their  conduct  in  the  late  war — to  state  the 
leading  features  of  the  compact  of  government  which  was  dis 
solved,  and  a  few  of  its  historical  surroundings,  about  which 
there  can  be  no  dispute. 

The  close  of  the  War  of  Independence  of  1776  found  the 
thirteen  original  Colonies,  which  had  waged  that  war,  sovereign 
and  independent  States.  They  had,  for  the  purpose  of  carry 
ing  on  that  war,  formed  a  league,  or  confederation,  and  the 
articles  of  this  league  were  still  obligatory  upon  them.  Under 
these  articles,  a  Federal  Government  had  been  established, 
charged  with  a  few  specific  powers,  such  as  conducting  the 
foreign  affairs  of  the  Confederacy,  the  regulation  of  com 
merce,  &c.  At  the  formation  of  this  Government,  it  was  in 
tended  that  it  should  be  perpetual,  and  was  so  declared.  It 
lasted,  notwithstanding,  only  a  few  years,  for  peace  was  de 
clared  in  1783,  and  the  perpetual  Government  ceased  to  exist 
in  1789.  How  did  it  cease  to  exist?  By  the  secession  of  the  States. 

Soon  after  the  war,  a  convention  of  delegates  met  at  Anna 
polis,  in  Maryland,  sent  thither  by  the  several  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  devising  some  more  perfect  means  of  regulating 
commerce.  This  was  all  the  duty  with  which  they  were 
charged.  Upon  assembling,  it  was  found  that  several  of  the 
States  were  not  represented  in  this  Convention,  in  consequence 
of  which,  the  Convention  adjourned  without  transacting  any 
business,  and  recommended,  in  an  address  prepared  by  Alex 
ander  Hamilton,  that  a  new  convention  should  be  called  at 
Philadelphia,  with  enlarged  powers.  "The  Convention,"  says 
Hamilton,  "are  more  naturally  led  to  this  conclusion,  as  in 
their  reflections  on  the  subject,  they  have  been  induced  to 


DUEING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        21 

think,  that  the  power  of  regulating  trade  is  of  such  compre 
hensive  extent,  and  will  enter  so  far  into  the  great  system  of 
the  Federal  Government;  that  to  give  it  efficacy,  and  to  obviate 
questions  and  doubts  concerning  its  precise  nature  and  limits, 
may  require  a  corresponding  adjustment  in  other  parts  of  the 
Federal  system.  That  these  are  important  defects  in  the  sys 
tem  of  the  Federal  Government  is  acknowledged  by  the  acts 
of  those  States,  which  have  concurred  in  the  present  meeting. 
That  the  defects,  upon  closer  examination,  may  be  found  greater 
and  more  numerous  than  even  these  acts  imply,  is  at  least,  so  far 
probable,  from  the  embarrassments  which  characterize  the  pres 
ent  state  of  our  national  affairs,  foreign  and  domestic,  as  may 
reasonably  be  supposed  to  merit  a  deliberate  and  candid  dis 
cussion,  in  some  mode  which  will  unite  the  sentiments  and 
counsels  of  all  the  States." 

The  reader  will  observe  that  the  Government  of  the  States, 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  is  called  a  "  Federal  Govern 
ment,"  and  that  the  object  proposed  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
meeting  of  the  new  Convention  at  Philadelphia,  was  to  amend 
the  Constitution  of  that  Government.  Northern  writers  have 
sought  to  draw  a  distinction  between  the  Government  formed 
under  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  that  formed  by  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  calling  the  one  a  league,  and 
the  other  a  government.  Here  we  see  Alexander  Hamilton 
calling  the  Confederation  a  government — a  Federal  Govern 
ment.  It  was,  indeed,  both  a  league  and  a  government,  as  it 
was  formed  by  sovereign  States;  just  as  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  is  both  a  league  and  a  government,  for  the 
same  reason. 

The  fact  that  the  laws  of  the  Confederation,  passed  in  pur 
suance  of  its  League,  or  Constitution,  were  to  operate  upon  the 
States  ;  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  were  to  operate  upon 
the  individual  citizens  of  the  States,  without  the  intervention 
of  State  authority,  could  make  no  difference.  This  did  not 
make  the  latter  more  a  government  than  the  former.  The  dif 
ference  was  a  mere  matter  of  detail,  a  mere  matter  of  ma 
chinery —  nothing  more.  It  did  not  imply  more  or  less  abso 
lute  sovereignty  in  the  one  case,  than  in  the  other.  Whatever 
of  sovereignty  had  been  granted,  had  been  granted  by  the  States, 
in  both  instances. 


22  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  new  Convention  met  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  14th  of 
May,  1787,  with  instructions  to  devise  and  discuss  "all  such 
alterations,  and  further  provisions  as  may  be  necessary  to  ren 
der  the  Federal  Constitution  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the 
Union."  We  see,  thus,  that  the  very  Convention  which  framed 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  equally  called  the  Articles 
of  Confederation  a  Constitution.  It  was,  then,  from  a  Consti 
tutional,  Federal  Government,  that  the  States  seceded  when 
they  adopted  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United  States !  A 
Convention  of  the  States  assembled  with  powers  only  to 
amend  the  Constitution ;  instead  of  doing  which,  it  abolished 
the  old  form  of  government  altogether,  and  recommended  a 
new  one,  and  no  one  complained.  As  each  State  formally  and 
deliberately  adopted  the  new  government,  it  as  formally  and 
deliberately  seceded  from  the  old  one ;  and  yet  no  one  heard 
any  talk  of  a  breach  of  faith,  and  still  less  of  treason. 

The  new  government  was  to  go  into  operation  when  nine  States 
should  adopt  it.  But  there  were  thirteen  States,  and  if  nine 
States  only  acceded  to  the  new  government,  the  old  one  would 
be  broken  up,  as  to  the  other  four  States,  whether  these  would  or 
not,  and  they  would  be  left  to  provide  for  themselves.  It  was 
by  no  means  the  voluntary  breaking  up  of  a  compact,  by  all 
the  parties  to  it.  It  was  broken  up  piece-meal,  each  State  acting 
for  itself,  without  asking  the  consent  of  the  others ;  precisely 
as  the  Southern  States  acted,  with  a  view  to  the  formation  of  a 
new  Southern  Confederacy. 

So  far  from  the  movement  being  unanimous,  it  was  a  long 
time  before  all  the  States  came  into  the  new  government. 
Ehode  Island,  one  of  the  Northern  States,  which  hounded  on 
the  war  against  the  Southern  States,  retained  her  separate 
sovereignty  for  two  years  before  she  joined  the  new  govern 
ment,  not  uttering  one  word  of  complaint,  during  all  that 
time,  that  the  old  government,  of  which  she  had  been  a  mem 
ber,  had  been  unduly  broken  up,  and  that  she  had  been  left  to 
shift  for  herself.  Why  was  this  disruption  of  the  old  govern 
ment  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course  ?  Simply  because  it  was 
a  league,  or  treaty,  between  sovereign  States,  from  which  any 
one  of  the  States  had  the  right  to  withdraw  at  any  time,  with 
out  consulting  the  interest  or  advantage  of  the  others. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         23 

But,  say  the  Northern  States,  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is  a  very  different  thing  from  the  Articles  of  Confedera 
tion.  It  was  formed,  not  by  the  States,  but  by  the  people  of 
the  United  States  in  the  aggregate,  and  made  all  the  States 
one  people,  one  government.  It  is  not  a  compact,  or  league 
between  the  States,  but  an  instrument  under  which  they  have 
surrendered  irrevocably  their  sovereignty.  Under  it,  the  Fed 
eral  Government  has  become  the  paramount  authority,  and  the 
States  are  subordinate  to  it.  We  will  examine  this  doctrine, 
briefly,  in  another  chapter. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE   NATURE   OF   THE   AMERICAN    COMPACT. 

THE  two  principal  expounders  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  North,  have  been  Daniel  Webster 
and  Joseph  Story,  both  from  Massachusetts.  Webster  was,  for 
a  long  time,  a  Senator  in  Congress,  and  Story  a  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  The  latter  has  written 
an  elaborate  work  on  the  Constitution,  full  of  sophistry,  and 
not  always  very  reliable  as  to  its  facts.  The  great  effort  of 
both  these  men  has  been  to  prove,  that  the  Constitution  is  not 
a  compact  between  the  States,  but  an  instrument  of  govern 
ment,  formed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  as  contra 
distinguished  from  the  States.  They  both  admit,  that  if  the 
Constitution  were  a  compact  between  the  States,  the  States 
would  have  a  right  to  withdraw  from  the  compact  —  all  agree 
ments  between  States,  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  being,  neces 
sarily,  of  no  more  binding  force  than  treaties.  These  gentle 
men  are  not  always  very  consistent,  for  they  frequently  fall 
into  the  error  of  calling  the  Constitution  a  compact,  when  they 
are  not  arguing  this  particular  question;  in  short,  it  is,  and  it 
is  not  a  compact,  by  turns,  according  to  the  use  they  intend  to 
make  of  the  argument.  Mr.  Webster's  doctrine  of  the  Consti 
tution,  chiefly  relied  on  by  Northern  men,  is  to  be  found  in 
his  speech  of  1833,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Calhoun.  It  is  in  that 
speech  that  he  makes  the  admission,  that  if  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  is  a  compact  between  the  States,  the  States 
have  the  right  to  withdraw  from  it  at  pleasure.  He  says,  "If  a 
league  between  sovereign  powers  have  no  limitation  as  to  the 
time  of  duration,  and  contains  nothing  making  it  perpetual,  it 
subsists  only  during  the  good  pleasure  of  the  parties,  although 
no  violation  be  complained  of.  If  in  the  opinion  of  either 
party  it  be  violated,  such  party  may  say  he  will  no  longer 

24 


MEMOIRS     OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  25 

fulfil  its  obligations,  on  his  part,  but  will  consider  the  whole 
league  or  compact  as  at  an  end,  although  it  might  be  one  of 
its  stipulations  that  it  should  be  perpetual." 

In  his  "Commentaries  on  the  Constitution/'  Mr.  Justice 
Story  says,  "The  obvious  deductions  which  may  be,  and  indeed 
have  been  drawn,  from  considering  the  Constitution  a  compact 
between  States,  are,  that  it  operates  as  a  mere  treaty,  or  con 
vention  between  them,  and  has  an  obligatory  force  no  longer 
than  suits  their  pleasure,  or  their  consent  continues."  The  plain 
principles  of  public  law,  thus  announced  by  these  distinguished 
jurists,  cannot  be  controverted.  If  sovereign  States  make  a 
compact,  although  the  object  of  the  compact  be  the  formation 
of  a  new  government  for  their  common  benefit,  they  have  the 
right  to  withdraw  from  that  compact  at  pleasure,  even  though, 
in  the  words  of  Mr.  Webster,  "  it  might  be  one  of  its  stipulations 
that  it  should  be  perpetual." 

There  might,  undoubtedly,  be  such  a  thing  as  State  merger ; 
that  is,  that  two  States,  for  instance,  might  agree  that  the 
sovereign  existence  of  one  of  them  should  be  merged  in  the 
other.  In  which  case,  the  State  parting  with  its  sovereignty 
could  never  reclaim  it  by  peaceable  means.  But  where  a 
State  shows  no  intention  of  parting  with  its  sovereignty,  and, 
in  connection  with  other  States,  all  equally  jealous  of  their 
sovereignty  with  herself,  only  delegates  a  part  of  it  —  never  so 
large  a  part,  if  you  please  —  to  a  common  agent,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  whole,  there  can  have  been  no  merger.  This  was  emi 
nently  the  case  with  regard  to  these  United  States.  No  one 
can  read  the  "Journal  and  Debates  of  the  Philadelphia  Conven 
tion,"  or  those  of  the  several  State  Conventions  to  which  the 
Constitution  was  submitted  for  adoption,  without  being  struck 
with  the  scrupulous  care  with  which  all  the  States  guarded 
their  sovereignty.  The  Northern  States  were  quite  as  jealous, 
in  this  respect,  as  the  Southern  States.  Next  to  Massachusetts, 
New  Hampshire  has  been,  perhaps,  the  most  fanatical  and 
bitter  of  the  former  States,  in  the  prosecution  of  the  late  war 
against  the  South.  That  State,  in  her  Constitution,  adopted 
in  1792,  three  years  after  the  Federal  Constitution  went  into 
operation,  inserted  the  following  provision,  among  others,  ia 
her  declaration  of  principles :  "  The  people  of  this  Common- 


26  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

wealth  have  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  governing  them 
selves  as  a  free,  sovereign,  and  independent  State;  and  do, 
and  forever  hereafter  shall  exercise  and  enjoy  every  power, 
jurisdiction,  and  right  which  is  not,  or  may  not  hereafter  be, 
by  them,  expressly  delegated  to  the  United  States." 

Although  it  was  quite  clear  that  the  States,  when  they 
adopted  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  reserved,  by 
implication,  all  the  sovereign  power,  rights,  and  privileges 
that  had  not  been  granted  away  —  as  a  power  not  given  is 
necessarily  withheld — yet  so  jealous  were  they  of  the  new 
government  they  were  forming,  that  several  of  them  insisted, 
in  their  acts  of  ratification,  that  the  Constitution  should  be  so 
amended  as  explicitly  to  declare  this  truth,  and  thus  put  it 
beyond  cavil  in  the  future.  Massachusetts  expressed  herself 
as  follows,  in  connection  with  her  ratification  of  the  Constitu 
tion:  "As  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  that  certain 
amendments  and  alterations  in  said  Constitution  would  remove 
the  fears,  and  quiet  the  apprehensions  of  the  good  people  of 
the  Commonwealth,  and  more  effectually  guard  against  an 
undue  administration  of  the  Federal  Government,  the  Con 
vention  do,  therefore,  recommend  that  the  following  alteration 
and  provisions  be  introduced  in  said  Constitution :  First,  that 
it  be  explicitly  declared,  that  all  powers  not  delegated  by  the 
aforesaid  Constitution  are  reserved  to  the  several  States,  to  be 
by  them  exercised." 

Webster  and  Story  had  not  yet  arisen  in  Massachusetts,  to 
teach  the  new  doctrine  that  the  Constitution  had  been  formed 
by  the  " People  of  the  United  States"  in  contra-distinction  to 
the  people  of  the  States.  Massachusetts  did  not  speak  in  the 
name  of  any  such  people,  but  in  her  own  name.  She  was  not 
jealous  of  the  remaining  people  of  the  United  States,  as  frac 
tional  parts  of  a  whole,  of  which  she  was  herself  a  fraction, 
but  she  was  jealous  of  them  as  States;  as  so  many  foreign  peo 
ples,  with  whom  she  was  contracting.  The  powers  not  dele 
gated  were  to  be  reserved  to  those  delegating  them,  to  wit:  the 
" several  States;^  that  is  to  say,  to  each  and  every  one  of  the 
States. 

Virginia  fought  long  and  sturdily  against  adopting  the 
Constitution  at  all.  Henry,  Mason,  Tyler,  and  a  host  of  other 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         27 

giants  raised  their  powerful  voices  against  it,  warning  their 
people,  in  thunder  tones,  that  they  were  rushing  upon  destruc 
tion.  Tyler  even  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  "British  tyranny 
would  have  been  more  tolerable."  So  distasteful  to  her  was 
the  foul  embrace  that  was  tendered  her,  that  she  not  only 
recommended  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution,  similar  to 
that  which  was  recommended  by  Massachusetts,  making  ex 
plicit  reservation  of  her  sovereignty,  but  she  annexed  a  con 
dition  to  her  ratification,  to  the  effect  that  she  retained  the 
right  to  withdraw  the  powers  which  she  had  granted,  "when 
ever  the  same  shall  be  perverted  to  her  injury  or  oppression." 

North  Carolina  urged  the  following  amendment  —  the  same, 
substantially,  as  that  urged  by  Virginia  and  Massachusetts : 
'f  That  each  State  in  the  Union  shall  respectively  [not  aggre 
gately]  retain  every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right  which  is 
not  by  this  Constitution  delegated  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  or  to  the  departments  of  the  Federal  Government." 

Pennsylvania  guarded  her  sovereignty  by  insisting  upon  the 
following  amendment :  "  All  the  rights  of  sovereignty  which 
are  not,  by  the  said  Constitution,  expressly  and  plainly  vested 
in  the  Congress,  shall  be  deemed  to  remain  with,  and  shall  be 
exercised  by  the  several  States  in  the  Union."  The  result  of 
this  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  States  was  the  adoption  of 
the  10th  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
as  follows:  "The  powers  not  delegated  to  the  United  States, 
by  the  Constitution,  nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States,  are 
reserved  to  the  States,  or  to  the  people." 

It  is  thus  clear  beyond  doubt,  that  the  States  not  only  had 
no  intention  of  merging  their  sovereignty  in  the  new  govern 
ment  they  were  forming,  but  that  they  took  special  pains  to 
notify  each  other,  as  well  as  their  common  agent,  of  the  fact. 
The  language  which  I  have  quoted,  as  used  by  the  States,  in 
urging  the  amendments  to  the  Constitution  proposed  by  them, 
was  the  common  language  of  that  day.  The  new  government 
was  a  federal  or  confederate  government  —  in  the  "  Federalist,"  it 
is  frequently  called  a  "Confederation"  —  which  had  been  cre 
ated  by  the  States  for  their  common  use  and  benefit;  each 
State  taking  special  pains,  as  we  have  seen,  to  declare  that  it 
retained  all  the  sovereignty  which  it  had  not  expressly  granted 


28  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

away.  And  yet,  in  face  of  these  facts,  the  doctrine  has  been 
boldly  declared,  in  our  day,  that  the  Constitution  was  formed 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate,  as  one 
nation,  and  that  it  has  a  force  and  vitality  independent  of  the 
States,  which  the  States  are  incompetent  to  destroy !  The 
perversion  is  one  not  so  much  of  doctrine  as  of  history.  It  is 
an  issue  of  fact  which  we  are  to  try. 

It  is  admitted,  that  if  the  fact  be  as  stated  by  our  Northern 
brethren,  the  conclusion  follows :  It  is,  indeed,  quite  plain, 
that  if  the  States  did  not  create  the  Federal  Constitution,  they 
cannot  destroy  it.  But  it  is  admitted,  on  the  other  hand,  by 
both  Webster  and  Story,  as  we  have  seen,  that  if  they  did  cre 
ate  it,  they  may  destroy  it ;  nay,  that  any  one  of  them  may 
destroy  it  as  to  herself;  that  is,  may  withdraw  from  the  com 
pact  at  pleasure,  with  or  without  reason.  It  is  fortunate  for 
us  of  the  South  that  the  issue  is  so  plain,  as  that  it  may  be 
tried  by  the  record.  Sophistry  will  sometimes  overlie  reason 
and  blind  men's  judgment  for  generations ;  but  sophistry,  with 
all  its  ingenuity,  cannot  hide  a  fact.  The  speeches  of  Web 
ster  and  the  commentaries  of  Story  have  been  unable  to  hide 
the  fact  of  which  I  speak  ;  it  stands  emblazoned  on  every  page 
of  our  constitutional  history. 

Every  step  that  was  taken  toward  the  formation  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  from  its  inception  to  its  adop 
tion,  was  taken  by  the  States,  and  not  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  aggregate.  There  was  no  such  people 
known  as  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  aggregate,  at 
the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution.  If  there  is  any 
such  people  now,  it  was  formed  by  the  Constitution.  But  this 
is  not  the  question.  The  question  now  is,  who  formed  the 
Constitution,  not  what  was  formed  by  it  ?  If  it  was  formed  by 
the  States,  admit  our  adversaries,  it  may  be  broken  by  the 
States. 

The  delegates  who  met  at  Annapolis  were  sent  thither  by 
the  States,  and  not  by  the  people  of  the  United  States.  The 
Convention  of  1787,  which  formed  the  Constitution,  was 
equally  composed  of  members  sent  to  Philadelphia  by  the 
States.  James  Madison  was  chosen  by  the  people  of  Virginia 
and  not  by  the  people  of  New  York ;  and  Alexander  Hamil- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         29 

ton  was  chosen  by  the  people  of  New  York,  and  not  by  the 
people  of  Virginia.  Every  article,  section,  and  paragraph  of 
the  Constitution  was  voted  for,  or  against,  by  States ;  the  little 
State  of  Delaware,  not  much  larger  than  a  single  county  of 
New  York,  off-setting  the  vote  of  that  great  State. 

And  when  the  Constitution  was  formed,  to  whom  was  it 
submitted  for  ratification  ?  Was  there  any  convention  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate,  as  one  nation, 
called  for  the  purpose  of  considering  it  ?  Did  not  each  State, 
on  the  contrary,  call  its  own  convention  ?  and  did  not  some  of 
the  States  accept  it,  and  some  of  them  refuse  to  accept  it  ?  It 
was  provided  that  when  nine  States  should  accept  it,  it  should 
go  into  operation ;  was  it  pretended  that  the  vote  of  these  nine 
States  was  to  bind  the  others  ?  Is  it  not  a  fact,  on  the  con 
trary,  that  the  vote  of  eleven  States  did  not  bind  the  other 
two  ?  Where  was  that  great  constituency,  composed  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate,  as  one  nation,  all 
this  time  ? 

"But,"  say  those  who  are  opposed  to  us  in  this  argument, 
"  look  at  the  instrument  itself,  and  you  will  see  that  it  was 
framed  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  and  not  by  the 
States.  Does  not  its  Preamble  read  thus:  '  We,  the  people  of 
the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  Union,  &c.; 
do  ordain  and  establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United  States 
of  America'  ?  "  Perhaps  there  has  never  been  a  greater  liter 
ary  and  historical  fraud  practised  upon  any  people,  than  has 
been  attempted  in  the  use  to  which  these  words  have  been  put. 
And,  perhaps,  no  equal  number  of  reading  and  intelligent 
men  has  ever  before  submitted  so  blindly  and  docilely  to  be 
imposed  upon  by  literary  quackery  and  the  legerdemain  of 
words,  as  our  fellow-citizens  of  the  North  have  in  accepting 
Webster's  and  Story's  version  of  the  preamble  of  the  Consti 
tution. 

A  brief  history  of  the  manner,  in  which  the  words,  "We, 
the  people,"  &c.,  came  to  be  adopted  by  the  Convention  which 
framed  the  Constitution,  will  sufficiently  expose  the  baldness 
of  the  cheat.  The  only  wonder  is,  that  such  men  as  Webster 
and  Story  should  have  risked  their  reputations  with  posterity, 
on  a  construction  which  may  so  easily  be  shown  to  be  a  falsi- 


30  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

fication  of  the  facts  of  history.  Mr.  Webster,  in  his  celebrated 
speech  in  the  Senate,  in  1833,  in  reply  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  made 
this  bold  declaration:  "-The  Constitution  itself,  in  its  very 
front,  declares,  that  it  was  ordained  and  established  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate ! "  From  that 
day  to  this,  this  declaration  of  Mr.  Webster  has  been  the  chief 
foundation  on  which  all  the  constitutional  lawyers  of  the  North 
have  built  their  arguments  against  the  rights  of  the  States  as 
sovereign  copartners. 

If  the  Preamble  of  the  Constitution  stood  alone,  without  the 
lights  of  contemporaneous  history  to  reveal  its  true  character, 
there  might  be  some  force  in  Mr.  Webster's  position ;  but,  un 
fortunately  for  him  and  his  followers,  he  has  misstated  a  fact. 
It  is  not  true,  as  every  reader  of  constitutional  history  must 
know,  that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  ordained 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate ;  nor  did 
the  Preamble  to  the  Constitution  mean  to  assert  that  it  was  true. 
The  great  names  of  Webster,  and  Story  have  been  lent  to  a 
palpable  falsification  of  history,  and  as  a  result  of  that  falsifi 
cation,  a  great  war  has  ensued,  which  has  sacrificed  its  heca 
tomb  of  victims,  and  desolated,  and  nearly  destroyed  an  entire 
people.  The  poet  did  not  say,  without  reason,  that  "  words  are 
things."  Now  let  us  strip  off  the  disguises  worn  by  these  word- 
mongers,  and  see  where  the  truth  really  lies.  Probably  some 
of  my  readers  will  learn,  for  the  first  time,  the  reasons  which 
induced  the  framers  of  the  Constitution  to  adopt  the  phrase 
ology,  "We,  the  people,"  &c.,  in  the  formation  of  their  Pre 
amble  to  that  instrument.  In  the  original  draft  of  the  Consti 
tution,  the  States,  by  name,  were  mentioned,  as  had  been  done 
in  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  The  States  had  formed  the 
old  Confederation,  the  States  were  equally  forming  the  new 
Confederation ;  hence  the  Convention  naturally  followed  in  their 
Preamble  the  form  which  had  been  set  them  in  the  old  Consti 
tution,  or  Articles.  This  Preamble,  purporting  that  the  work 
of  forming  the  new  government  was  being  done  by  the  States, 
remained  at  the  head  of  the  instrument  during  all  the  delibera 
tions  of  the  Convention,  and  no  one  member  ever  objected  to  it. 
It  expressed  a  fact  which  no  one  thought  of  denying.  It  is 
thus  a  fact  beyond  question,  not  only  that  the  Constitution 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        31 

was  framed  by  the  States,  but  that  the  Convention  so  pro 
claimed  in  "front  of  the  instrument" 

Having  been  framed  by  the  States,  was  it  afterward  adopted, 
or  "ordained  and  established,"  to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  Web 
ster,  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  aggregate,  and 
was  this  the  reason  why  the  words  were  changed  ?  There  were 
in  the  Convention  several  members  in  favor  of  submitting  the 
instrument  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggre 
gate,  and  thereby  accomplishing  their  favorite  object  of  estab 
lishing  a  consolidated  government  —  Alexander  Hamilton  and 
Gouverneur  Morris  among  the  number.  On  the  "  Journal  of 
the  Convention,"  the  following  record  is  found :  "  Gouverneur 
Morris  moved  that  the  reference  of  the  plan  [i.  e.  of  the  Consti 
tution]  be  made  to  one  General  Convention,  chosen  and  author 
ized  by  the  people,  to  consider,  amend,  and  establish  the  same." 
Thus  the  question,  as  to  who  should  "  ordain  and  establish " 
the  Constitution,  whether  it  should  be  the  people  in  the  aggre 
gate,  or  the  people  of  the  States,  was  clearly  presented  to  the 
Convention.  How  did  the  Convention  vote  on  this  proposi 
tion  ?  The  reader  will  perhaps  be  surprised  to  learn,  that  the 
question  was  not  even  brought  to  a  vote,  for  want  of  a  second ; 
and  yet  this  is  the  fact  recorded  by  the  Convention. 

The  reader  who  has  read  Mr.  Madison's  articles  in  the  "Fed 
eralist,"  and  his  speeches  before  the  Virginia  Convention,  in 
favor  of  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution,  will  perhaps  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  he,  too,  made  a  somewhat  similar  mo 
tion.  He  was  not  in  favor,  it  is  true,  of  referring  the  instru 
ment  for  adoption  to  a  General  Convention  of  the  whole  people, 
alone,  but  he  was  in  favor  of  referring  it  to  such  a  Convention, 
in  connection  with  Conventions  to  be  called  by  the  States,  thus 
securing  a  joint  or  double  ratification,  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  aggregate,  and  by  the  States ;  the  effect 
of  which  would  have  been  to  make  the  new  government  a 
still  more  complex  affair,  and  to  muddle  still  further  the  brains 
of  Mr.  Webster  and  Mr.  Justice  Story.  But  this  motion  failed 
also,  and  the  Constitution  was  referred  to  the  States  for 
adoption. 

But  now  a  new  question  arose,  which  was,  whether  the  Con 
stitution  was  to  be  "  ordained  and  established "  by  the  legisla- 


32  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tures  of  the  States,  or  by  the  people  of  the  States  in  Conven 
tion.  All  were  agreed,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  instrument 
should  be  referred  to  the  States.  This  had  been  settled ;  but 
there  were  differences  of  opinion  as  to  how  the  States  should 
act  upon  it.  Some  were  in  favor  of  permitting  each  of  the 
States  to  choose,  for  itself,  how  it  would  ratify  it ;  others  were 
in  favor  of  referring  it  to  the  legislatures,  and  others,  again, 
to  the  people  of  the  States  in  Convention.  It  was  finally  de 
cided  that  it  should  be  referred  to  Conventions  of  the  people, 
in  the  different  States. 

This  being  done,  their  work  was  completed,  and  it  only 
remained  to  refer  the  rough  draft  of  the  instrument  to  the 
"Committee  on  Style,"  to  prune  and  polish  it  a  little  —  to  lop 
off  a  word  here,  and  change  or  add  a  word  there,  the  better  to 
conform  the  language  to  the  sense,  and  to  the  proprieties  of 
grammar  and  rhetoric.  The  Preamble,  as  it  stood,  at  once  pre 
sented  a  difficulty.  All  the  thirteen  States  were  named  in  it 
as  adopting  the  instrument,  but  it  had  been  provided,  in  the 
course  of  its  deliberations  by  the  Convention,  that  the  new 
government  should  go  into  effect  if  nine  States  adopted  it. 
Who  could  tell  which  these  nine  States  would  be  ?  It  was 
plainly  impossible  to  enumerate  all  the  States — for  all  of 
them  might  not  adopt  it — or  any  particular  number  of  them, 
as  adopting  the  instrument. 

Further,  it  having  been  determined,  as  we  have  seen,  that 
the  Constitution  should  be  adopted  by  the  people  of  the  seve 
ral  States,  as  contra-distinguished  from  the  legislatures  of  the 
States,  the  phraseology  of  the  Preamble  must  be  made  to  ex 
press  this  idea  also.  To  meet  these  two  new  demands  upon 
the  phraseology  of  the  instrument,  the  Committee  on  Style 
adopted  the  expression,  "We,  the  people  of  the  United  States," 
—  meaning,  as  every  one  must  see,  "  We,  the  people  of  the  seve 
ral  States  united  by  this  instrument."  And  this  is  the  founda 
tion  that  the  Northern  advocates  of  a  consolidated  government 
build  upon,  when  they  declare  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  the  aggregate,  as  one  nation,  adopted  the  Constitu 
tion,  and  thus  gave  the  fundamental  law  to  the  States,  instead 
of  the  States  giving  it  to  the  Federal  Government. 

It  is  well  known  that  this  phrase,  "  We,  the  people,"  &e.,  be 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        33 

came  a  subject  of  discussion  in  the  Virginia  ratifying  Con 
vention.  Patrick  Henry,  with  the  prevision  of  a  prophet,  was, 
as  we  have  seen,  bitterly  opposed  to  the  adoption  of  the  Con 
stitution.  He  was  its  enemy  a  Toutrance.  Not  having  been  a 
member  of  the  Convention,  of  1787,  that  framed  the  instru 
ment,  and  being  unacquainted  with  the  circumstances  above 
detailed,  relative  to  the  change  which  had  been  made  in  the 
phraseology  of  its  Preamble,  he  attacked  the  Constitution  on 
the  very  ground  since  assumed  by  "Webster  and  Story,  to  wit : 
that  the  instrument  itself  proclaimed  that  it  had  been  "or 
dained  and  established  "  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in 
the  aggregate,  instead  of  the  people  of  the  States.  Mr.  Madi 
son  replied  to  Henry  on  this  occasion.  Madison  had  been  in 
the  Convention,  knew,  of  course,  all  about  the  change  of 
phraseology  in  question,  and  this  was  his  reply :  "  The  parties 
to  it  [the  Constitution]  were  the  people,  but  not  the  people  as 
composing  one  great  society,  but  the  people  as  composing 
thirteen  sovereignties.  If  it  were  a  consolidated  government," 
continued  he,  "the  assent  of  a  majority  of  the  people  would 
be  sufficient  to  establish  it.  But  it  was  to  be  binding  on  the 
people  of  a  State  only  by  their  own  separate  consent."  There 
was,  of  course,  nothing  more  to  be  said,  and  the  Virginia 
Convention  adopted  the  Constitution. 

Madison  has  been  called  the  Father  of  the  Constitution. 
Next  to  him,  Alexander  Hamilton  bore  the  most  conspicuous 
part  in  procuring  it  to  be  adopted  by  the  people.  Hamilton, 
as  is  well  known,  did  not  believe  much  in  republics ;  and 
least  of  all  did  he  believe  in  federal  republics.  His  great 
object  was  to  establish  a  consolidated  republic,  if  we  must 
have  a  republic  at  all.  He  labored  zealously  for  this  pur 
pose,  but  failed.  The  States,  without  an  exception,  were 
in  favor  of  the  federal  form ;  and  no  one  knew  better  than 
Hamilton  the  kind  of  government  which  had  been  estab 
lished. 

Now  let  us  hear  what  Hamilton,  an  unwilling,  but  an  honest 
witness,  says  on  this  subject.  Of  the  eighty-five  articles  in  the 
"Federalist,"  Hamilton  wrote  no  less  than  fifty.  Having  failed 
to  procure  the  establishment  of  a  consolidated  government,  his 
next  great  object  was,  to  procure  the  adoption  by  the  States  of 


34  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  present  Constitution,  and  to  this  task,  accordingly,  he  now 
addressed  his  great  intellect  and  powerful  energies.  In  turn 
ing  over  the  pages  of  the  "Federalist,"  we  can  scarcely  go  amiss 
in  quoting  Hamilton,  to  the  point  that  the  Constitution  is  a 
compact  between  the  States,  and  not  an  emanation  from  the  peo 
ple  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate.  Let  us  take  up  the 
final  article,  for  instance,  the  85th.  In  this  article  we  find  the 
following  expressions :  "  The  compacts  which  are  to  embrace 
thirteen  distinct  States  in  a  common  bond  of  amity  and  Union, 
must  necessarily  be  compromises  of  as  many  dissimilar  inter 
ests  and  inclinations."  Again :  "  The  moment  an  alteration  is 
made  in  the  present  plan,  it  becomes,  to  the  purpose  of  adop 
tion,  a  new  one,  and  must  undergo  a  new  decision  of  each  State. 
To  its  complete  establishment  throughout  the  Union,  it  will, 
therefore,  require  the  concurrence  of  thirteen  States." 

And  again  :  "  Every  Constitution  for  the  United  States  must, 
inevitably,  consist  of  a  great  variety  of  particulars,  in  which 
thirteen  Independent  States  are  to  be  accommodated  in  their 
interests,  or  opinions  of  interests.  *  *  *  Hence  the  necessity 
of  moulding  and  arranging  all  the  particulars  which  are  to 
compose  the  whole  in  such  a  manner  as  to  satisfy  all  the 
parties  to  the  compact."  Thus,  we  do  not  hear  Hamilton,  any 
more  than  Madison,  talking  of  a  "  people  of  the  United  States 
in  the  aggregate"  as  having  anything  to  do  with  the  formation 
of  the  new  charter  of  government.  He  speaks  only  of  States, 
and  of  compacts  made  or  to  be  made  by  States. 

In  view  of  the  great  importance  of  the  question,  whether  it 
was  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate  who 
"ordained  and  established"  the  Constitution,  or  the  States,— 
for  this,  indeed,  is  the  whole  gist  of  the  controversy  between 
the  North  and  South, —  I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  on 
the  subject,  and  had  recourse  to  contemporaneous  history ;  but 
this  was  scarcely  necessary.  The  Constitution  itself  settles  the 
whole  controversy.  The  7th  article  of  that  instrument  reads 
as  follows  :  "  The  ratification  of  the  Conventions  of  nine  States 
shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  the  Constitution 
between  the  States  so  ratifying  the  same."  How  is  it  possible 
to  reconcile  this  short,  explicit,  and  unambiguous  provision 
with  the  theory  I  am  combating  ?  The  Preamble,  as  explained 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        35 

by  the  Northern  consolidationists,  and  this  article,  cannot  pos 
sibly  stand  together.  It  is  not  possible  that  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  aggregate,  as  one  nation,  "  ordained  and 
established"  the  Constitution,  and  that  the  States  ordained  and 
established  it  at  the  same  time ;  for  there  was  but  one  set  of 
Conventions  called,  and  these  Conventions  were  called  by  the 
States,  and  acted  in  the  names  of  the  States. 

Mr.  Madison  did,  indeed,  endeavor  to  have  the  ratification 
made  in  both  modes,  but  his  motion  in  the  Convention  to  this 
effect  failed,  as  we  have  seen.  Further,  how  could  the  Consti 
tution  be  binding  only  between  the  States  that  ratified  it, 
if  it  was  not  ratified — that  is,  not  "ordained  and  established" 
— by  them  at  all,  but  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in 
the  aggregate?  As  remarked  by  Mr.  Madison,  in  the  Virginia 
Convention,  a  ratification  by  the  people,  in  the  sense  in  which 
this  term  is  used  by  the  Northern  consolidationists,  would 
have  bound  all  the  people,  and  there  would  have  been  no 
option  left  the  dissenting  States.  But  the  7th  article  says  that 
they  shall  have  an  option,  and  that  the  instrument  is  to  be 
binding  only  between  such  of  them  as  ratify  it. 

With  all  due  deference,  then,  to  others  who  have  written 
upon  this  vexed  question,  and  who  have  differed  from  me  in 
opinion,  I  must  insist  that  the  proof  is  conclusive  that  the 
Constitution  is  a  compact  between  the  States ;  and  this  being 
so,  we  have  the  admission  of  both  Mr.  Webster  and  Justice 
Story  that  any  one  of  the  States  may  withdraw  from  it  at 
pleasure. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FROM  THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  FEDERAL  GOVERNMENT 
DOWN  TO  1830,  BOTH  THE  NORTH  AND  THE  SOUTH 
HELD  THE  CONSTITUTION  TO  BE  A  COMPACT  BETWEEN 
THE  STATES. 

ONE  of  the  great  difficulties  in  arguing  the  question  of  the 
relative  power  of  the  States  and  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  consists  in  the  fact  that  the  present  generation  has 
grown  up  under  the  shadow  of  the  great  Federal  monster,  and 
has  been  blinded  by  its  giant  proportions.  They  see  around 
them  all  the  paraphernalia  and  power  of  a  great  government  — 
its  splendid  capital,  its  armies,  its  fleets,  its  Chief  Magistrate, 
its  legislature,  and  its  judiciary — and  they  find  it  difficult  to 
realize  the  fact,  that  all  this  grandeur  is  not  self-created,  but 
the  offspring  of  the  States. 

When  our  late  troubles  were  culminating,  men  were  heard 
frequently  to  exclaim,  with  plaintive  energy,  "  What  I  have 
we  no  government  capable  of  preserving  itself?  Is  our 
Government  a  mere  rope  of  sand,  that  may  be  destroyed  at  the 
will  of  the  States  ?"  These  men  seemed  to  think  that  there 
was  but  one  government  to  be  preserved,  and  that  that  was 
the  Government  of  the  United  States.  Less  than  a  century 
had  elapsed  since  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  and  the 
generation  now  on  the  theatre  of  events  had  seemingly  for 
gotten,  that  the  magnificent  structure,  which  they  contemplated 
with  so  much  admiration,  was  but  a  creature  of  the  States  ;  that 
it  had  been  made  by  them  for  their  convenience,  and  neces 
sarily  held  the  tenure  of  its  life  at  sufferance.  They  lost  sight 
of  the  fact  that  the  State  governments,  who  were  the  creators 
of  the  Federal  Government,  were  the  governments  to  be  pre 
served,  if  there  should  be  any  antagonism  between  them  and 
the  Federal  Government ;  and  that  their  services,  as  well  as 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  37 

their  sympathies,  belonged  to  the  former  in  preference  to  the 
latter.  What  with  the  teachings  of  Webster  and  Story,  and  a 
host  of  satellites,  the  dazzling  splendor  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  and  the  overshadowing  and  corrupting  influences  of  its 
power,  nearly  a  whole  generation  in  the  North  had  grown  up 
in  ignorance  of  the  true  nature  of  the  institutions,  under  which 
they  lived. 

This  change  in  the  education  of  the  people  had  taken  place 
since  about  the  year  1830 ;  for,  up  to  that  time,  both  of  the 
great  political  parties  of  the  country,  the  Whigs  as  well  as 
the  Democrats,  had  been  State%Rights  in  doctrine.  A  very 
common  error  has  prevailed  on  this  subject.  It  has  been  said, 
that  the  North  and  the  South  have  always  been  widely  sepa 
rated  in  their  views  of  the  Constitution;  that  the  men  of  the 
North  have  always  been  consolidationists,  whilst  the  men  of  the 
South  have  been  secessionists.  Nothing  can  be  farther  from  the 
truth.  Whilst  the  North  and  the  South,  from  the  very  com 
mencement  of  the  Government,  have  been  at  swords'  points,  on 
many  questions  of  mere  construction  and  policy, — the  North 
claiming  that  more  ample  powers  had  been  granted  the  Federal 
Government,  than  the  South  was  willing  to  concede, —  there 
never  was  any  material  difference  between  them  down  to  the  year 
1830,  as  to  the  true  nature  of  their  Government.  They  all  held 
it  to  be  a  federal  compact,  and  the  Northern  people  were  as  jeal 
ous  of  the  rights  of  their  States  under  it,  as  the  Southern  people. 

In  proof  of  this,  I  have  only  to  refer  to  a  few  of  the  well- 
known  facts  of  our  political  history.  Thomas  Jefferson  penned 
the  famous  Kentucky  Eesolutions  of  '98  and  '99.  The  first  of 
those  resolutions  is  in  these  words:  "Resolved,  That  the  seve 
ral  States  comprising  the  United  States  of  America  are  not 
united  on  the  principles  of  unlimited  submission  to  their  gen 
eral  Government;  but  that  by  a  compact,  under  the  style  and 
title  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  of  amend 
ments  thereto,  they  constitute  a  general  Government  for  special 
purposes;  and  that  whensoever  the  general  Government 
assumes  undelegated  powers,  its  acts  are  unauthoritative,  void 
and  of  no  force;  that  to  this  compact  each  State  acceded  as  a 
State,  and  is  an  integral  party,  its  co-States  forming,  as  to  itself, 
the  other  party;  that  the  government  created  by  this  compact 


38  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

was  not  made  the  exclusive  or  final  judge  of  the  extent  of 
the  powers  delegated  to  itself,  since  that  would  have  made 
its  discretion,  not  the  Constitution,  the  measure  of  its  powers; 
but  that,  as  in  all  cases  of  compact  among  persons  having 
no  common  judge,  each  party  has  an  equal  right  to  judge 
for  itself,  as  well  of  infractions,  as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of 
redress." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  quote  the  other  resolution,  as  the  above 
contains  all  that  is  sufficient  for  my  purpose,  which  is  to  show 
that  Mr.  Jefferson  was  a  secessionist,  and  that  with  this  record 
he  went  before  the  American  people  as  a  candidate  for  the  Pre 
sidency,  with  the  following  results:  In  1800  he  beat  his  oppo 
nent,  John  Adams,  who  represented  the  consolidationists  of 
that  day,  by  a  majority  of  8  votes  in  the  Electoral  College. 
In  1804,  being  a  candidate  for  re-election,  he  beat  his  opponent 
by  the  overwhelming  majority  of  162,  to  14  votes.  In  the 
Northern  States  alone,  Mr.  Jefferson  received  85  votes,  whilst 
in  the  same  States  his  opponent  received  but  9.  This  was 
a  pretty  considerable  indorsement  of  secession  by  the  North 
ern  States. 

In  1808,  Mr.  Madison,  who  penned  the  Virginia  Eesolutions 
of  '98,  similar  in  tenor  to  the  Kentucky  Resolutions,  became 
a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  beat  his  opponent  by  a 
vote  of  122  to  47;  the  Northern  majority,  though  somewhat 
diminished,  being  still  50  to  39  votes.  Mr.  Madison  was  re- 
elected  in  1812,  and  in  1816,  James  Monroe  was  elected  Presi 
dent  by  a  vote  of  183  to  his  opponent's  34;  and  more  than 
one  half  of  these  183  votes  came  from  the  Northern  States. 
In  1820,  Mr.  Monroe  was  re-elected  over  John  Quincy  Adams, 
of  Massachusetts,  by  a  majority  of  231  votes  to  13.  Besides 
Monroe  and  Adams,  Crawford  and  Jackson  were  also  candi 
dates,  but  these  two  latter  received  only  11  votes  between 
them.  This  last  election  is  especially  remarkable,  as  showing 
that  there  was  no  opposition  to  Jefferson's  doctrine  of  State- 
Rights,  since  all  the  candidates  were  of  that  creed.  The 
opposition  had  been  so  often  defeated,  and  routed  in  former 
elections,  that  they  had  not  strength  enough  left  to  put  a  can 
didate  in  the  field. 

John  Quincy  Adams  succeeded  Mr.  Monroe,  and  his  State- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        39 

Rights  doctrines  are  well  known.  He  expressed  them  as  fol 
lows:  "The  indissoluble  link  of  union  between  the  people  of 
the  several  States  of  this  confederated  nation,  is,  after  all,  not 
in  the  right,  but  in  the  heart.  If  the  day  should  ever  come 
(may  heaven  avert  it)  when  the  affections  of  the  people  of  these 
States  shall  be  alienated  from  each  other;  when  the  fraternal 
spirit  shall  give  way  to  cold  indifference,  or  collision  of  interests 
shall  fester  into  hatred,  the  bands  of  political  association  will 
not  long  hold  together  parties,  no  longer  attracted  by  the  magne 
tism  of  conciliated  interests,  and  kindly  sympathies ;  and  far 
better  will  it  be  for  the  people  of  the  dis-united  States  to  part  in 
friendship  with  each  other,  than  to  be  held  together  by  constraint. 
Then  will  be  the  time  for  reverting  to  the  precedents,  which 
occurred  at  the  formation,  and  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  to 
form  again  a  more  perfect  union,  by  dissolving  that  which 
could  no  longer  bind,  and  to  leave  the  separated  parts  to  be 
reunited  by  the  law  of  political  gravitation  to  the  centre." 

General  Jackson  succeeded  Mr.  Adams  in  1828,  and  was  re- 
elected  in  1832.  It  was  during  his  administration  that  the  heresy 
was  first  promulgated  by  Mr.  Webster,  that  the  Constitution 
was  not  a  compact  between  the  States,  but  an  instrument  of 
government,  "  ordained,  and  established,"  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  the  aggregate,  as  one  nation.  With  respect 
to  the  New  England  States  in  particular,  there  is  other  and 
more  pointed  evidence,  that  they  agreed  with  Mr.  Jefferson, 
and  the  South  down  to  the  year  1830,  on  this  question  of 
State  rights,  than  is  implied  in  the  Presidential  elections  above 
quoted.  Massachusetts,  the  leader  of  these  States  in  intellect, 
and  in  energy,  impatient  of  control  herself,  has  always  sought 
to  control  others.  This  was,  perhaps,  but  natural.  All  man 
kind  are  prone  to  consult  their  own  interests.  Selfishness, 
unfortunately,  is  one  of  the  vices  of  our  nature,  which  few 
are  found  capable  of  struggling  against  effectually. 

The  New  England  people  were  largely  imbued  with  the 
Puritan  element.  Their  religious  doctrines  gave  them  a 
gloomy  asceticism  of  character,  and  an  intolerance  of  other 
men's  opinions  quite  remarkable.  In  their  earlier  history  as 
colonists,  there  is  much  in  the  way  of  uncharitableness  and 
persecution,  which  a  liberal  mind  could  wish  to  see  blotted 


40  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

out.  True  to  these  characteristics,  which  I  may  almost  call 
instincts,  the  New  England  States  have  always  been  the  most 
refractory  States  of  the  Union.  As  long  as  they  were  in  a 
minority,  and  hopeless  of  the  control  of  the  Government,  they 
stood  strictly  on  their  State  rights,  in  resisting  such  measures 
as  were  unpalatable  to  them,  even  to  the  extremity  of  threat 
ening  secession ;  and  it  was  only  when  they  saw  that  the  tables 
were  turned,  and  that  it  was  possible  for  them  to  seize  the 
reins  of  the  Government,  that  they  abandoned  their  State- 
Rights  doctrines,  and  became  consolidationists. 

One  of  the  first  causes  of  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  New 
England  States  with  the  General  Government  was  the  purchase 
of  Louisiana,  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  1803.  It  arose  out  of  their 
jealousy  of  the  balance  of  power  between  the  States.  The 
advantages  to  result  to  the  United  States  from  the  purchase 
of  this  territory  were  patent  to  every  one.  It  completed  the 
continuity  of  our  territory,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  to  the  sea,  and  unlocked  the  mouths  of  that  great  river. 
But  Massachusetts  saw  in  the  purchase,  nothing  more  than  the 
creation  of  additional  Southern  States,  to  contest,  with  her,  the 
future  control  of  the  Government.  She  could  see  no  authority 
for  it  in  the  Constitution,  and  she  threatened,  that  if  it  were 
consummated,  she  would  secede  from  the  Union.  Her  Legis 
lature  passed  the  following  resolution  on  the  subject:  "Re 
solved,  That  the  annexation  of  Louisiana  to  the  Union,  tran 
scends  the  Constitutional  power  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States.  It  formed  a  new  Confederacy,  to  which  the 
States  [not  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  aggregate] 
united  by  the  former  compact,  are  not  bound  to  adhere." 

This  purchase  of  Louisiana  rankled,  for  a  long  time,  in  the 
breast  of  New  England.  It  was  made,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
1803,  and  in  1811  the  subject  again  came  up  for  considera 
tion  ;  this  time,  in  the  shape  of  a  bill  before  Congress  for  the 
admission  of  Louisiana  "as  a  State.  One  of  the  most  able  and 
influential  members  of  Congress  of  that  day  from  Massachu 
setts  was  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy.  In  a  speech  on  this  bill,  that 
gentlemen  uttered  the  following  declaration:  "If  this  bill 
passes,  it  is  my  deliberate  opinion  that  it  is  virtually  a  disso 
lution  of  the  Union ;  that  it  will  free  the  States  from  their 
moral  obligation,  and  as  it  will  be  the  right  of  all,  so  it  will 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        41 

be  the  duty  of  some  definitely  to  prepare  for  separation,  ami 
cably  if  they  can,  violently  if  they  must." 

Time  passed  on,  and  the  difficulties  which  led  to  our  War  of 
1812,  with  Great  Britain,  began  to  rise  above  the  political  hori 
zon.  Great  Britain  began  to  impress  seamen  from  New  Eng 
land  merchant  ships,  and  even  went  so  far,  at  last,  as  to  take 
some  enlisted  men  from  on  board  the  United  States  ship  of 
war  Chesapeake.  Massachusetts  was  furious ;  she  insisted 
that  war  should  be  declared  forthwith  against  Great  Britain. 
The  Southern  States,  which  had  comparatively  little  interest 
in  this  matter,  except  so  far  as  the  federal  honor  was  con 
cerned,  came  generously  to  the  rescue  of  the  shipping  States, 
and  war  was  declared.  But  the  first  burst  of  her  passion 
having  spent  itself,  Massachusetts  found  that  she  had  been 
indiscreet ;  her  shipping  began  to  suffer  more  than  she  had 
anticipated,  and  she  began  now  to  cry  aloud  as  one  in  pain. 
She  denounced  the  war,  and  the  Administration  which  was  car 
rying  it  on ,  and  not  content  with  this,  in  connection  with 
other  New  England  States,  she  organized  a  Convention,  at 
Hartford,  in  Connecticut,  with  a  view  to  adopt  some  ulterior 
measures.  We  find  the  following  among  the  records  of  that 
Convention:  "Events  may  prove,  that  the  causes  of  our  calami 
ties  are  deep,  and  permanent.  They  may  be  found  to  proceed 
not  merely  from  blindness  of  prejudice,  pride  of  opinion,  vio 
lence  of  party  spirit,  or  the  confusion  of  the  times ;  but  they 
may  be  traced  to  implacable  combinations,  of  individuals,  or 
of  States,  to  monopolize  office,  and  to  trample,  without  remorse, 
upon  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  commercial  sections  of  the 
Union.  Whenever  it  shall  appear,  that  these  causes  are  radi 
cal,  and  permanent,  a  separation  by  equitable  arrangement,  will 
be  preferable  to  an  alliance,  by  constraint,  among  nominal  friends 
but  real  enemies,  inflamed  by  mutual  hatred,  and  jealousy,  and 
inviting,  by  intestine  divisions,  contempt  and  aggressions  from 
abroad."  Having  recorded  this  opinion  of  what  should  be  the 
policy  of  the  New  England  States,  in  the  category  mentioned, 
the  "Journal  of  the  Convention"  goes  on  to  declare  what  it  con 
siders  the  right  of  the  States,  in  the  premises.  "  That  acts  of 
Congress,  in  violation  of  the  Constitution,  are  absolutely  void, 
is  an  indisputable  position.  It  does  not,  however,  consist 
with  the  respect,  from  a  Confederate  State  toward  the  General 


42  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Government,  to  fly  to  open  resistance,  upon  every  infraction 
of  the  Constitution.  The  mode,  and  the  energy  of  the  opposi 
tion  should  always  conform  to  the  nature  of  the  violation,  the 
intention  of  the  authors,  the  extent  of  the  evil  inflicted,  the 
determination  manifested  to  persist  in  it,  and  the  danger  of 
delay.  But  in  case  of  deliberate,  dangerous,  and  palpable 
infractions  of  the  Constitution,  affecting  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State,  and  liberties  of  the  people,  it  is  not  only  the  right,  but 
the  duty,  of  each  State  to  interpose  its  authority  for  their  protec 
tion,  in  the  manner  best  calculated  to  secure  that  end.  When 
emergencies  occur,  which  are  either  beyond  the  reach  of  judi 
cial  tribunals,  or  too  pressing  to  admit  of  the  delay  incident  to 
their  forms,  States,  which  have  no  common  umpire,  must  be 
their  own  judges,  and  execute  their  own  decisions"  These  pro 
ceedings  took  place  in  January,  1815.  A  deputation  was 
appointed  to  lay  the  complaints  of  New  England  before  the 
Federal  Government,  and  there  is  no  predicting  what  might 
have  occurred,  if  the  delegates  had  not  found,  that  peace  had 
been  declared,  when  they  arrived  at  Washington. 

It  thus  appears,  that  from  1803-4  to  1815,  New  England 
was  constantly  in  the  habit  of  speaking  of  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union  —  her  leading  men  deducing  this  right  from  the 
nature  of  the  compact  between  the  States.  It  is  curious  and 
instructive,  and  will  well  repay  the  perusal,  to  read  the  "  Jour 
nal  of  the  Hartford  Convention,"  so  replete  is  it  with  sound 
constitutional  doctrine.  It  abounds  in  such  expressions  as 
these :  "  The  constitutional  compact ;"  "  It  must  be  the  duty  of 
the  State  to  watch  over  the  rights  reserved,  as  of  the  United 
States  to  exercise  the  powers  which  were  delegated;"  the  right  of 
conscription  is  "  not  delegated  to  Congress  by  the  Constitution, 
and  the  exercise  of  it  would  not  be  less  dangerous  to  their 
liberties,  than  hostile  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  States"  The 
odium  wrhich  has  justly  fallen  upon  the  Hartford  Convention, 
has  not  been  because  of  its  doctrines,  for  these  were  as  sound, 
as  we  have  seen,  as  the  Virginia  and  Kentucky  Resolutions  of 
'98  and  '99,  but  because  it  was  a  secret  conclave,  gotten  toge 
ther,  in  a  time  of  war,  when  the  country  was  hard  pressed  by 
a  foreign  enemy ;  the  war  having,  in  fact,  been  undertaken  for 
the  benefit  of  the  very  shipping  States  which  were  threatening 
to  dissolve  the  Union  on  account  of  it. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        43 

Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams,  the  sixth  President  of  the  United 
States,  himself,  as  is  well  known,  a  Massachusetts  man,  speak 
ing  of  this  dissatisfaction  of  the  New  England  States  with  the 
Federal  Government,  says:  "That  their  object  was,  and  had 
been,  for  several  years,  a  dissolution  of  the  Union  and  the 
establishment  of  a  separate  Confederation,  he  knew  from  une 
quivocal  evidence,  although  not  provable  in  a  court  of  law ; 
and  that  in  case  of  a  civil  war,  the  aid  of  Great  Britain,  to 
effect  that  purpose,  would  be  assuredly  resorted  to,  as  it  would 
be  indispensably  necessary  to  their  design."  See  Mr.  Adams' 
letter  of  Dec.  30th,  1828,  in  reply  to  Harrison  Gray  Otis  and 
others. 

We  have  thus  seen,  that  for  forty  years,  or  from  the  founda 
tion  of  the  Federal  Government,  to  1830,  there  was  no  material 
difference  of  opinion  between  the  sections,  as  to  the  nature  of 
the  league  or  compact  of  government  which  they  had  formed. 
There  was  this  difference  between  the  sections,  however.  The 
South,  during  this  entire  period  of  forty  years,  had  substan 
tially  controlled  the  Government ;  not  by  force,  it  is  true,  of 
her  own  majorities,  but  with  the  aid  of  a  few  of  the  Northern 
States.  She  was  the  dominant  or  ruling  power  in  the  Govern 
ment.  During  all  this  time,  she  conscientiously  adhered  to  her 
convictions,  and  respected  the  rights  of  the  minority,  though 
she  might  have  wielded  her  power,  if  she  had  been  so  inclined, 
to  her  own  advantage. 

Constitutions  are  made  for  the  protection  of  minorities,  and 
she  scrupulously  adhered  to  this  idea.  Minorities  naturally 
cling  to  the  guarantees  and  defences  provided  for  them  in  the 
fundamental  law  ;  it  is  only  when  they  become  strong,  when 
they  throw  off  their  pupilage,  and  become  majorities,  that  their 
principles  and  their  virtues  are  really  tested.  It  is  in  politics, 
as  in  religion  —  the  weaker  party  is  always  the  tolerant  party. 
Did  the  North  follow  this  example  set  her  by  the  South  ?  No ; 
the  moment  she  became  strong  enough,  she  recanted  all  the 
doctrines  under  which  she  had  sought  shelter,  tore  the  Consti 
tution  into  fragments,  scattered  it  to  the  winds ;  and  finally, 
when  the  South  threw  herself  on  the  defensive,  as  Massachu 
setts  had  threatened  to  do,  in  1803  and  1815,  she  subjugated  her. 

What  was  the  powerful  motive  which  thus  induced  the 
North  to  overthrow  the  government  which  it  had  labored  so 


44  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

assiduously  with  the  South  to  establish,  and  which  it  had  con 
strued  in  common  with  the  South,  for  the  period  of  forty  years? 
It  was  the  motive  which  generally  influences  human  conduct; 
it  was  the  same  motive  which  Patrick  Henry  had  so  clearly 
foreseen,  when  he  warned  the  people  of  Virginia  against  enter 
ing  into  the  federal  compact ;  telling  them,  that  interested 
majorities  never  had,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  never 
would  respect  the  rights  of  minorities. 

The  great  "American  System,"  as  it  has  been  called,  had  in 
the  meantime  arisen,  championed  by  no  less  a  personage  than 
Henry  Clay  of  Kentucky.  In  1824,  and  again  in  1828,  op 
pressive  tariffs  had  been  enacted  for  the  protection  of  New 
England  manufacturers.  The  North  was  manufacturing,  the 
South  non-manufacturing.  The  effect  of  these  tariffs  was  to 
shut  out  all  foreign  competition,  and  compel  the  Southern  con 
sumer  to  pay  two  prices  for  all  the  textile  fabrics  he  consumed, 
from  the  clothing  of  his  negroes  to  his  own  broadcloth  coats. 
So  oppressive,  unjust,  and  unconstitutional  were  these  acts 
considered,  that  South  Carolina  nullified  them  in  1830.  Imme 
diately  all  New  England  was  arrayed  against  South  Carolina. 
An  entire  and  rapid  change  took  place  in  the  political  creed 
of  that  section.  New  England  orators  and  jurists  rose  up  to 
proclaim  that  the  Constitution  was  not  a  compact  between  the 
States.  Webster  thundered  in  the  Senate,  and  Story  wrote 
his  "  Commentaries  on  the  Constitution."  These  giants  had  a 
herculean  task  before  them ;  nothing  less  than  the  falsifying 
of  the  whole  political  history  of  the  country,  for  the  previous 
forty  years ;  but  their  barren  and  inhospitable  section  of  the 
country  had  been  touched  by  the  enchanter's  wand,  and  its 
rocky  hills,  and  sterile  fields,  incapable  of  yielding  even  a 
scanty  subsistence  to  its  numerous  population,  were  to  become 
glad  with  the  music  of  the  spindle  and  the  shuttle;  and  the 
giants  undertook  the  task !  How  well  they  have  accomplished 
it,  the  reader  will  see,  in  the  course  of  these  pages,  when, 
toward  the  conclusion  of  my  narrative,  he  will  be  called  upon 
to  view  the  fragments  of  the  grand  old  Constitution,  which  has 
been  shattered,  and  which  will  lie  in  such  mournful  profusion 
around  him ;  the  monuments  at  once  of  the  folly  and  crimes 
of  a  people,  who  have  broken  up  a  government — a  free  govern 
ment — which  might  else  have  endured  for  centuries. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WAS    SECESSION    TREASON? 

A  FEW  more  words,  and  we  shall  be  in  a  condition  to 
answer  the  question  which  stands  at  the  head  of  this  chap 
ter.  Being  a  legal  question,  it  will  depend  entirely  upon  the 
constitutional  right  the  Southern  States  may  have  had  to 
withdraw  from  the  Union,  without  reference  to  considerations 
of  expediency,  or  of  moral  right ;  these  latter  will  be  more 
appropriately  considered,  when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  causes 
which  impelled  the  Southern  States  to  the  step.  I  have  com 
bated  many  of  the  arguments  presented  by  the  other  side,  but 
a  few  others  remain  to  be  noticed. 

It  has  been  said,  that,  admitting  that  the  Constitution  was  a 
federal  compact,  yet  the  States  did  in  fact  cede  away  a  part  of 
their  sovereignty,  and  from  this  the  inference  has  been  deduced, 
that  they  no  longer  remained  sovereign  for  the  purpose  of 
recalling  the  part,  which  had  been  ceded  away.  This  is  a 
question  which  arises  wholly  under  the  laws  of  nations.  It  is 
admitted,  that  the  States  were  independent  sovereignties,  before 
they  formed  the  Constitution.  We  have  only,  therefore,  to 
consult  the  international  code,  to  ascertain  to  what  extent  the 
granting  away  of  a  portion  of  their  sovereignty  affected  the 
remainder.  Vattel,  treating  of  this  identical  point,  speaks  as 
follows :  ''  Several  sovereign  and  independent  States  may  unite 
themselves  together  by  a  perpetual  confederacy,  without  ceas 
ing  to  be,  each  individually,  a  perfect  State.  They  will,  to 
gether,  constitute  a  federal  republic ;  their  joint  deliberations 
will  not  impair  the  sovereignty  of  each  member,  though  they 
may,  in  certain  respects,  put  some  restraint  upon  the  exercise  of  it} 
in  virtue  of  voluntary  engagements."  That  was  just  what  the 
American  States  did,  when  they  formed  the  Federal  Constitu- 

45 


46  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tion ;  they  put  some  voluntary  restraint  upon  their  sovereignty, 
for  the  furtherance  of  a  common  object. 

If  they  are  restrained,  by  the  Constitution,  from  doing  certain 
things,  the  restraint  was  self-imposed,  for  it  was  they  who 
ordained,  and  established  the  instrument,  and  not  a  common 
superior.  They,  each,  agreed  that  they  would  forbear  to  do 
certain  things,  if  their  copartners  would  forbear  to  do  the  same 
things.  As  plain  as  this  seems,  no  less  an  authority  than  that 
of  Mr.  Webster  has  denied  it ;  for,  in  his  celebrated  argument 
against  Mr.  Calhoun,  already  referred  to,  he  triumphantly 
exclaimed,  that  the  States  were  not  sovereign,  because  they  were 
restrained  of  a  portion  of  their  liberty  by  the  Constitution.  See 
how  he  perverts  the  whole  tenor  of  the  instrument,  in  his 
endeavor  to  build  up  those  manufactories  of  which  we  spoke 
in  the  last  chapter.  He  says :  "  However  men  may  think  this 
ought  to  be,  the  fact  is,  that  the  people  of  the  United  /States  have 
chosen  to  impose  control  on  State  sovereignty.  There  are  those, 
doubtless,  who  wish  that  they  had  been  left  without  restraint ; 
but  the  Constitution  has  ordered  the  matter  differently.  To 
make  war,  for  instance,  is  an  exercise  of  sovereignty,  but,  the 
Constitution  declares  that  no  State  shall  declare  war.  To  coin 
money  is  another  act  of  sovereign  power ;  but  no  State  is  at 
liberty  to  coin  money.  Again,  the  Constitution  says,  that  no 
sovereign  State  shall  be  so  sovereign,  as  to  make  a  treaty. 
These  prohibitions,  it  must  be  confessed,  are  a  control  on  the 
State  sovereignty  of  South  Carolina,  as  well  as  of  the  other 
States,  which  does  not  arise  from  her  feelings  of  honorable 
justice." 

Here  we  see,  plainly,  the  germ  of  the  monstrous  heresy  that 
has  riven  the  States  asunder,  in  our  day.  The  "  people  of  the 
United  States,"  a  common  superior,  ordained  and  established 
the  Constitution,  says  Mr.  Webster,  and  imposed  restraints 
upon  the  States !  However  some  might  wish  they  had  been 
left  without  restraint,  the  Constitution  has  "  ordained  it  differ 
ently  ! "  And  the  ostrich  stomach  of  the  North  received,  and 
digested  this  monstrous  perversion  of  the  plainest  historical 
truth,  in  order  that  the  spindle  might  whirr  on,  and  the  shuttle 
dance  from  side  to  side  of  the  loom. 

Following  the  idea  of  Mr.  Webster,  that  the  people  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         47 

United  States  gave  constitutional  law  to  the  States,  instead  of 
receiving  it  from  them,  Northern  writers  frequently  ask,  in 
what  part  of  the  Constitution's  the  doctrine  of  secession  found? 
In  no  part.  It  was  not  necessary  to  put  it  there.  The  States 
who  formed  the  instrument,  delegated  certain  powers  to  the 
Federal  Government,  retaining  all  others.  Did  they  part,  with 
the  right  of  secession?  Could  they  have  parted  with  it,  with 
out  consenting  to  a  merger  of  their  sovereignty  ?  And  so  far 
from  doing  this,  we  have  seen  with  what  jealous  care  they  pro 
tested  against  even  the  implication  of  such  a  merger,  in  the» 
10th  amendment  to  the  Constitution.  If  the  power  was  not 
parted  with,  by  explicit  grant,  did  it  not  remain  to  them,  even 
before  the  10th  amendment  was  adopted,  and  still  more,  if 
possible,  after  it  was  adopted  ? 

To  make  it  still  more  apparent,  that  the  common  under 
standing  among  the  Fathers  of  the  Constitution  was,  that  this 
right  of  secession  was  reserved,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to 
what  took  place,  during  the  transition  from  the  old  to  the  new 
government.  The  thirteen  original  States  seceded,  as  we  have 
seen,  from  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  not  unanimously,  or 
all  together,  but  one  by  one,  each  State  acting  for  itself,  with 
out  consulting  the  interests,  or  inclinations  of  the  others.  One 
of  the  provisions  of  those  Articles  was  as  follows :  "  Every 
State  shall  abide  by  the  determination  of  the  United  States, 
in  Congress  assembled,  in  all  questions,  which,  by  this  Con 
federation,  are  submitted  to  them ;  and  the  Articles  of  this 
Confederation  shall  be  inviolably  observed  by  every  State,  and 
the  Union  shall  be  perpetual ;  nor  shall  any  alteration,  at  any 
time  hereafter,  be  made  in  any  of  them,  unless  such  alteration 
be  agreed  to,  in  a  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  after 
ward  confirmed  by  the  legislature  of  every  State" 

Now,  it  is  a  pertinent,  and  instructive  fact,  that  no  similar 
provision  of  perpetuity  was  engrafted  in  the  new  Constitution. 
There  must  have  been  a  motive  for  this  —  it  could  not  have 
been  a  mere  accidental  omission  —  and  the  motive  probably 
was,  that  the  Convention  of  1787  were  ashamed  to  attempt,  a 
second  time,  to  bind  sovereign  States,  by  a  rope  of  sand,  which 
they,  themselves,  were  in  the  act  of  pulling  asunder.  It  was  in 
accordance  with  this  understanding,  that  both  New  York  and 
4 


48  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Virginia,  in  their  ratifications  of  the  new  Constitution,  expressly 
reserved  to  themselves  the  right  of  secession ;  and  no  objection 
was  made  to  such  conditional  ratifications.  The  reservations 
made  by  these  States  enure,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  the  benefit 
of  all  the  States,  as  they  were  all  to  go  into  the  new  Union,  on 
precisely  the  same  footing. 

In  the  extract  from  Mr.  Webster's  speech,  which  has  been 
given  above,  it  is  alleged  among  other  things,  that  the  States 
are  not  sovereign,  because  they  cannot  make  treaties  ;  and  this 
disability  also  has  been  urged  as  an  argument  against  seces 
sion.  The  disability,  like  others,  was  self-imposed,  and,  as  any 
one  may  see,  was  intended  to  be  binding  on  the  States  only  so 
long  as  the  contract  which  they  were  then  forming  should 
endure.  The  Confederate  States  respected  this  obligation 
while  they  remained  in  the  Federal  Union.  They  scrupu 
lously  forbore  from  contracting  with  each  other  until  they  had 
resumed,  each  for  itself,  their  original  sovereignty ;  they  were 
then  not  only  free  to  contract  with  each  other,  but  to  do  and 
perform  all  the  other  acts  enumerated  by  Mr.  Webster ;  the 
act  of  declaring  war  included,  even  though  this  war  should  be 
against  their  late  confederates. 

The  truth  is,  the  more  we  sift  these  arguments  of  our  late 
enemies,  the  less  real  merit  there  appears  in  them.  The  facts 
of  history  are  too  stubborn,  and  refuse  to  be  bent  to  conform 
to  the  new  doctrines.  We  see  it  emblazoned  on  every  page 
of  American  history  for  forty  years,  that  the  Constitution  was 
a  compact  between  the  States ;  that  the  Federal  Government 
was  created,  by,  and  for  the  benefit  of  the  States,  and  possessed 
and  could  possess  no  other  power  than  such  as  was  conferred 
upon  it  by  the  States ;  that  the  States  reserved  to  themselves 
all  the  powers  not  granted,  and  that  they  took  especial  pains 
to  guard  their  sovereignty,  in  terms,  by  an  amendment  to  the 
Constitution,  lest,  by  possibility,  their  intentions  in  the  forma 
tion  of  the  new  government,  should  be  misconstrued. 

In  the  course  of  time  this  government  is  perverted  from  its 
original  design.  Instead  of  remaining  the  faithful  and  impar 
tial  agent  of  all  the  States,  a  faction  obtains  control  of  it,  in 
the  interests  of  some  of  them,  and  turns  it,  as  an  engine  of 
oppression,  against  the  others.  These  latter,  after  long  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        49 

patient  suffering,  after  having  exhausted  all  their  means  of 
nefence,  within  the  Union,  withdraw  from  the  agent  the  powers 
which  they  had  conferred  upon  him,  form  a  new  Confederacy, 
and  desire  "  to  be  let  alone."  And  what  is  the  consequence  ? 
They  are  denounced  as  rebels  and  traitors,  armies  are  equipped, 
and  fleets  provided,  and  a  war  of  subjugation  is  waged  against 
them.  What  says  the  reader?  Does  he  see  rebellion  and 
treason  lurking  in  the  conduct  of  these  States  ?  Are  they, 
indeed,  in  his  opinion,  in  face  of  the  record  which  he  has  in 
spected,  so  bereft  of  their  sovereignty,  as  to  be  incapable  of 
defending  themselves,  except  with  halters  around  the  necks  of 
their  citizens  ? 

Let  us  examine  this  latter  question  of  halters  for  a  moment. 
The  States  existed  before  the  Federal  Government ;  the  citi 
zens  of  the  States  owed  allegiance  to  their  respective  States, 
and  to  none  others.  By  what  process  was  any  portion  of  this 
allegiance  transferred  to  the  Federal  Government,  and  to  what 
extent  was  it  transferred  ?  It  was  transferred  by  the  States, 
themselves,  when  they  entered  into  the  federal  compact,  and 
not  by  the  individual  citizens,  for  these  had  no  power  to  make 
such  a  transfer.  Although  it  be  admitted,  that  a  citizen  of  any 
one  of  the  States  may  have  had  the  right  to  expatriate  him 
self  entirely  —  and  this  was  not  so  clear  a  doctrine  at  that  day 
—  and  transfer  his  allegiance  to  another  government,  yet  it  is 
quite  certain,  that  he  could  not,  ex  mero  motu,  divide  his  alle 
giance.  His  allegiance  then  was  transferred  to  the  Federal 
Government,  by  his  State,  whether  he  would  or  not. 

Take  the  case  of  Patrick  Henry,  for  example.  He  resisted 
the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  by  the  State  of  Vir 
ginia,  with  all '  the  energies  of  an  ardent  nature,  solemnly 
believing  that  his  State  was  committing  suicide.  And  yetj 
when  Virginia  did  adopt  that  Constitution,  he  became,  by  vir 
tue  of  that  act,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  owed  alle: 
giance  to  the  Federal  Government.  He  had  been  born  in  the 
hallowed  old  Commonwealth.  In  the  days  of  his  boyhood  he 
had  played  on  the  banks  of  the  Appomattox,  and  fished  in  its 
waters.  As  he  grew  to  man's  estate,  all  his  cherished  hopes, 
and  aspirations  clustered  around  his  beloved  State.  The  bones 
of  his  ancestors  were  interred  in  her  soil ;  his  loves,  his  joys, 


50  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

his  sorrows  were  all  centred  there.  In  short,  he  felt  the  in 
spiration  of  patriotism,  that  noble  sentiment  which  nerves 
men  to  do,  and  dare,  unto  the  death,  for  their  native  soil. 
Will  it  be  said,  can  it  be  said,  without  revolting  all  the  best 
feelings  of  the  human  heart,  that  if  Patrick  Henry  had  lived 
to  see  a  war  of  subjugation  waged  against  his  native  State,  he 
would  have  been  a  traitor  for  striking  in  her  defence  ?  Was 
this  one  of  the  results  which  our  ancestors  designed,  when 
they  framed  the  federal  compact  ?  It  would  be  uncharitable 
to  accuse  them  of  such  folly,  and  stupidity,  nay  of  such  cruelty. 
If  this  doctrine  be  true,  that  secession  is  treason,  then  our  an 
cestors  framed  a  government,  which  could  not  fail  to  make 
traitors  of  their  descendants,  in  case  of  a  conflict  between  the 
States,  and  that  government,  let  them  act  as  they  would. 

It  was  frequently  argued  in  the  "Federalist,"  and  elsewhere, 
by  those  who  were  persuading  the  States  to  adopt  the  Federal 
Constitution,  that  the  State  would  have  a  sufficient  guarantee 
of  protection,  in  the  love,  and  affection  of  its  citizens — that 
the  citizen  would  naturally  cling  to  his  State,  and  side  with 
her  against  the  Federal  Government — that,  in  fact,  it  was 
rather  to  be  apprehended  that  the  Federal  Government  would 
be  too  weak,  and  the  States  too  strong,  for  this  reason,  instead 
of  the  converse  of  the  proposition  being  true.  It  was  not 
doubted,  in  that  day,  that  the  primary  and  paramount  allegi 
ance  of  the  citizen  was  due  to  his  State,  and,  that,  in  case  of  a  con 
flict  between  her  and  the  Federal  Government,  his  State  would 
have  the  right  to  withdraw  his  allegiance,  from  that  Govern 
ment.  If  it  was  she  who  transferred  it,  and  if  she  had  the  right 
to  transfer  it,  it  follows  beyond  question,  that  she  would  have 
the  right  to  withdraw  it.  It  was  not  a  case  for  the  voluntary 
action  of  the  citizen,  either  way ;  he  could  not,  of  his  own  free 
will,  either  give  his  allegiance  to  the  Federal  Government,  or 
take  it  away. 

If  this  be  true,  observe  in  what  a  dilemma  he  has  been 
placed,  on  the  hypothesis  that  secession  is  treason.  If  he 
adheres  to  the  Federal  Government,  after  his  State  has  with 
drawn  his  allegiance  from  that  Government,  and  takes  up  arms 
against  his  State,  he  becomes  a  traitor  to  his  State.  If  he 
adheres  to  his  State,  and  takes  up  arms  against  the  Federal 


DURING  THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES.   51 

Goverment,  he  becomes  a  traitor  to  that  Government.  He  is 
thus  a  traitor  either  way,  and  there  is  no  helping  himself.  Is 
this  consistent  with  the  supposed  wisdom  of  the  political 
Fathers,  those  practical,  common  sense  men,  who  formed  the 
Federal  Constitution? 

The  mutations  of  governments,  like  all  human  events,  are 
constantly  going  on.  No  government  stands  still,  any  more  than 
the  individuals  of  which  it  is  composed.  The  only  difference  is, 
that  the  changes  are  not  quite  so  obvious  to  the  generation  which 
views  them.  The  framers  of  the  Constitution  did  not  dare  to 
hope  that  they  had  formed  a  government,  that  was  to  last  for 
ever.  Nay,  many  of  them  had  serious  misgivings  as  to  the 
result  of  the  experiment  they  were  making.  Is  it  possible, 
then,  that  those  men  so  legislated,  as  to  render  it  morally  cer 
tain,  that  if  their  experiment  should  fail,  their  descendants 
must  become  either  slaves  or  traitors  ?  If  the  doctrine  that  seces 
sion  is  treason  be  true,  it  matters  not  how  grievously  a  State 
might  be  oppressed,  by  the  Federal  Government ;  she  has  been 
deprived  of  the  power  of  lawful  resistance,  and  must  regain  her 
liberty,  if  at  all,  like  other  enslaved  States,  at  the  hazard  of  war, 
and  rebellion.  Was  this  the  sort  of  experiment  in  govern 
ment,  that  our  forefathers  supposed  they  were  making?  Every 
reader  of  history  knows  that  it  was  not. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

ANOTHER   BEIEF   HISTORICAL   RETROSPECT. 

IN  the  previous  chapters,  I  have  given  a  brief  outline  of  the  his 
tory  and  formation  of  the  Federal  Constitution,  proving,  by 
abundant  reference  to  the  Fathers,  and  to  the  instrument  itself, 
that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  former  to  draft,  and  that  they 
did  draft,  a  federal  compact  of  government,  which  compact  was 
"  ordained,  and  established,"  by  the  States,  in  their  sovereign 
capacity,  and  not  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the 
aggregate,  as  one  nation.  It  resulted  from  this  statement  of 
the  question,  that  the  States  had  the  legal,  and  constitutional 
right  to  withdraw  from  the  compact,  at  pleasure,  without  ref 
erence  to  any  cause  of  quarrel.  Accordingly,  nothing  has  yet 
been  said  about  the  causes  which  impelled  the  Southern  States 
to  a  separation,  except  indeed  incidentally,  when  the  tariff  sys 
tem  was  alluded  to,  as  the  motive  which  had  induced  Massa 
chusetts  and  the  other  Northern  States,  to  change  their  State- 
Eights  doctrine. 

It  was  stated  in  the  opening  chapter,  that  the  judgment 
which  posterity  will  form,  upon  the  great  conflict  between  the 
sections,  will  depend,  mainly,  upon  the  answers  which  we  may 
be  able  to  give  to  two  questions :  First,  Had  the  South  the 
right  to  dissolve  the  compact  of  government,  under  which  it 
had  lived  with  the  North  ?  and  secondly,  Was  there  sufficient 
ground  for  this  dissolution  ?  Having  answered  the  first  ques 
tion — imperfectly,  I  fear,  but  yet  as  fully,  as  was  consistent, 
with  the  design  of  these  pages — I  propose  now  to  consider, 
very  briefly,  the  second.  I  would  gladly  have  left  all  this  pre 
liminary  work  to  other,  and  abler  pens,  but  I  do  not  consider 
that  the  memoirs  of  any  actor  in  the  late  war,  who,  like  my 
self,  was  an  officer  in  the  old  service,  and  who  withdrew  from 
that  service,  because  of  the  breaking  out  of  the  war — or  rather 
because  of  the  secession  of  his  State — would  be  complete  with- 

52 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  53 

out,  at  least,  a  brief  reference  to  the  reasons,  which  controlled 
his  judgment. 

The  American  Constitution  died  of  a  disease,  that  was  in 
herent  in  it.  It  was  framed  on  false  principles,  inasmuch  as 
the  attempt  was  made,  through  its  means,  of  binding  together, 
in  a  republican  form  of  government,  two  dissimilar  peoples, 
with  widely  dissimilar  interests.  Monarchial  governments 
may  accomplish  this,  since  they  are  founded  on  force,  but 
republican  governments  never.  Austria,  and  Russia,  pin  to 
gether,  in  our  day,  with  their  bayonets,  many  dissimilar  peo 
ples,  but  if  a  republic  should  make  the  attempt,  that  moment 
it  must,  of  necessity,  cease  to  be  a  republic,  since  the  very 
foundation  of  such  a  government  is  the  consent  of  the  governed. 
The  secession  of  the  Southern  States  was  a  mere  corollary  of 
the  American  proposition  of  government ;  and  the  Northern 
States  stultified  themselves,  the  moment  they  attempted  to  re 
sist  it.  The  consent  of  the  Southern  States  being  wanted,  there 
should  have  been  an  end  of  the  question. 

If  the  Northern  States  were  not  satisfied  to  let  them  go,  but 
entertained,  on  the  contrary,  a  desire  to  restrain  them  by  force, 
this  was  a  proof,  that  those  States  had  become  tired  of  the 
republican  form,  and  desired  to  change  it.  But  they  should 
have  been  honest  about  it ;  they  should  have  avowed  their 
intentions  from  the  beginning,  and  not  have  waged  the  war,  as 
so  many  republics,  endeavoring  to  coerce  other  republics,  into 
a  forced  union  with  them.  To  have  been  logical,  they  should 
have  obliterated  the  State  boundaries,  and  have  declared  all 
the  States — as  well  the  Northern  States,  as  the  Southern — so 
many  counties  of  a  consolidated  government.  But  even  then, 
they  could  not  have  made  war  upon  any  considerable  number 
of  those  counties,  without  violating  the  fundamental  American 
idea  of  a  government — the  consent  of  the  governed.  The 
right  of  self-government  was  vindicated  in  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  in  favor  of  three  millions  of  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain.  In  the  States  of  the  Southern  Confederacy, 
there  were  eight  millions. 

The  American  Republic,  as  has  been  said,  was  a  failure, 
because  of  the  antagonism  of  the  two  peoples,  attempted  to  be 
bound  together,  in  the  same  government.  If  there  is  to  be  but 


54  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

a  single  government  in  these  States,  in  the  future,  it  cannot  be 
a  republic.  De  Toqueville  saw  this,  thirty  years  ago.  In  his 
"Democracy  in  America  "  he  described  these  States,  as  "more 
like  hostile  nations,  than  rival  parties,  under  one  government." 

This  distinguished  Frenchman  saw,  as  with  the  eye  of  intu 
ition,  the  canker  which  lay  at  the  heart  of  the  federal  com 
pact.  He  saw  looming  up,  in  the  dim  distance,  the  ominous, 
and  hideous  form  of  that  unbridled,  and  antagonistic  Majority, 
which  has  since  rent  the  country  in  twain — a  majority  based 
on  the  views,  and  interests  of  one  section,  arrayed  against  the 
views,  and  interests  of  the  other  section.  "  The  majority," 
said  he,  "in  that  country,  exercises  a  prodigious,  actual 
authority,  and  a  moral  influence  which  is  scarcely  less  pre 
ponderant  ;  no  obstacles  exist,  which  can  impede,  or  so  much 
as  retard  its  progress,  or  which  can  induce  it  to  heed  the  com 
plaints  of  those  whom  it  crushes  upon  its  path.  #  •*  * 
This  state  of  things  is  fatal,  in  itself,  and  dangerous  for  the 
future.  *  *  *  If  the  free  institutions  of  America  are  ever 
destroyed,  that  event  may  be  attributed  to  the  unlimited 
authority  of  the  majority.  *  *  *  Anarchy  will  then  be 
the  result,  but  it  will  have  been  brought  about  by  despotism." 

Precisely  so ;  liberty  is  always  destroyed  by  the  multitude, 
in  the  name  of  liberty.  Majorities  within  the  limits  of  con 
stitutional  restraints  are  harmless,  but  the  moment  they  lose 
sight  of  these  restraints,  the  many-headed  monster  becomes 
more  tyrannical,  than  the  tyrant  with  a  single  head ;  numbers 
harden  its  conscience,  and  embolden  it,  in  the  perpetration  of 
crime.  And  when  this  majority,  in  a  free  government,  becomes 
a  faction,  or,  in  other  words,  represents  certain  classes  and 
interests  to  the  detriment  of  other  classes,  and  interests,  fare 
well  to  public  liberty ;  the  people  must  either  become  enslaved, 
or  there  must  be  a  disruption  of  the  government.  This  result 
would  follow,  even  if  the  people  lived  under  a  consolidated 
government,  and  were  homogenous  :  much  more,  then,  must  it 
follow,  when  the  government  is  federal  in  form,  and  the  States 
are,  in  the  words  of  De  Toqueville,  "  more  like  hostile  nations, 
than  rival  parties,  under  one  government."  These  States  are, 
and  indeed  always  have  been  rival  nations. 

The  dissimilarity  between  the  people  of  the  Northern,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        65 

the  people  of  the  Southern  States  has  always  been  remarked 
upon,  by  observant  foreigners,  and  it  has  not  escaped  the  atten 
tion  of  our  own  historians.  Indeed  it  could  not  be  otherwise, 
for  the  origin  of  the  two  sections  has  been  diverse.  Yirginia, 
and  Massachusetts  were  the  two  original  germs,  from  which 
the  great  majority  of  the  American  populations  has  sprung ; 
and  no  two  peoples,  speaking  the  same  language,  and  coming 
from  the  same  country,  could  have  been  more  dissimilar,  in 
education,  taste,  and  habits,  and  even  in  natural  instincts,  than 
were  the  adventurers  who  settled  these  two  colonies.  Those 
who  sought  a  new  field  of  adventure  for  themselves,  and  afflu 
ence  for  their  posterity,  in  the  more  congenial  climate  of  the 
Chesapeake,  were  the  gay,  and  dashing  cavaliers,  who,  as  a 
class,  afterward  adhered  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Charleses,  whilst 
the  first  settlers  of  Massachusetts  were  composed  of  the  same 
materials,  that  formed  the  "  Praise-God-Barebones  "  parliament 
of  Cromwell. 

These  two  peoples,  seem  to  have  had  an  instinctive  repug 
nance,  the  one  to  the  other.  To  use  a  botanical  phrase,  the  Pu 
ritan  was  a  seedling  of  the  English  race,  which  had  been 
unknown  to  it  before.  It  had  few,  or  none  of  the  character 
istics  of  the  original  stock.  Gloomy,  saturnine,  and  fanatical, 
in  disposition,  it  seemed  to  repel  all  the  more  kindly,  and  gen 
erous  impulses  of  our  nature,  and  to  take  a  pleasure  in  pulling 
down  everything,  that  other  men  had  built  up ;  not  so  much, 
as  its  subsequent  history  would  seem  to  show,  because  the 
work  was  faulty,  as  because  it  had  been  done  by  other  hands 
than  their  own.  They  hated  tyranny,  for  instance,  but  it  was 
only  because  they  were  not,  themselves,  the  tyrants;  they 
hated  religious  intolerance,  but  it  was  only  when  not  practised 
by  themselves. 

Natural  affinities  attracted  like  unto  like.  The  Cavalier 
sought  refuge  with  the  Cavalier,  and  the  Puritan  with  the  Puri 
tan,  for  a  century,  and  more.  When  the  fortunes  of  the 
Charleses  waned,  the  Cavaliers  fled  to  Virginia  ;  when  the  for 
tunes  of  Cromwell  waned,  the  Puritans  fled  to  Massachusetts. 
Trade  occasionally  drew  the  two  peoples  together,  but  they 
were  repelled  at  all  other  points.  Thus  these  germs  grew, 
step  by  step,  into  two  distinct  nations.  A  different  civiliza- 


56  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tion  was  naturally  developed  in  each.  The  two  countries  were 
different  in  climate,  and  physical  features — the  climate  of  the 
one  being  cold  and  inhospitable,  and  its  soil  rugged,  and 
sterile,  whilst  the  climate  of  the  other  was  soft,  and  genial,  and 
its  soil  generous,  and  fruitful.  As  a  result  of  these  differences 
of  climate,  and  soil,  the  pursuits  of  the  two  peoples  became 
different,  the  one  being  driven  to  the  ocean,  and  to  the  mechanic 
arts,  for  subsistence,  and  the  other  betaking  itself  to  agricul 
ture. 

Another  important  element  soon  presented  itself,  to  widen  the 
social,  and  economical  breach,  which  had  taken  place  between 
the  two  peoples  —  African  slavery.  All  the  Colonies,  at  first, 
became  slaveholding,  but  it  was  soon  found,  that  slave  labor 
was  unprofitable  in  the  North,  where  the  soil  was  so  niggard, 
in  its  productions,  and  where,  besides,  the  white  man  could 
labor.  One,  by  one,  the  Northern  States  got  rid  of  their 
slaves,  as  soon  as  they  made  this  discovery.  In  the  South,  the 
case  was  different.  The  superior  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the 
greater  geniality  of  the  climate  enabled  the  planter  to  employ 
the  African  to  advantage ;  and  thus  slave  labor  was  engrafted 
on  our  system  of  civilization,  as  one  of  its  permanent  features. 

The  effect  was,  as  before  remarked,  a  still  greater  divergence 
between  the  two  peoples.  The  wealth  of  the  South  soon 
began  to  outstrip  that  of  the  North.  Education  and  refine 
ment  followed  wealth.  Whilst  the  civilization  of  the  North 
was  coarse,  and  practical,  that  of  the  South  was  more  intel 
lectual,  and  refined.  This  is  said  in  no  spirit  of  disparage 
ment  of  our  Northern  brethren ;  it  was  the  natural,  and  inevi 
table  result  of  the  different  situations  of  the  two  peoples.  In 
the  North,  almost  every  young  man  was  under  the  necessity, 
during  our  colonial  existence,  of  laboring  with  his  own  hands, 
for  the  means  of  subsistence.  There  was  neither  the  requisite 
leisure,  nor  the  requisite  wealth  to  bring  about  a  very  refined 
system  of  civilization.  The  life  of  a  Southern  planter  on  the 
other  hand  with  his  large  estates,  and  hundreds  of  vassals, 
with  his  profuse  hospitality,  and  luxurious  style  of  living, 
resembled  more  that  of  the  feudatories  of  the  middle  ages, 
than  that  of  any  modern  gentleman  out  of  the  Southern  States. 

It  is  not  my  object  to  express  a  preference  for  either  of  these 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        57 

modes  of  civilization  —  each,  no  doubt,  had  its  advantages,  and 
disadvantages  —  but  to  glance  at  them,  merely,  for  the  purpose 
of  showing  the  dissimilarity  of  the  two  peoples ;  their  uncon- 
geniality,  and  want  of  adaptation,  socially,  the  one  to  the  other. 
With  social  institutions  as  wide  asunder  as  the  poles,  and  with 
their  every  material  interest  antagonistic,  the  separation  of  the 
two  peoples,  sooner  or  later,  was  a  logical  sequence. 

As  had  been  anticipated  by  Patrick  Henry,  and  others,  the 
moment  the  new  government  went  into  operation,  parties  be 
gan  to  be  formed,  on  sectional  interests  and  sectional  preju 
dices.  The  North  wanted  protection  for  her  shipping,  in  the 
way  of  discriminating  tonnage  dues,  and  the  South  was  op 
posed  to  such  protection.  The  North  wanted  a  bank,  to  facili 
tate  their  commercial  operations ;  the  South  was  opposed  to 
it.  The  North  wanted  protection  for  their  manufactures,  the 
South  was  opposed  to  it.  There  was  no  warrant,  of  course, 
for  any  of  these  schemes  of  protection  in  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion  ;  they  were,  on  the  contrary,  subversive  of  the  original 
design  of  that  instrument.  The  South  has  been  called  aggres 
sive.  She  was  thrown  on  the  defensive,  in  the  first  Congress, 
and  has  remained  so,  from  that  day  to  this.  She  never  had 
the  means  to  be  aggressive,  having  been  always  in  a  minority, 
in  both  branches  of  the  Legislature.  Et  is  not  consistent  with 
the  scope  of  these  memoirs,  to  enter,  at  large,  into  the  politi 
cal  disputes  which  culminated  in  secession.  They  are  many, 
and  various,  and  would  fill  volumes.  It  will  be  sufficient  to 
sketch  the  history  of  one  or  two  of  the  more  important  of 
them. 

The  "American  System,"  of  which  Mr.  Clay,  of  Kentucky, 
became  the  champion,  and  to  which  allusion  has  already  been 
made,  became  the  chief  instrument  of  oppression  of  the  South 
ern  States,  through  a  long  series  of  years.  I  prefer  to  let  a 
late  distinguished  Senator,  from  the  State  of  Missouri,  Mr. 
Benton,  tell  this  tale  of  spoliation.  On  the  slavery  question, 
Mr.  Benton  was  with  the  North,  he  cannot,  therefore,  be  ac 
cused  of  being  a  witness  unduly  favorable  to  the  South.  In 
a  speech  in  the  Senate,  in  1828,  he  declared  himself,  as  fol 
lows:  "I  feel  for  the  sad  changes,  which  have  taken  place  in 
the  South,  during  the  last  fifty  years.  Before  the  Kevolution, 


58  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

it  was  the  seat  of  wealth,  as  well  as  hospitality.  Money,  and 
all  it  commanded,  abounded  there.  But  how  is  it  now  ?  All 
this  is  reversed.  Wealth  has  fled  from  the  South,  and  settled 
in  regions  north  of  the  Potomac ;  and  this  in  the  face  of  the 
fact,  that  the  South,  in  four  staples  alone,  has  exported  pro 
duce,  since  the  Eevolution,  to  the  value  of  eight  hundred  mil 
lions  of  dollars ;  and  the  North  has  exported  comparatively 
nothing.  Such  an  export  would  indicate  unparalleled  wealth, 
but  what  is  the  fact?  In  the  place  of  wealth,  a  universal 
pressure  for  money  was  felt  —  not  enough  for  current  ex 
penses —  the  price  of  all  property  down  —  the  country  droop 
ing,  and  languishing — towns  and  cities  decaying — and  the 
frugal  habits  of  the  people  pushed  to  the  verge  of  universal 
self-denial,  for  the  preservation  of  their  family  estates.  Such  a 
result  is  a  strange,  and  wonderful  phenomenon.  It  calls  upon 
statesmen  to  inquire  into  the  cause.  Under  Federal  legisla 
tion,  the  exports  of  the  South  have  been  the  basis  of  the 
Federal  revenue.  *  *  *  Virginia,  the  two  Corolinas,  and 
Georgia,  may  be  said  to  defray  three-fourths,  of  the  annual  ex 
pense  of  supporting  the  Federal  Government;  and  of  this  great 
sum,  annually  furnished  by  them,  nothing,  or  next  to  nothing 
is  returned  to  them,  in  the  shape  of  Government  expenditures. 
That  expenditure  flows  in  an  opposite  direction  —  it  flows 
northwardly,  in  one  uniform,  uninterrupted,  and  perennial 
stream.  This  is  the  reason  why  wealth  disappears  from  the 
South  and  rises  up  in  the  North.  Federal  legislation  does  all 
this.  It  does  it  by  the  simple  process  of  eternally  taking  from 
the  South,  and  returning  nothing  to  it.  If  it  returned  to  the 
South  the  whole,  or  even  a  good  part,  of  what  it  exacted, 
the  four  States  south  of  the  Potomac  might  stand  the  action 
of  the  system,  but  the  South  must  be  exhausted  of  its  money, 
and  its  property,  by  a  course  of  legislation,  which  is  forever 
taking  away,  and  never  returning  anything.  Every  new 
tariff  increases  the  force  of  this  action.  No  tariff  has  ever  yet 
included  Virginia,  the  two  Carolinas,  and  Georgia,  except  to 
increase  the  burdens  imposed  upon  them." 

This  picture  is  not  overdrawn ;  it  is  the  literal  truth.  Before 
the  war  the  Northern  States,  and  especially  the  New  England 
States,  exported  next  to  nothing,  and  yet  they  "  blossomed  as 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        59 

the  rose."  The  picturesque  hills  of  New  England  were  dotted 
with  costly  mansions,  erected  with  money,  of  which  the 
Southern  planters  had  been  despoiled,  by  means  of  the  tariffs 
of  which  Mr.  Benton  spoke.  Her  harbors  frowned  with  forti 
fications,  constructed  by  the  same  means.  Every  cove  and 
inlet  had  its  lighthouse,  for  the  benefit  of  New  England  ship 
ping,  three  fourths  of  the  expense  of  erecting  which  had  been 
paid  by  the  South,  and  even  the  cod,  and  mackerel  fisheries 
of  New  England  were  bountied,  on  the  bald  pretext,  that  they 
were  nurseries  for  manning  the  navy. 

The  South  resisted  this  wholesale  robbery,  to  the  best  of  her 
ability.  Some  few  of  the  more  generous  of  the  Northern  rep 
resentatives  in  Congress  came  to  her  aid,  but  still  she  was 
overborne ;  and  the  curious  reader,  who  will  take  the  pains  to 
consult  the  "  Statutes  at  Large,"  of  the  American  Congress,  will 
find  on  an  average,  a  tariff  for  every  five  years  recorded  on 
their  pages ;  the  cormorants  increasing  in  rapacity,  the  more 
they  devoured.  No  wonder  that  Mr.  Lincoln  when  asked, 
"why  not  let  the  South  go?"  replied,  "Let  the  South  go! 
where  then  shall  tve  get  our  revenue  ?" 

This  system  of  spoliation  was  commenced  in  1816.  The 
doctrine  of  protection  was  not,  at  first,  boldly  avowed.  A 
heavy  debt  had  been  contracted  during  the  war  of  1812,  with 
Great  Britain,  just  then  terminated.  It  became  necessary  to 
raise  revenue  to  pay  this  debt,  as  well  as  to  defray  the  current 
expenses  of  the  government,  and  for  these  laudable  purposes, 
the  tariff  of  1816  was  enacted.  The  North  had  not  yet  be 
come  the  overshadowing  power,  which  it  has  become  in  our 
day.  It  was  comparatively  modest,  and  only  asked,  that,  in 
adjusting  the  duties  under  the  tariff,  such  incidental  protection, 
as  might  not  be  inconsistent  with  the  main  object  of  the  bill, 
to  wit,  the  raising  of  revenue,  should  be  given  to  Northern 
manufactures.  It  was  claimed  that  these  manufactures  had 
sprung  up,  sua  sponte,  during  the  war,  and  had  materially 
aided  the  country  in  prosecuting  the  war,  and  that  they 
would  languish,  and  die,  unless  protected,  in  this  incidental 
manner.  This  seemed  but  just  and  reasonable,  and  some  of 
the  ablest  of  our  Southern  men  gave  their  assent  to  the  pro 
position  ;  among  others,  Mr.  Calhoun  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Mr.  Clay  of  Kentucky. 


60  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

The  latter,  in  particular,  then  a  young  member  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  espoused  the  Northern  side  of  the  contro 
versy,  and  subsequently  became  known,  as  we  have  seen,  as 
the  father  of  the  system.  Much  undeserved  obloquy  has  been 
thrown  upon  Mr.  Clay,  for  this  supposed  abandonment  of  his 
section.  The  most  that  he  claimed,  was  that  a  temporary  pro 
tection,  of  a  few  years'  duration  only,  should  be  given  to  these 
infant  manufactures,  until  they  should  become  self-sustaining. 
In  later  life,  when  he  saw  the  extent  to  which  the  measure  was 
pushed,  he  did,  indeed  recoil  from  it,  as  Mr.  Calhoun,  with 
keener  intellect,  had  done,  years  before.  The  wedge,  being 
thus  entered,  was  driven  home  by  the  insatiable  North. 

In  less  than  twenty  years,  or  during  the  early  part  of  Gen 
eral  Jackson's  administration,  the  public  debt  was  paid  off,  and 
it  became  necessary  to  reduce  the  tariffs,  to  prevent  a  plethora 
in  the  public  treasury;  but  the  North,  by  this  time,  had 
"waxed  fat,"  and  like  the  ox  in  the  scriptures,  began  to  kick. 
From  incidental  protection,  it  advanced,  boldly,  to  the  doctrine 
of  "protection,  for  the  sake  of  protection"  —  thus  avowing  the 
unjust  doctrine,  that  it  was  right  to  rob  one  section,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  other;  the  pretence  being  the  general  good — • 
the  "general  welfare"  clause  of  the  Constitution  as  well  as  the 
expression  "We,  the  people,"  in  the  Preamble,  being  invoked 
to  cover  the  enormity.  Under  the  wholesale  system  of  spolia 
tion,  which  was  now  practised,  the  South  was  becoming  poorer, 
and  poorer.  Whilst  her  abundant  cotton  crops  supplied  all 
the  exchanges  of  the  country,  and  put  in  motion,  throughout 
the  North,  every  species  of  manufacturing  industry,  from  the 
cut-nail,  which  the  planter  put  in  the  weather-boarding  of  his 
house,  to  the  coach  in  which  his  wife,  and  daughters  took  an 
airing,  it  was  found,  that,  from  year  to  year,  mortgages  were 
increasing  on  her  plantations,  and  that  the  planter  was  fast 
becoming  little  better,  than  the  overseer  of  the  Northern  manu 
facturer,  and  the  Northern  merchant.  A  statesman  of  Eng 
land  once  declared,  that  "not  so  much  as  a  hob-nail  should 
be  manufactured,  in  America."  The  colonial  dependence,  and 
vassalage  meant  to  be  proclaimed  by  this  expression,  was  now 
strictly  true,  as  between  the  North,  and  the  South.  The  South 
was  compelled  to  purchase  her  hob-nails,  in  the  North,  being 
excluded  by  the  Northern  tariffs,  from  all  other  markets. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES          61 

South  Carolina,  taking  the  alarm  at  this  state  of  things, 
resorted  as  we  have  seen,  to  nullification,  in  1832.  The  quar 
rel  was  compromised  in  1833,  by  the  passage  of  a  more  mode 
rate  tariff,  but  the  North  still  growing,  in  strength,  and  wealth, 
disregarded  the  compromise,  in  1842,  and  enacted  a  more 
oppressive  tariff  than  ever.  From  this  time  onward,  no 
attempt  was  made  to  conciliate  the  South,  by  the  practice  of 
forbearance,  and  justice,  and  the  latter  sank,  hopelessly,  into 
the  condition  of  a  tributary  province  to  her  more  powerful 
rival. 

All  this  was  done  under  a  federal  compact,  formed  by  sover 
eign  States,  for  their  common  benefit!  Thus  was  the  prophecy 
of  Patrick  Henry  verified,  when  he  said:  "But  I  am  sure, 
that  the  dangers  of  this  system  [the  Federal  Constitution]  are 
real,  when  those  who  have  no  similar  interest  with  the  people 
of  this  country  [the  South]  are  to  legislate  for  us  —  when  our 
dearest  rights  are  to  be  left,  in  the  hands  of  those,  whose 
advantage  it  will  be  to  infringe  them."  And  thus  also,  was 
verified  the  declaration  of  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinkney,  of 
South  Carolina:  "If  they  [the  Southern  States]  are  to  form  so 
considerable  a  minority,  and  the  regulation  of  trade  is  to  be 
given  to  the  general  Government,  they  will  be  nothing  more 
than  overseers  of  the  Northern  States." 


CHAPTEE   YI. 

THE    QUESTION   OF  SLAVERY,  AS   IT    AFFECTED   SECESSION. 

GREAT  pains  have  been  taken,  by  the  North,  to  make  it  ap 
pear  to  the  world,  that  the  war  was  a  sort  of  moral,  and 
religious  crusade  against  slavery.  Such  was  not  the  fact. 
The  people  of  the  North  were,  indeed,  opposed  to  slavery,  but 
merely  because  they  thought  it  stood  in  the  way  of  their 
struggle  for  empire.  I  think  it  safe  to  affirm,  that  if  the  ques 
tion  had  stood  upon  moral,  and  religious  grounds  alone,  the 
institution  would  never  have  been  interfered  with. 

The  Eepublican  party,  which  finally  brought  on  the  war, 
took  its  rise,  as  is  well  known,  on  the  question  of  extending 
slavery  to  the  Territories  —  those  inchoate  States,  which  were 
finally  to  decide  the  vexed  question  of  the  balance  of  power, 
between  the  two  sections.  It  did  not  propose  to  disturb  the 
institution  in  the  States;  in  fact,  the  institution  could  do  no 
harm  there,  for  the  States,  in  which  it  existed,  were  already  in 
a  hopeless  minority.  The  fat,  Southern  goose  could  not  resist 
being  plucked,  as  things  stood,  but  it  was  feared  that  if  slavery 
was  permitted  to  go  into  the  Territories,  the  goose  might  be 
come  strong  enough  to  resist  being  plucked.  If  proof  were 
wanted  of  this,  we  have  it,  in  the  resolution  passed  by  the 
Federal  Congress,  after  the  first  battle  of  Manassas,  in  the  first 
year  of  the  war,  as  follows :  "  Resolved,  That  the  war  is  not 
waged  on  our  part,  in  any  spirit  of  oppression,  or  for  any  pur 
pose  of  conquest,  or  for  interfering  with  the  rights,  or  estab 
lished  institutions  of  these  States,  but  to  defend,  and  maintain  the 
supremacy  of  the  Constitution,  and  to  preserve  the  Union,  with 
all  the  dignity  and  rights  of  the  several  States  unimpaired.''1 

In  1820,  in  the  admission  of  Missouri  into  the  Union,  the 
North  and  the  South  had  entered  into  a  compromise,  which  pro 
vided,  that  slavery  should  not  be  carried  into  any  of  the  Terri- 

62 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  63 

tories,  north  of  a  given  geographical  line.  This  compromise 
was  clearly  violative  of  the  rights  of  the  South,  for  the  Terri 
tories  were  common  property,  which  had  been  acquired,  by 
the  blood,  and  treasure,  of  the  North  and  the  South  alike,  and 
no  discrimination  could  justly  be  made  between  the  sections, 
as  to  emigration  to  those  Territories ;  but  discrimination  woul'd 
be  made,  if  the  Northern  man  could  emigrate  to  all  of  them, 
and  the  Southern  man  to  those  of  them  only  that  lay  South 
of  the  given  line.  By  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska 
bill,  introduced  into  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  185-i  by 
Mr.  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  this  unjust  compromise  was  repealed; 
the  repealing  clause  declaring,  that  the  Missouri  Compromise 
"being  inconsistent  with  the  principles  of  non-intervention, 
by  Congress,  with  slavery  in  the  States,  and  Territories,  as 
recognized  by  the  legislation  of  1850,  commonly  called  the 
Compromise  Measures,  is  hereby  declared  inoperative,  and 
void  ;  it  being  the  true  intent,  and  meaning  of  this  act,  not  to 
legislate  slavery  into  any  Territory,  or  State,  nor  to  exclude 
it  therefrom,  but  to  leave  the  people  thereof  perfectly  free  to 
form,  and  regulate  their  domestic  institutions,  subject  only  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Nothing  would  seem  more  just,  than  the  passage  of  this  act, 
which  removed  the  restriction  which  had  been  put  upon  a  por 
tion  of  the  States,  threw  open  the  Territories  to  immigration 
from  all  the  States,  alike,  and  left  the  question  of  local  govern 
ment,  the  question  of  slavery  included,  to  be  decided  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Territories  themselves.  But  this  act  of  jus 
tice,  which  Mr.  Douglas  had  had  the  address  and  ability  to 
cause  to  be  passed,  was  highly  distasteful  to  the  Northern  peo 
ple.  It  was  not  consistent  with  their  views  of  empire  that 
there  should  be  any  more  Southern  Slave  States  admitted  into 
the  Union.  The  Republican  party,  which,  up  to  that  time,  had 
made  but  little  headway,  now  suddenly  sprang  into  importance, 
and  at  the  next  elections  in  the  North,  swept  every  thing 
before  it.  The  Northern  Democratic  members  of  Congress 
who  had  voted  for  the  hated  measure,  were  beaten  by  over 
whelming  majorities,  and  Republicans  sent  in  their  places; 
and  the  Republican  Convention  which  assembled  at  Chicago 

in  1860,  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  adopted 
5 


64  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

as  one  of  the  "planks  of  its  platform"-— to  use  a  slang  politi 
cal  phrase  of  the  day — the  principle  that  slavery  should  there 
after  be  excluded  from  the  Territories ;  not  only  from  the  Ter 
ritories  North  of  the  geographical  line,  of  the  Missouri  Com 
promise,  but  from  all  the  Territories !  The  gauntlet  of  defi 
ance  was  thus  boldly  thrown  at  the  feet  of  the  Southern  States. 

From  1816  to  1860,  these  States  had  been  plundered  by 
tariffs,  which  had  enriched  the  North,  and  now  they  were  told 
without  any  circumlocution,  that  they  should  no  longer  have 
any  share  in  the  Territories.  I  have  said  that  this  controversy, 
on  the  subject  of  slavery,  did  not  rest,  in  the  North,  on  any 
question  of  morals  or  religion.  The  end  aimed  at,  in  restrict 
ing  slavery  to  the  States,  was  purely  political ;  but  this  end 
was  to  be  accomplished  by  means,  and  the  Northern  leaders 
had  the  sagacity  to  see,  that  it  was  all-important  to  mix  up 
the  controversy,  as  a  means,  with  moral,  and  religious  ques 
tions.  Hence  they  enlisted  the  clergy  in  their  crusade  against 
the  South;  the  pulpit  becoming  a  rostrum,  from  which  to 
inflame  the  Northern  mind  against  the  un-Godly  slave-holder ; 
religious  papers  were  established,  which  fulminated  their 
weekly  diatribes  against  the  institution ;  magazine  literature, 
fiction,  lectures,  by  paid  itinerants,  were  all  employed,  with 
powerful  effect,  in  a  community  where  every  man  sets  himself 
up  as  a  teacher,  and  considers  himself  responsible  for  the 
morals  of  his  neighbor.  The  contumely  and  insult  thus  heaped 
upon  the  South  were,  of  themselves,  almost  past  endurance,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  wrongs,  under  which  she  suffered.  The 
sectional  animosity  which  was  engendered  by  these  means,  in 
the  North,  soon  became  intense,  and  harried  on  the  catastrophe 
with  railroad  speed. 

Whilst  the  dispute  about  slavery  in  the  Territories  was  draw 
ing  to  a  focus,  another,  and  if  possible,  a  still  more  exciting 
question,  had  been  occupying  the  public  mind  —  the  rendition 
of  fugitive  slaves  to  their  owners.  Our  ancestors,  in  the  Con 
vention  of  1787,  foreseeing  the  difficulty  that  was  likely  to 
arise  on  this  subject,  insisted  that  the  following  positive  pro 
vision,  for  their  protection,  should  be  inserted  in  the  Consti 
tution:  "No  person  held  to  service,  or  labor,  in  one  State, 
under  the  laws  thereof,  escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  con- 


DTJKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         65 

sequence  of  any  law,  or  regulation  therein,  be  discharged  from 
such  service,  or  labor;  but  shall  be  delivered  up,  on  claim  of 
the  party  to  whom  such  service,  or  labor  may  be  due." 

In  1793,  a  law,  called  the  fugitive  slave  law,  had  been  passed, 
for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out  this  provision  of  the  Constitu 
tion.  This  law  was  re-enacted,  with  some  alterations,  the  bet 
ter  to  secure  the  object  in  question,  in  1850.  Neither  of  those 
laws  was  ever  properly  executed  in  the  North.  It  soon  became 
unsafe,  indeed,  for  a  Southern  man  to  venture  into  the  North, 
in  pursuit  of  his  fugitive  slave.  Mr.  Webster  sought,  in  vain, 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  when  he  seemed  to  be  actuated  by 
a  sense  of  returning  justice  to  the  South,  to  induce  his  coun 
trymen  to  execute  those  laws,  and  he  lost  much  of  his  popu 
larity,  in  consequence.  The  laws  were  not  only  positively  dis 
obeyed,  but  they  were  formally  nullified  by  the  Legislatures 
of  fourteen  of  the  Northern  States ;  and  penalties  were  annexed 
to  any  attempt  to  execute  them.  Mr.  Webster,  in  speaking  on 
this  subject,  says :  "  These  States  passed  acts  defeating  the  law 
of  Congress,  as  far  as  it  was  in  their  power  to  defeat  it.  Those 
of  them  to  whom  I  refer,  not  all,  but  several,  nullified  the  law 
of  1793.  They  said  in  effect,  'We  will  not  execute  it.  No 
runaway  slave  shall  be  restored.'  Thus  the  law  became  a  dead 
letter.  But  here  was  the  Constitution,  and  compact  still  bind 
ing  ;  here  was  the  stipulation,  as  solemn  as  words  could  form 
it,  and  which  every  member  of  Congress,  every  officer  of  the 
General  Government,  every  officer  of  the  State  government, 
from  governors  down  to  constables,  is  sworn  to  support.  It 
has  been  said  in  the  States  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  and 
Ohio,  over  and  over  again,  that  the  law  shall  not  be  exe 
cuted.  That  was  the  language  in  conventions,  in  Worcester, 
Massachusetts ;  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  and  elsewhere.  And 
for  this  they  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their 
sacred  honors.  Now,  gentlemen,  these  proceedings,  I  say  it 
upon  my  professional  reputation,  are  distinctly  treasonable. 
And  the  act  of  taking  Shadrick  [a  fugitive  slave]  from  the 
public  authorities,  in  Boston,  and  sending  him  off,  was  an  act 
of  clear  treason."  Great  outcry  was  raised  against  South 
Carolina  when  she  nullified  the  tariff  law  of  1830,  passed  in 
clear  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  Constitution ;  here  we  see 


66  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

fourteen  States  nullifying  an  act,  passed  to  carry  out  an  express 
provision  of  the  same  instrument,  about  which  there  was  not, 
and  could  not  be  any  dispute. 

Let  us  again  put  Mr.  Webster  on  the  witness  stand,  and 
hear  what  he  says,  was  the  effect  of  this  wholesale  nullification 
by  the  Northern  States  of  this  provision  of  the  Constitution. 
"I  do  not  hesitate,"  says  he,  "to  say,  and  repeat,  that  if  the 
Northern  States  refuse  wilfully,  and  deliberately  to  carry  into 
effect  that  part  of  the  Constitution,  which  respects  the  restora 
tion  of  fugitive  slaves,  the  South  would  be  no  longer  bound 
to  keep  the  compact.  A  bargain  broken  on  one  side  is  broken 
on  all  sides"  That  was  spoken  like  Daniel  Webster,  the  able 
jurist,  and  just  man,  and  not  like  the  Daniel  Webster,  whom 
I  have  before  quoted,  in  these  pages,  as  the  casuist,  and  the 
sophist.  The  reader  cannot  fail  to  see  what  a  full  recantation 
we  have  here,  of  Mr.  Webster's  heresy,  of  1833,  when  he  con 
tended  that  the  Constitution  had  been  "  ordained  and  estab 
lished,"  by  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  the  aggregate, 
as  one  nation. 

Mr.  Webster  now  calls  the  States,  the  parties  to  the  instru 
ment,  and  claims  that  the  infraction  of  it,  by  some  of  the  States, 
releases  the  others  from  their  obligations  under  it.  It  is  then, 
after  all,  it  seems,  &  federal  compact',  and  if  it  be  such,  we  have 
the  authority  of  Mr.  Webster,  himself,  for  saying  that  the 
States  may  withdraw  from  it,  at  pleasure,  without  waiting  for 
an  infringement  of  it,  by  their  co-States. 

But  the  Southern  States  did  not  desire  to  withdraw  from  it, 
without  reason.  They  were  sincerely  attached  to  the  Union, 
and  were  willing  to  suffer,  and  endure  much  rather  than  that 
it  should  be  destroyed.  They  had  stood,  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
with  the  North  in  two  wars  against  the  mother  country,  and 
had  freely  spent  their  wealth,  and  shed  their  blood  in  defence 
of  the  common  rights.  They  had  rushed  to  the  defence  of 
New  England,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  had  equally 
responded  to  her  call  in  1812,  in  defence  of  her  shipping  in 
terest. 

Mr.  Madison  relied  much  upon  these  ties,  as  a  common  bond 
of  union.  When  Patrick  Henry  and  other  Southern  patriots 
were  warning  their  people  against  the  new  alliance,  proposed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         67 

to  them  in  the  Federal  Constitution,  he  spoke  the  followirg 
fervid  language  in  reply  to  them,  in  one  of  the  numbers  of  the 
"  Federalist."  "  Hearken  not  to  the  unnatural  voice,  which 
tells  you,  that  the  people  of  America,  knit  together,  as  they 
are,  by  so  many  natural  cords  of  affection,  can  no  longer  live 
together  as  members  of  the  same  family ;  can  no  longer  con 
tinue  mutual  guardians  of  their  mutual  happiness.  *  *  * 
No,  my  countrymen,  shut  your  ears  against  this  unhallowed  lan 
guage.  Shut  your  hearts  against  the  poison  which  it  conveys. 
The  kindred  blood  which  flows  in  the  veins  of  American  citi 
zens,  the  mingled  blood  which  they  have  shed  in  defence  of 
their  sacred  rights,  consecrate  their  union,  and  excite  horror  at 
the  idea  of  their  becoming  aliens,  rivals,  enemies."  Much  of 
this  feeling  still  lingered  in  the  bosoms  of  Southern  men. 
They  were  slow  to  awaken  from  this  dream  of  delusion.  A 
rude  and  rough  hand  had  been  necessary  to  disenchant  them. 
But  they  were  compelled,  in  spite  of  themselves,  to  realize  the 
fact  at  last,  that  they  had  been  deceived,  and  betrayed  into  the 
federal  compact,  that  they  might  be  made  slaves.  Like  an 
unhappy  bride,  upon  whose  brow  the  orange-wreath  had  been 
placed,  by  hands  that  promised  tenderness,  and  protection,  the 
South  had  been  rudely  scorned,  and  repelled,  and  forced,  in 
tears,  and  bitter  lamentation,  to  retract  the  faith  which  she  had 
plighted.  To  carry  still  further  our  simile ;  like  the  deceived, 
and  betrayed  bride,  the  least  show  of  relenting,  and  tenderness 
was  sufficient  to  induce  the  South  to  forgive,  and  to  endeavor 
to  forget. 

The  history  of  our  unhappy  connection  with  the  North  is 
full  of  compromises,  and  apparent  reconciliations  —  prominent 
among  which  was  the  compromise  of  1833,  growing  out  of  the 
nullification  of  South  Carolina,  on  the  tariff  question ;  and  the 
compromise  of  1850,  in  which  it  was  promised,  that  Congress 
should  not  interfere  with  the  question  of  slavery,  either  in  the 
States,  or  Territories.  The  South,  like  the  too  credulous 
bride,  accepted  these  evidences  of  returning  tenderness,  in  good 
faith ;  the  North,  like  the  coarse  and  brutal  husband,  whose 
selfishness  was  superior  to  his  sense  of  justice,  withdrew  them, 
almost  as  soon  as  made.  The  obnoxious  laws  which  had 


68  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

been  modified,  or  repealed,  under  these  compromises,  were  re- 
enacted  with  additional  provocations,  and  restrictions. 

So  loth  was  the  South  to  abandon  the  Union,  that  she  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  remain  in  it,  even  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
been  elected  President,  in  1860.  In  this  election,  that  dreaded 
sectional  line  against  which  President  Washington  had  warned 
his  countrymen,  in  his  Farewell  Address,  had  at  last  been 
drawn  ;  in  it, —  "the  fire-bell  of  the  night," — which  had  so  dis 
turbed  the  last  days  of  Jefferson,  had  been  sounded.  There 
had,  at  last,  arisen  a  united  North,  against  a  united  South. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  placed  by  the  Chicago  Convention  on  a 
platform  so  purely  sectional,  that  no  Southern  State  voted,  or 
could  vote  for  him.  His  election  was  purely  geographical ;  it 
was  tantamount  to  a  denial  of  the  co-equality  of  the  Southern 
States,  with  the  Northern  States,  in  the  Union,  since  it  drove 
the  former  out  of  the  common  Territories.  This  had  not  been 
a  mere  party  squabble — the  questions  involved  had  been  fed 
eral,  and  fundamental.  Notwithstanding  which,  some  of  the 
Southern  States  were  not  without  hope,  that  the  North  might 
be  induced  to  revoke  its  verdict.  Mr.  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky, 
introduced  into  the  Senate,  a  series  of  resolutions,  which  he 
hoped  would  have  the  effect  of  restoring  harmony ;  the  chief 
feature  of  which  was,  the  restoration  of  the  Missouri  Compro 
mise,  giving  the  Southern  States  access  to  the  Territories  south 
of  a  geographical  line.  Although  this  compromise  was  a 
partial  abandonment  of  the  rights  of  the  South,  many  of  the 
ablest,  and  most  influential  statesmen  of  that  section,  gave  in 
their  adhesion  to  it ;  among  others,  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis.  The 
measure  failed. 

Various  other  resolutions,  looking  to  pacification,  were  intro 
duced  into  both  houses  of  Congress ;  but  they  failed,  in  like 
manner.  The  border  Slave  States  aroused  to  a  sense  of  their 
danger — for  by  this  time,  several  of  the  Gulf  States  had 
seceded — called  a  Convention  in  the  city  of  Washington,  to 
endeavor  to  allay  the  storm.  A  full  representation  attended, 
composed  of  men,  venerable  for  their  years,  and  renowned  for 
their  patriotic  services,  but  their  labors  ended  also  in  failure ; 
Congress  scarcely  deigned  to  notice  them.  In  both  houses  of 
Congress  the  Northern  faction,  which  had  so  recently^triumphed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        69 

in  the  election  of  their  President,  was  arrayed  in  a  solid 
phalanx  of  hostility  to  the  South,  and  could  not  be  moved  an 
inch.  The  Puritan  leaven  had  at  last  "leavened  the  whole 
loaf,"  and  the  descendants  of  those  immigrants  who  had  come 
over  to  America,  in  the  May  Flower,  feeling  that  they  had  the 
power  to  crush  a  race  of  men,  who  had  dared  to  differ  with 
them  in  opinion,  and  to  have  interests  separate  and  apart  from 
them,  were  resolved  to  use  that  power  in  a  way  to  do  no  dis 
credit  to  their  ancestry.  Eebels,  when  in  a  minority,  they  had 
become  tyrants,  now  that  they  were  in  a  majority. 

Nothing  remained  to  the  South,  but  to  raise  the  gantlet 
which  had  been  thrown  at  her  feet.  The  Federal  Government 
which  had  been  established  by  our  ancestors  had  failed  of  its 
object.  Instead  of  binding  the  States  together,  in  peace,  and 
amity,  it  had,  in  the  hands  of  one  portion  of  the  States,  become 
an  engine  of  oppression  of  the  other  portion.  It  so  happened, 
that  the  slavery  question  was  the  issue  which  finally  tore  them 
asunder,  but,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  this  question  was  a  mere 
means,  to  an  end.  The  end  was  empire,  and  we  were  about  to 
repeat,  in  this  hemisphere,  the  drama  which  had  so  often  been 
enacted  in  the  other,  of  a  more  powerful  nation  crushing  out 
a  weaker. 

The  war  of  the  American  sections  was  but  the  prototype  of 
many  other  wars,  which  had  occurred  among  the  human  race. 
It  had  its  origin  in  the  unregenerated  nature  of  man,  who  is 
only  an  intellectual  wild  beast,  whose  rapacity  has  never  yet 
been  restrained,  by  a  sense  of  justice.  The  American  people 
thought,  when  they  framed  the  Constitution,  that  they  were  to 
be  an  exception  to  mankind,  in  general.  History  had  in 
structed  them  that  all  other  peoples,  who  had  gone  before 
them,  had  torn  up  paper  governments,  when  paper  was  the 
only  bulwark  that  protected  such  governments,  but  then  they 
were  the  American  people,  and  no  such  fate  could  await  them. 
The  events  which  I  have  recorded,  and  am  about  to  record, 
have  taught  them,  that  they  are  no  better  —  and  perhaps  they 
are  no  worse  —  than  other  people.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they 
will  profit  by  their  dear-bought  experience,  and  that  when 
they  shall  have  come  to  their  senses,  and  undertake  to  lay  the 


70  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

foundation  of  a  new  government,  they  will,  if  they  design  to 
essay  another  republic,  eliminate  all  discordant  materials. 
The  experiment  of  trusting  to  human  honesty  having  failed, 
they  must  next  trust  to  human  interests — the  great  regula 
tor,  as  all  philosophy  teaches,  of  human  nature.  They  must 
listen  rather  to  the  philosophy  of  Patrick  Henry,  than  to 
that  of  James  Madison,  and  never  attempt  again  to  bind 
up  in  one  sheaf,  with  a  withe  of  straw,  materials  so  discord 
ant  as  were  the  people  of  the  North,  and  the  people  of  the 
South. 


CHAPTEE    VII. 

THE  FORMATION  OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  GOVERNMENT, 
AND  THE  RESIGNATION  OF  OFFICERS  OF  THE  FEDE 
RAL  ARMY  AND  NAVY. 

AS  I  am  not  writing  a  history  of  the  war,  but  only  of  a  very 
small  portion  of  the  war,  it  cannot  be  expected  that  I 
will  follow  events  in  a  connected  train.  I  have  detained  the 
reader,  so  far,  as  to  give  him  a  continuous,  though  hasty  glance, 
of  the  causes  of  the  war,  but  having  brought  him  down 
to  the  final  rupture  of  the  sections,  I  must  leave  him  to  sup 
ply  for  himself  many  a  link,  here  and  there,  in  the  broken 
chain,  as  we  proceed.  Let  him  imagine  then  that  the  Southern 
States  have  seceded — the  gallant  little  State  of  South  Carolina 
setting  her  larger,  and  more  powerful  sisters,  the  example,  on 
the  20th  December,  1860  —  and  that  they  have  met  at  Mont 
gomery,  in  Alabama,  by  their  delegates  in  Congress,  to  form  a 
new  Confederacy;  that  a  Provisional  Government  has  been 
formed  and  that  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  has  been  elected  Presi 
dent,  and  Mr.  Alexander  II.  Stephens  Yice-President. 

The  time  had  now  come  for  the  officers  of  the  old  Army, 
and  Navy  to  make  their  election,  as  to  which  of  the  two  Govern 
ments  they  would  give  their  adhesion.  There  were  no  such 
questions  then,  as  rebellion,  and  treason  in  the  public  mind. 
This  was  a  Federal  after-thought,  when  that  Government  began 
to  get  the  better  of  us  in  the  war.  The  Puritan,  if  he  had 
been  whipped,  would  have  been  a  capital  secessionist,  and  as 
meek,  and  humble  as  we  could  have  desired.  He  would  have 
been  the  first  to  make  a  "perpetual "  alliance  with  us,  and  to  offer 
us  inducements  to  give  him  the  benefits  of  our  trade.  After 
the  first  drubbing  we  gave  him,  at  Manassas,  he  was  disposed 
to  be  quite  reasonable,  and  the  Federal  Congress  passed  the 
conciliatory  resolution  I  have  quoted  in  a  previous  chapter, 

71 


72  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

intimating  to  us,  that  if  we  would  come  back,  slavery  should  be 
secure  in  the  States,  and  our  "rights  and  dignity"  remain  un 
impaired.  But  as  he  gained  strength,  he  gained  courage,  and 
as  the  war  progressed,  and  it  became  evident  that  we  should 
be  beaten,  he  began  to  talk  of  traitors,  and  treason. 

As  a  general  rule,  the  officers  both  of  the  Army,  and  the  Navy 
sided  with  their  respective  States;  especially  those  of  them 
who  were  cultivated,  and  knew  something  of  the  form  of 
government,  under  which  they  had  been  living.  But  even 
the  profession  of  arms  is  not  free  from  sordid  natures,  and 
many  of  these  had  found  their  way  into  both  branches  of  the 
public  service.  Men  were  found  capable  of  drawing  their 
swords  against  their  own  firesides,  as  it  were,  and  surrender 
ing  their  neighbors,  and  friends  to  the  vengeance  of  a  govern 
ment,  which  paid  them  for  their  fealty.  Some,  with  cunning 
duplicity,  even  encouraged  their  former  messmates,  and  com 
panions  who  occupied  places  above  them,  to  resign,  and  after 
ward  held  back  themselves.  Some  were  mere  soldiers,  and 
sailors  of  fortune,  and  seemed  devoid  of  all  sensibility  on  the 
subject,  looking  only  to  rank  and  pay.  They  were  open  to  the 
highest  bidder,  and  the  Federal  Government  was  in  a  condition 
to  make  the  highest  bids.  Some  of  the  Southern  men  of  this 
latter  class  remained  with  the  North,  because  they  could  not  ob 
tain  the  positions  they  desired  in  the  South  ;  and  afterward,  as 
is  the  fashion  with  renegades,  became  more  bitter  against  their 
own  people  than  even  the  Northern  men. 

Civil  war  is  a  terrible  crucible  through  which  to  pass  char 
acter  ;  the  dross  drops  away  from  the  pure  metal  at  the  first 
touch  of  the  fire.  It  must  be  admitted,  indeed,  that  there  was 
some  little  nerve  required,  on  the  part  of  an  officer  of  the  regu 
lar  Army,  or  Navy,  to  elect  to  go  with  his  State.  His  profes 
sion  was  his  only  fortune ;  he  depended  upon  it,  for  the  means 
of  subsisting  himself  and  family.  If  he  remained  where  he 
was,  a  competency  for  life,  and  promotion,  and  honors  prob 
ably  awaited  him ;  if  he  went  with  the  South,  a  dark,  and  un 
certain  future  was  before  him ;  he  could  not  possibly  better 
his  condition,  and  if  the  South  failed,  he  would  have  thrown 
away  the  labor  of  a  life-time.  The  struggle  was  hard  in  other 
respects.  All  professions  are  clannish.  Men  naturally  cling 


DURING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        73 

together,  who  have  been  bred  to  a  common  pursuit;  and  this 
remark  is  particularly  applicable  to  the  Army,  and  the  Navy. 
West  Point,  and  Annapolis  were  powerful  bonds  to  knit 
together  the  hearts  of  young  men.  Friendships  were  there 
formed,  which  it  was  difficult  to  sever,  especially  when 
strengthened  by  years  of  after-association,  in  common  toils,  com 
mon  pleasures,  and  common  dangers.  Naval  officers,  in  particu 
lar,  who  had  been  rocked  together  in  the  same  storm,  and  had 
escaped  perhaps  from  the  same  shipwreck,  found  it  very  diffi 
cult  to  draw  their  swords  against  each  other.  The  flag,  too, 
had  a  charm  which  it  was  difficult  to  resist.  It  had  long  been 
the  emblem  of  the  principle  that  all  just  governments  are 
founded  on  the  consent  of  the  governed,  vindicated  against 
our  British  ancestors,  in  the  War  of  the  Eevolution,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  realize  the  fact  that  it  no  longer  represented 
this  principle,  but  had  become  the  emblem  of  its  opposite ; 
that  of  coercing  unwilling  States,  to  remain  under  a  Govern 
ment,  which  they  deemed  unjust  and  oppressive. 

Sentiment  had  almost  as  much  to  do  with  the  matter,  as 
principle,  for  there  clustered  around  the  "old  flag,"  a  great 
many  hallowed  memories,  of  sacrifices  made,  and  victories  won. 

The  cadet  at  West  Point  had  marched  and  countermarched 
under  its  folds,  dreaming  of  future  battle-fields,  and  future 
honors  to  be  gained  in  upholding  and  defending  it ;  and  the 
midshipman,  as  he  gazed  upon  it,  in  some  foreign  port,  flying 
proudly  from  the  gaff-end  of  his  ship,  had  drunk  in  new  inspi 
ration  to  do  and  to  dare,  for  his  country.  Many  bearded  men 
were  affected  almost  to  tears,  as  they  saw  this  once  hallowed 
emblem  hauled  down  from  the  flag-staves,  of  Southern  forts, 
and  arsenals.  They  were  in  the  condition  of  one  who  had 
been  forced,  in  spite  of  himself,  to  realize  the  perfidy  of  a 
friend,  and  to  be  obliged  to  give  him  up,  as  no  longer  worthy 
of  his  confidence  or  affection.  General  Eobert  E.  Lee  has  so 
happily  expressed  all  these  various  emotions,  in  a  couple  of 
letters,  which  he  wrote,  contemporaneously,  with  his  resigna 
tion  from  the  Federal  Army,  that  I  give  them  to  the  reader. 
One  of  these  letters  is  addressed  to  General  Winfield  Scott, 
and  the  other  to  General  Lee's  sister. 


74  MEMOIRS    OP    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ARLINGTON,  YA.,  April  20,  1861. 

GENERAL:  —  Since  ray  interview  with  you  on  the  18th  instant,  I 
have  felt  that  I  ought  not  longer  to  retain  my  commission  in  the 
army.  I  therefore  tender  my  resignation,  which  I  request  you  will 
recommend  for  acceptance.  It  would  have  been  presented  at  once, 
but  for  the  struggle  which  it  has  cost  me  to  separate  myself  from 
a  service,  to  which  I  have  devoted  all  the  best  years  of  my  life,  and 
all  the  ability  I  possessed.  During  the  whole  of  that  time  —  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  —  I  have  experienced  nothing  but  kind 
ness  from  my  superiors,  and  the  most  cordial  friendship  from  my 
comrades.  To  no  one,  General,  have  I  been  as  much  indebted  as 
yourself,  for  uniform  kindness  and  consideration,  and  it  has  always 
been  niy  ardent  desire  to  merit  your  approbation.  I  shall  carry  to 
the  grave  the  most  grateful  recollection  of  your  kind  consideration, 
and  your  name  and  fame  will  always  be  dear  to  me. 

Save  in  defence  of  my  native  State,  I  never  desire  to  draw  my 
sword.  Be  pleased  to  accept  my  most  earnest  wishes  for  the  con 
tinuance  of  your  happiness  and  prosperity,  and  believe  me  most 
truly  yours,  R  E  LEE 

Lieutenant- General  WINFIELD  SCOTT, 

Commanding  United  States  Army. 

ARLINGTON,  VA.,  April  20,  1861. 

MY  DEAR  SISTER  :  —  I  am  grieved  at  my  inability  to  see  you 
*  *  *  I  have  been  waiting  "  for  a  more  convenient  season,"  which 
has  brought  to  many  before  me  deep  and  lasting  regrets.  Now  we 
are  in  a  state  of  war  which  will  yield  to  nothing.  The  whole  South 
is  in  a  state  of  revolution,  into  which  Virginia  after  a  long  strug 
gle,  has  been  drawn,  and  though  I  recognize  no  necessity  for  this 
state  of  things,  and  would  have  forborne  and  pleaded  to  the  end, 
for  redress  of  grievances,  real  or  supposed,  yet  in  my  own  person 
I  had  to  meet  the  question,  whether  I  should  take  part  against  my 
native  State.  With  all  my  devotion  to  the  Union,  and  the  feeling 
of  loyalty,  and  duty  of  an  American  citizen,  I  have  not  been  able 
to  make  up  my  mind  to  raise  my  hand  against  my  relatives,  my 
children,  my  home.  I  have  therefore  resigned  my  commission  in 
the  army,  and  save  in  defence  of  my  native  State,  with  the  sincere 
hope  that  my  services  may  never  be  needed,  I  hope  I  may  never  be 
called  on  to  draw  my  sword. 

I  know  you  will  blame  me,  but  you  must  think  as  kindly  of  me 
as  you  can,  and  believe  that  I  have  endeavored  to  do  what  I 
thought  right.  To  show  you  the  feeling  and  struggle  it  has  cost 
me,  I  send  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  General  Scott,  which  accompa 
nied  my  letter  of  resignation.  I  have  no  time  for  more.  *  *  * 
May  God  guard  and  protect  you,  and  yours,  and  shower  upon  you 
every  blessing  is  the  prayer  of  your  devoted  brother. 

R  E.  LEE. 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        75 

In  the  winter  of  1860;  I  was  stationed  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington,  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Lighthouse  Board,  being  then 
a  commander  in  the  United  States  Navy,  and  was  an  observer 
of  many  of  the  events  I  have  described.  I  had  long  abandoned 
all  hope  of  reconciliation  between  the  sections.  The  public 
mind,  North  and  South,  was  in  an  angry  mood,  and  the  day  of 
compromises  was  evidently  at  an  end.  I  had  made  up  my 
mind  to  retire  from  the  Federal  service,  at  the  proper  moment, 
and  was  only  wraiting  for  that  moment  to  arrive. 

Although  I  had  been  born  in  the  State  of  Maryland,  and 
was  reared  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  I  had  been,  for  many 
years,  a  resident  citizen  of  Alabama,  having  removed  to  this 
State,  in  the  year  1841,  and  settled  with  my  family,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Perdido ;  removing  thence,  in  a  few  years,  to 
Mobile.  My  intention  of  retiring  from  the  Federal  Navy,  and 
taking  service  with  the  South,  in  the  coming  struggle,  had 
been  made  known  to  the  delegation  in  the  Federal  Congress 
from  Alabama,  early  in  the  session  of  1860-1.  I  did  not 
doubt  that  Maryland  wrould  follow  the  lead  of  her  more 
Southern  sisters,  as  the  cause  of  quarrel  was  common  with  all 
the  Southern  States,  but  whether  she  did  or  not,  could  make  no 
difference  with  me  now,  since  my  allegiance,  and  my  services 
had  become  due  to  another  State. 

The  month  of  February,  1861,  found  me  still  at  the  city  of 
Washington.  The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by 
me  to  a  Southern  member  of  the  Federal  Congress,  tempora 
rily  absent  from  his  post,  will  show  the  state  of  mind  in  which 
I  was  looking  upon  passing  events.  "  1  am  still  at  my  post  at 
the  Light-House  Board,  performing  my  routine  duties,  but  lis 
tening  with  an  aching  ear  and  beating  heart,  for  the  first 
sounds  of  the  great  disruption  which  is  at  hand."  On  the 
14th  of  that  month,  whilst  sitting  quietly  with  my  family, 
after  the  labors  of  the  day,  a  messenger  brought  me  the  fol 
lowing  telegram : — 

MONTGOMERY,  Feb.  14,  3861. 

SIR:  —  On  behalf  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  I  beg  leave 
to  request  that  you  will  repair  to  this  place,  at  your  earliest  con 
venience.  Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  M.  CONRAD,  Chairman. 
Commander  RAPHAEL  SEMMES,  Washington,  D.  C. 


76  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Here  was  the  sound  for  which  I  had  been  so  anxiously 
listening.  Secession  was  now  indeed  a  reality,  and  the  time 
had  come  for  me  to  arouse  myself  to  action.  The  telegram 
threw  rny  small  family-circle  into  great  commotion.  My 
wife,  with  the  instincts  of  a  woman,  a  wife,  and  a  mother, 
seemed  to  realize,  as  by  intuition,  all  the  dangers  and  difficul 
ties  that  lay  before  me.  She  had  been  hoping  without  hope, 
that  I  would  not  be  subjected  to  the  bitter  ordeal,  but  the  die 
was  now  cast,  and  with  a  few  tears,  and  many  prayers  she 
nerved  herself  for  the  sacrifices,  and  trials  that  she  knew 
were  before  her.  Her  children  were  to  be  withdrawn  from 
school,  her  comfortable  home  broken  up,  and  she  was  to  return, 
penniless,  to  her  people,  to  abide  with  them  the  fortunes  of  a 
bloody,  and  a  doubtful  war.  The  heroism  of  woman !  how 
infinitely  it  surpasses  that  of  man.  With  all  her  gentleness, 
and  tenderness,  and  natural  timidity,  in  nine  cases  in  ten,  she 
has  more  nerve  than  the  other  sex,  in  times  of  great  emer 
gency.  With  a  bleeding  and  bursting  heart,  she  is  capable  of 
putting  on  the  composure,  and  lovely  serenity  of  an  angel, 
binding  up  the  wounds  of  a  husband  or  son,  and  when  he  is 
restored  to  health  and  vigor,  buckling  on  his  sword  anew,  and 
returning  him  to  the  battle-field.  Glorious  women  of  the 
South !  what  an  ordeal  you  have  passed  through,  and  how 
heroically  you  have  stood  the  trying  test.  You  lost  the  lib 
erty  which  your  husbands,  sires,  and  sons  struggled  for,  but 
only  for  a  period.  The  blood  which  you  will  have  infused 
into  the  veins  of  future  generations  will  yet  rise  up  to  vindi 
cate  you,  and  "  call  you  blessed." 

The  telegram  reached  me  about  four  o'clock,  P.M.,  and  I 
responded  to  it,  on  the  same  evening  as  follows : 

WASHINGTON,  Feb.  14,  1861. 

Hon.  0.  M.  CONRAD,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs, 
Congress  of  the  Confederate  States:  —  Despatch  received;  I  will  be 
with  you  immediately.  Bespectmlly,  &c.t 

K.  SEMMES. 

The  next  morning,  I  repaired,  as  usual,  to  the  office  of  the 
Light  House  Board,  in  the  Treasury  building,  General  John 
A.  Pix  being  then  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  ex  officio 


DTJKING     THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         77 

President  of  the  Board,  and  wrote  the  following  resignation 
of  my  commission,  as  a  Commander  in  the  United  States  Navy : 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  15,  1861. 

SIR  : — I  respectfully  tender  through  you,  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  this,  the  resignation  of  the  commission  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  hold  as  a  Commander  in  the  Navy  of  the  United 
States.  In  severing  my  connection  with  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  with  the  Department  over  which  you  preside,  I 
pray  you  to  accept  my  thanks  for  the  kindness  which  has  charac 
terized  your  official  deportment  towards  me. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be  very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

KAPHAEL  SEMMES, 

Commander  U.  S.  Navy. 
Hon.  ISAAC  TOUCEY,  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
Washington,  D.  G. 

On  the  same  day,  I  received  the  following  acceptance  of  my 
resignation :  — 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  Feb.  15,  1861. 

SIR:  —  Your  resignation  as  a  Commander  in  the  Navy  of  the 
United  States,  tendered  in  your  letter  of  this  date,  is  hereby 
accepted.  I  am  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

I.  TOUCEY. 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES,  Esq.,  late  Commander 
U.  S.  Navy,  Washington. 

A  few  days  previously  to  my  resignation,  by  the  death  of  a 
lamented  member  of  the  Light-House  Board,  I  had  been 
promoted  from  the  Secretaryship,  to  a  Membership  of  that 
Board,  and  it  now  became  necessary  for  rne  to  inform  the 
Board  officially,  of  my  being  no  longer  a  member  of  it,  which 
I  did  in  the  following  communication :  — 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  Feb.  16,  1861. 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  I  have  resigned  my 
commission,  as  a  Commander  in  the  Navy  of  the  United  States, 
and  that,  as  a  consequence,  I  am  no  longer  a  member  of  the  Light- 
House  Board.  In  severing  thus  my  connection  with  the  Board,  at 
which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  hold  a  seat,  since  the  17th  of  No 
vember,  1858,  I  desire  to  say  to  the  members,  individually,  and 
collectively,  that  I  shall  carry  with  me  to  my  home  in  the  South,  a 
grateful  recollection  of  the  amenities,  and  courtesies  which  have 
characterized,  on  their  part,  our  official  intercourse. 

I  am  very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 
Commander  T.  A.  JENKINS,  U.  S.  N., 

Secretary  Light- House  Board,  Washington. 


78  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  left  in  the  Light-House  Board,  a  South  Carolinian,  and  a 
Virginian,  both  of  whom  were  too  loyal  to  their  places,  to  fol 
low  the  lead  of  their  States.  The  South  Carolinian  has  been 
rewarded  with  the  commission  of  a  Bear- Admiral,  and  the  Vir 
ginian  with  that  of  a  Commodore.  The  presence  of  these  gen 
tlemen  in  the  Board  may  account  for  the  fact,  that  my  letter 
was  not  even  honored  with  an  acknowledgment  of  its  receipt. 

I  have  said  that  there  was  no  talk  at  this  time,  about  traitors, 
and  treason.  The  reader  will  observe  how  openly,  and  as  a 
matter  of  course,  all  these  transactions  were  conducted.  The 
seceded  States  had  been  several  months  in  getting  their  Con 
ventions  together,  and  repealing,  with  all  due  form,  and  cere 
mony,  the  ordinances  by  which  the  Federal  Constitution  had 
been  accepted.  Senators,  and  members  of  the  House  of  Ee- 
presentatives  of  the  Federal  Congress  had  withdrawn  from 
their  seats,  under  circumstances  unusually  solemn,  and  impres 
sive,  which  had  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole  country. 
Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  in  particular,  had  taken  leave  of  a  full 
Senate,  with  crowded  galleries,  in  a  speech  of  great  dignity  and 
power,  in  the  course  of  which  he  said :  "  We  will  invoke  the 
God  of  our  Fathers,  who  delivered  them  from  the  power  of 
the  Lion,  to  protect  us  from  the  ravages  of  the  Bear ;  and  thus 
putting  our  trust  in  God,  and  in  our  own  firm  hearts,  and 
strong  arms,  we  will  vindicate  the  right  as  best  we  may." 

As  the  resignation  of  each  officer  of  the  Army,  and  Navy 
went  in,  it  was  well  understood  what  his  object  was,  and  yet 
we  have  seen,  that  up  to  this  period,  the  Government  accepted 
them  all,  and  permitted  the  officers  to  depart  to  their  respec 
tive  States.  It  was  not  known,  as  yet,  to  what  extent  the  dis 
integration  might  go,  and  it  was  not  safe  therefore  to  talk  of 
treason.  "  The  wayward  sisters  "  might  decide  to  go  in  a  body, 
in  which  event  it  would  not  have  been  policy  to  attempt  to 
prevent  them,  or  to  discuss  questions  of  treason  with  them. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  did  not  think  of  arresting  me,  for 
telegraphing  to  the  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  that  I 
would  be  with  it,  immediately  ;  nor  did  he,  though  he  knew 
my  purpose  of  drawing  my  sword  against  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  if  necessary,  refuse  to  accept  my  resignation.  Nay,  Presi 
dent  Buchanan  had  decided  that  he  had  no  power  under  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         79 

Federal  Constitution,  to  coerce  a  State ;  though,  like  a  weak 
old  man  as  he  had  now  become,  he  involved  himself  afterward 
in  the  inconsistency  of  attempting  to  hold  possession  of  the 
ceded  places  within  the  limits  of  the  States  which  had  with 
drawn  from  the  Union.  It  could  not  but  follow,  logically,  from 
the  premise,  that  there  was  no  power  in  the  Federal  Constitu 
tion  to  coerce  a  State,  that  the  State  had  the  right  to  secede ; 
for  clearly  any  one  may  do  that  which  no  one  has  the  right  to 
prevent  him  from  doing. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  as  these,  that  I  dissolved 
my  connection  with  the  Federal  Government,  and  returned  to 
the  condition  of  a  private  citizen,  with  no  more  obligation  rest 
ing  upon  me,  than  upon  any  other  citizen.  The  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  itself,  had  formally  released  me  from  the  contract  of 
service  I  had  entered  into  with  it,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
from  the  binding  obligation  of  any  oath  I  had  taken  in  con 
nection  with  that  contract.  All  this  was  done,  as  the  reader 
has  seen,  before  I  moved  a  step  from  the  city  of  Washington ; 
and  yet  a  subsequent  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Gideon  Welles, 
has  had  the  hardihood  and  indecency  of  accusing  me  of  having 
been  a  "  deserter  from  the  service."  He  has  deliberately  put 
this  false  accusation  on  record,  in  a  public  document,  in  face 
of  the  facts  I  have  stated  —  all  of  which  were  recorded  upon 
the  rolls  of  his  office.  I  do  not  speak  here  of  the  clap-trap  he 
has  used  about  "treason  to  the  flag,"  and  the  other  stale  non 
sense  which  he  has  uttered  in  connection  with  my  name,  for 
this  was  common  enough  among  his  countrymen,  and  was  per 
haps  to  have  been  expected  from  men  smarting  under  the  cas- 
tigation  I  had  given  them,  but  of  the  more  definite  and  explicit 
charge,  of  " deserting  from  the  service"  when  the  service,  itself, 
as  he  well  knew,  had  released  me  from  all  my  obligations  to  it. 

Another  charge,  with  as  little  foundation,  has  been  made 
against  myself,  and  other  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  who 
resigned  their  commissions,  and  came  South.  It  has  been  said 
that  we  were  in  the  condition  of  eleves  of  the  Federal  Govern 
ment,  inasmuch  as  we  had  received  our  education  at  the  mili 
tary  schools,  and  that  we  were  guilty  of  ingratitude  to  that 
Government,  when  we  withdrew  from  its  service.  This  slan 
der  has  no  doubt  had  its  effect,  with  the  ignorant  masses,  but 

6 


80  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

it  can  scarcely  have  been  entertained  by  any  one  who  has  a 
just  conception  of  the  nature  of  our  federal  system  of  govern 
ment.  It  loses  sight  of  the  fact,  that  the  States  are  the  creators, 
and  the  Federal  Government  the  creature ;  that  not  only  the 
military  schools,  but  the  Federal  Government  itself  belongs  to 
the  States.  Whence  came  the  fund  for  the  establishment  of 
these  schools  ?  From  the  States.  In  what  proportion  did  the 
States  contribute  it?  Mr.  Benton.has  answered  this  question, 
as  the  reader  has  seen,  when  he  was  discussing  the  effect  of  the 
tariffs  under  which  the  South  had  so  long  been  depleted.  He 
has  told  us,  that  four  States  alone,  Virginia,  the  two  Carol inas 
and  Georgia,  defrayed  three  fourths  of  the  expenses  of  the 
General  Government ;  and  taking  the  whole  South  into  view, 
this  proportion  had  even  increased  since  his  day,  up  to  the 
breaking  out  of  the  war. 

Of  every  appropriation,  then,  that  was  made  by  Congress 
for  the  support  of  the  military  schools,  three  fourths  of  the 
money  belonged  to  the  Southern  States.  Did  these  States  send 
three  fourths  of  the  students  to  those  schools  ?  Of  course  not 

—  this  would  have  been  something  like  justice  to  them;  but 
justice  to  the  Southern  States  was  no  part  of  the  scheme  of  the 
Federal  Government.     With  the  exception  of  a  few  cadets,  and 
midshipmen  "at  large,"  whom  the  President  was  authorized  to 
appoint — the  intention  being  that  he  should  appoint  the  sons 
of  deceased  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy,  but  the  fact  being 
that  he  generally  gave  the  appointment  to  his  political  friends 

—  the  appointments  to  these  schools  were  made  from  the  sev 
eral  States,  in  proportion  to  population,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  North  got  the  lion's  share.    But  supposing  the  States 
to  have  been  equally  represented  in  those  schools,  what  would 
have  been  the  result  ?     Why,  simply  that  the  South  not  only 
educated   her   own  boys,  but  educated  three  fourths  of  the 
Northern  boys,  to  boot.     Virginia,  for  instance,  at  the  same 
time  that  she  sent  young  Eobert  E.  Lee  to  West  Point,  to  be 
educated,  put  in  the  public  treasury  not  only  money  enough 
to  pay  for  his  education,  and  maintenance,  but  for  the  educa 
tion  and  maintenance   of  three   Massachusetts    boys !      How 
ungrateful  of  Lee,  afterward,  being  thus  a  charity  scholar  of 
the  North,  to  draw  his  sword  against  her. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

AUTHOR  PROCEEDS  TO  MONTGOMERY,  AND  REPORTS  TO 
THE  NEW  GOVERNMENT,  AND  IS  DISPATCHED  NORTH 
WARD,  ON  A  SPECIAL  MISSION. 

ON  the  evening  of  the  16th  of  February,  the  day  after  I  had 
resigned  my  commission,  I  took  a  sorrowful  leave  of  my 
family,  and  departed  for  Montgomery,  by  the  way  of  Freder- 
icksburg  and  Richmond.  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  had 
not  yet  seceded,  and  anxious  debates  were  going  on,  on  the 
all-absorbing  question,  in  each  town  and  village  in  these  two 
States,  through  which  I  passed.  It  was  easy  to  see,  that  the 
great  majority  of  the  people  were  with  the  extreme  South,  in 
this  her  hour  of  need,  but  there  were  some  time-servers  and 
trimmers,  who  still  talked  of  conciliation,  and  of  guarantees. 
They  inquired  eagerly  after  news  from  Washington,  at  all  the 
stations  at  which  the  train  stopped,  and  seemed  disappointed 
when  they  found  we  had  nothing  more  to  tell  them,  than  they 
had  already  learned  through  the  telegraph. 

On  the  evening  of  the  18th,  I  entered  the  level  tract  of  pine 
lands  between  West  Point,  and  Montgomery.  The  air  had 
become  soft,  and  balmy,  though  I  had  left  a  region  of  frosts, 
and  snow,  only  two  days  before.  The  pine  woods  were  on  fire 
as  we  passed  through  them,  the  flames  now  and  then  running 
up  a  light  wood  tree,  and  throwing  a  weird  and  fitful  glare  upon 
the  passing  train.  The  scene  was  peculiarly  Southern,  and 
reminded  me  that  I  was  drawing  near  my  home,  and  my  people, 
and  I  mechanically  repeated  to  myself  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said, 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land!  " 

And  my  heart,  which  up  to  that  moment,  had  felt  as  though  a 
heavy  weight  were  pressing  upon  it,  began  to  give  more  vigor- 

81 


82  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ous  beats,  and  send  a  more  inspiring  current  through  my  veins. 
Under  this  happy  influence  I  sank,  as  the  night  advanced,  and 
the  train  thundered  on,  into  the  first  sound  sleep  which  had 
visited  my  weary  eyelids,  since  I  had  resigned  my  commission, 
and  read  at  the  foot  of  the  letter  accepting  my  resignation,  my 
name  inscribed  as  plain  "  Esq."  This  night-ride,  through  the 
burning  pine  woods  of  Alabama,  afterward  stood  as  a  great 
gulf  in  my  memory,  forming  an  impassable  barrier,  as  it  were, 
between  my  past,  and  my  future  life.  It  had  cost  me  pain  to 
cross  the  gulf,  but  once  crossed,  I  never  turned  to  look  back. 
When  I  washed  and  dressed  for  breakfast,  in  Montgomery,  the 
next  morning,  I  had  put  off  the  old  man,  and  put  on  the  new. 
The  labors,  and  associations  of  a  lifetime  had  been  inscribed 
in  a  volume,  which  had  been  closed,  and  a  new  book,  whose 
pages  were  as  yet  all  blank,  had  been  opened. 

My  first  duty  was  to  put  myself  in  communication  with  Mr. 
Conrad,  the  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Naval  Affairs. 
Several  naval  officers  had  preceded  me  to  the  seat  of  the  new 
government,  and  others  were  arriving.  It  was  agreed  that 
there  should  be  a  special  meeting  on  the  next  day,  in  joint 
session,  of  the  two  committees  —  on  military  and  naval  affairs. 

The  Confederate  Congress  was  in  session  in  the  State  Capi 
tol,  and  about  noon,  I  repaired  thither  to  witness  the  spectacle. 
They  did  me  the  honor  to  admit  me  to  the  floor,  and  upon  cast 
ing  my  eyes  over  the  august  assembly,  I  recognized  a  number 
of  familiar  faces.  General  Howell  Cobb  of  Georgia  was  the 
President ;  Toombs,  Crawford,  and  other  distinguished  men 
were  there  from  the  same  State.  Curry,  McRae,  Robert  H. 
Smith  and  other  able  men  were  there  from  Alabama.  In 
short  the  Congress  was  full  of  the  best  talent  of  the  South. 
It  was  by  far  the  best  Congress  that  ever  assembled  under  the 
new  government.  It  was  a  convention  as  well  as  a  Congress, 
since  it  was  charged  with  the  establishment  of  a  Provisional 
Government.  Every  one  realized  the  greatness  of  the  crisis 
that  was  upon  us,  and  hence  the  very  best  men  in  the  commu 
nity  had  been  selected  to  meet  the  emergency.  The  harmony 
of  the  body  was  equal  to  its  ability,  for,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
weeks,  it  had  put  the  complicated  machinery  of  a  government 
in  motion,  and  was  already  taking  active  measures  for  defence; 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         83 

in  case  the  Federal  power  should  decide  upon  making  war 
upon  us. 

Mr.  Davis,  the  Provisional  President,  had  preceded  me  to 
the  capital,  only  a  few  days,  and  my  next  step  was  to  call  upon 
him.  I  had  known  him  in  the  city  of  Washington.  He 
received  me  kindly,  and  almost  the  first  question  which  he 
asked  me,  was  whether  I  had  disembarrassed  myself  of  my 
Federal  commission.  I  replied  to  him  that  I  had  done  so,  as 
a  matter  of  course,  before  leaving  Washington,  and  that  my 
allegiance  henceforth  belonged  to  the  new  government,  and  to 
the  Southern  people.  He  seemed  gratified  at  this  declaration, 
and  entered  into  a  free,  and  frank  conversation  with  me,  on  the 
subject  of  the  want  of  preparation  for  defence,  in  which  he 
found  our  States,  and  the  great  labor  that  lay  before  us,  to  pre 
pare  for  emergencies.  Congress,  he  said,  has  not  yet  had  time 
to  organize  a  navy,  but  he  designed  to  make  immediate  use  of 
me,  if  I  had  no  objection.  I  told  him  that  my  services  were 
at  his  command,  in  any  capacity  he  thought  fit  to  employ  them. 
He  then  explained  to  me  his  plan  of  sending  me  back  to  the 
city  of  Washington,  and  thence  into  the  Northern  States,  to 
gather  together,  with  as  much  haste  as  possible,  such  persons, 
and  materials  of  war  as  might  be  of  most  pressing  necessity. 

The  persons  alluded  to,  were  to  be  mechanics  skilled  in  the 
manufacture,  and  use  of  ordnance,  and  rifle  machinery,  the 
preparation  of  fixed  ammunition,  percussion  caps,  &c.  So  ex 
clusively  had  the  manufacture  of  all  these  articles  for  the  use 
of  the  United  States,  been  confined  to  the  North,  under  "the 
best  government  the  world  ever  saw,"  that  we  had  not  even 
percussion  caps  enough  to  enable  us  to  fight  a  battle,  or  the 
machines  with  which  to  make  them,  although  we  had  captured 
all  the  forts,  and  arsenals  within  our  limits,  except  Fort  Sum- 
ter  and  Fort  McRae.  The  President  was  as  calm  and  unmoved 
as  I  had  ever  seen  him,  and  was  living  in  a  very  simple,  and  un 
pretending  style  at  the  Exchange  Hotel.  He  had  not  yet 
selected  all  his  Cabinet ;  nor  indeed  had  he  so  much  as  a  pri 
vate  secretary  at  his  command,  as  the  letter  of  instructions 
which  he  afterward  presented  me,  for  my  guidance,  was  writ 
ten  with  his  own  hand.  This  letter  was  very  full,  and  precise, 
frequently  descending  into  detail,  and  maDJ:festing  an  acquaint- 


84  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ance  with  bureau  duties,  scarcely  to  have  been  expected  from 
one  who  had  occupied  his  exalted  positions. 

On  the  next  day,  I  attended  the  joint-session  of  the  two 
committees  above  named.  These  committees  were  composed, 
as  was  to  have  been  expected,  of  some  of  the  best  men  of  the 
Congress.  Conrad,  Crawford,  Curry,  and  the  brilliant  young 
Bartow  of  Georgia  were  present,  among  others  whose  names  I 
do  not  now  recall.  But  few  naval  officers  of  any  rank  had  as 
yet  withdrawn  from  the  old  service ;  Rousseau,  Tattnall, 
Ingraham,  and  Randolph  were  all  the  captains  ;  and  Farrand, 
Brent,  Semmes,  and  Hartstone  were  all  the  commanders.  Of 
these  there  were  present  before  the  committees,  besides  myself, 
Rousseau,  Ingraham,  and  Randolph ;  Major  Wm.  H.  Chase,  late 
of  the  engineers  of  the  Federal  Army,  was  also  present.  Ran 
dolph  commanded  the  Navy  Yard  at  Pensacola,  and  Chase  the 
military  defences.  We  discussed  the  military  and  naval 
resources  of  the  country,  and  devised  such  means  of  defence 
as  were  within  our  reach  —  which  were  not  many — to  enable 
us  to  meet  the  most  pressing  exigences  of  our  situation,  and 
separated  after  a  session  of  several  hours.  I  can  do  no  more, 
of  course,  than  briefly  glance  at  these  things,  as  I  am  not 
writing,  as  before  remarked,  the  history  of  the  war. 

The  next  morning  I  called  again  on  the  President,  received 
my  instructions,  and  departed  Northward  on  the  mission  which 
had  been  assigned  me.  I  will  be  brief  in  the  description  of 
this  mission  also.  I  stopped  a  day  at  Richmond,  and  examined 
the  State  Arsenal,  in  charge  of  Capt.  Dimmock,  and  the  Trede- 
gar  Iron  Works  ;  having  been  especially  enjoined  to  report 
upon  the  present,  and  future  capacity  of  these  works  for  the 
casting  of  cannon,  shot,  shells,  &c.  The  establishment  had 
already  turned  its  attention  in  this  direction,  and  I  was  grati 
fied  to  find  that  it  was  capable  of  almost  indefinite  enlargement, 
and  that  it  could  be  made  a  most  valuable  auxiliary  to  us. 
The  reader  will  see  how  confidently  we  already  reckoned  upon 
the  support  of  Virginia. 

Reaching  Washington  again,  I  visited  the  Arsenal,  and 
inspected  such  of  its  machinery  as  I  thought  worth  my  notice, 
particularly  an  improved  percussion-cap  machine  which  I 
found  in  operation.  I  also  held  conferences  with  some  me- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        85 

chanics,  whom  I  desired  to  induce  to  go  South.  Whilst  I 
was  in  Washington  Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  newly  elected 
President  of  the  United  States,  arrived,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
inaugurated.  Being  purely  a  sectional  President,  and  feeling 
probably  that  he  had  no  just  right  to  rule  over  the  South,  he 
had  come  into  the  city  by  night,  and  in  disguise,  afraid  to  trust 
himself  among  a  people  of  whom  he  claimed  to  be  Chief  Magis 
trate.  Poor  old  General  Winfield  Scott  was  then  verging 
toward  senility,  and  second  childhood,  and  had  contributed  no 
little,  perhaps,  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  alarm.  He  had  been  gather 
ing  together  troops  for  some  days,  in  the  Federal  capital,  for 
the  purpose  of  inaugurating,  amid  bayonets,  a  President  of  the 
United  States.  It  had  been  the  boast  of  the  American  people, 
heretofore,  that  their  Presidents  did  not  need  guards,  but  trusted 
wholly  for  their  security,  to  the  love,  and  confidence  of  their 
constituents,  but  the  reign  of  peace,  and  good  will  was  at  an 
end,  and  the  reign  of  the  bayonet  was  to  ensue.  The  rum 
bling  of  artillery  through  the  streets  of  Washington,  and  the 
ring  of  grounded  arms  on  the  pavements,  had  sounded  the 
death-knell  of  liberty  in  these  States  for  generations.  Swarms 
of  visitors  from  far  and  near,  in  the  North  and  West,  had 
flocked  to  Washington,  to  see  their  President  inaugurated,  and 
were  proud  of  this  spectacle  of  arms  ;  too  stupid  to  see  its  fear 
ful  significance. 

The  auspicious  day,  the  4th  of  March,  at  length  arrived, 
and  whilst  the  glorious  pageant  is  being  prepared;  whilst  the 
windows  and  the  house-tops  along  Pennsylvania  Avenue  are 
being  thronged  with  a  motley  population  of  men  and  women, 
come  to  see  the  show  ;  whilst  the  President  elect,  in  a  hollow 
square  of  bayonets,  is  marching  toward  the  Capitol,  the  writer 
of  these  pages,  having  again  taken  leave  of  his  family,  was 
hurrying  away  from  the  desecration  of  a  capital,  which  had 
been  ceded  by  a  too  credulous  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  and 
which  had  been  laid  out  by  Washington.  As  I  left  the  Balti 
more  depot,  extra  trains  were  still  pouring  their  thousands 
into  the  streets  of  Washington.  I  arrived  in  New  York,  the 
next  day,  and  during  the  next  three  weeks,  visited  the  West 
Point  Academy,  whither  I  went  to  see  a  son,  who  was  a  cadet 
at  the  Institution,  and  who  afterward  became  a  major  of  light 


86  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

artillery,  in  the  Confederate  service ;  and  made  a  tour  through 
the  principal  work- shops  of  New  York,  Connecticut,  and 
Massachusetts. 

I  found  the  people  everywhere,  not  only  willing,  but  anxious 
to  contract  with  me.  I  purchased  large  quantities  of  percus 
sion  caps  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  sent  them  by  express 
without  any  disguise,  to  Montgomery.  I  made  contracts  for 
batteries  of  light  artillery,  powder,  and  other  munitions,  and 
succeeded  in  getting  large  quantities  of  the  powder  shipped. 
It  was  agreed  between  the  contractors  and  myself,  that  when  I 
should  have  occasion  to  use  the  telegraph,  certain  other  words 
were  to  be  substituted,  for  those  of  military  import,  to  avoid 
suspicion. 

I  made  a  contract,  conditioned  upon  the  approval  of  my 
Government,  for  the  removal  to  the  Southern  States,  of  a  com 
plete  set  of  machinery  for  rifling  cannon,  with  the  requisite 
skilled  workmen  to  put  it  in  operation.  Some  of  these  men, 
who  would  thus  have  sold  body,  and  soul  to  me,  for  a  sufficient 
consideration,  occupied  high  social  positions,  and  were  men  of 
wealth.  I  dined  with  them,  at  their  comfortable  residences 
near  their  factories,  where  the  music  of  boring  out  cannon, 
accompanied  the  clatter  of  the  dishes,  and  the  popping  of 
champagne-corks ;  and  I  had  more  than  one  business  interview 
with  gentlemen,  who  occupied  the  most  costly  suites  of  apart 
ments  at  the  Astor  House  in  New  York  City.  Many  of  these 
gentlemen,  being  unable  to  carry  out  their  contracts  with  the 
Confederate  States  because  of  the  prompt  breaking  out  of  the 
war,  afterward  obtained  lucrative  contracts  from  the  Federal 
Government,  and  became,  in  consequence,  intensely  loyal.  It 
would  be  a  quasi  breach  of  honor  to  disclose  their  names,  as 
they  dealt  with  me,  pretty  much  as  conspirators  against  their 
government  are  wont  to  deal  with  the  enemies  of  their  govern 
ment,  secretly,  and  with  an  implied  confidence  that  I  would 
keep  their  secret.  It  is  accordingly  safe. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  great  revolution  was  progressing. 
Abraham  Lincoln  had  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  with 
triple  rows  of  bayonets  between  him,  and  the  people  to  whom 
he  was  speaking,  in  which  address  he  had  puzzled  his  hearers, 
and  was  no  doubt  puzzled  himself,  as  to  what  he  really  meant, 


DURING  THE  WAK  BETWEEN  THE  STATES.    87 

He  was  like  President  Buchanan;  now  lie  saw  it,  and  now  he 
didn't.  He  would  not  coerce  the  States,  but  he  would  hold 
on  to  the  ceded  places  within  their  limits,  and  collect  the  pub 
lic  revenue.  Texas,  and  Arkansas  went  out  whilst  I  was  in 
New  York.  The  bulletin-boards  at  the  different  newspaper 
offices  were  daily  thronged  by  an  unwashed  multitude,  in 
search  of  some  new  excitement.  The  Northern  public  was 
evidently  puzzled.  It  had  at  first  rather  treated  secession  as 
a  joke.  They  did  not  think  it  possible  that  the  Southern  peo 
ple  could  be  in  earnest,  in  dissolving  their  connection  with  a 
people,  so  eminently  proper  as  themselves  ;  but  they  now 
began  to  waver  in  this  opinion.  Still  they  forbore  any  de 
cided  demonstration.  Like  sensible  men  they  preferred  waiting 
until  they  could  see  how  large  a  bull  they  were  required  to 
take  by  the  horns. 

Toward  the  latter  part  of  rny  stay  in  New  York  I  received 
the  following  letter  from  the  Hon.  Stephen  E.  Mallory,  who 
had  been  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  which  branch  of 
the  public  service  had  been  organized  since  I  had  left  Mont 
gomery  : 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  OP  AMERICA,  } 

NAVY  DEPT.,  MONTGOMERY,  ALA.,  March  13,  1861.  j 
COMMANDER  RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 

SIR: —  With  the  sanction  of  the  President,  I  am  constrained  to 
impose  upon  you  duties  connected  with  this  Department,  in  addi 
tion  to  the  important  trusts  with  which  you  are  charged;  but  I  do 
so,  upon  the  express  understanding,  that  they  are  not  to  interfere 
with  the  performance  of  your  special  duties.  I  have  received  reli 
able  information,  that  two,  or  more  steamers,  of  a  class  desired  for 
immediate  service,  may  be  purchased  at,  or  near  New  York; 
steamers  of  speed,  light  draught,  and  strength  sufficient  for  at  least 
one  heavy  gun.  When  I  say  to  you,  that  they  are  designed  to  navi 
gate  the  waters,  and  enter  the  bays,  and  inlets  of  the  coast,  from 
Charleston  to  the  St.  Mary's,  and  from  Key  West,  to  the  Rio 
Grande,  for  coast  defence  ;  that  their  speed  should  be  sufficient  to 
give  them,  at  all  times,  the  ability  to  engage,  or  evade  an  engage 
ment  ;  and  that  eight  or  ten-inch  guns,  with  perhaps  two  thirty- 
twos,  or  if  not,  two  of  smaller  calibre  should  constitute  their  bat 
tery,  your  judgment  will  need  no  further  guide.  Be  pleased, 
should  your  other  important  engagements  permit,  to  make  inquiries, 
in  such  manner  as  may  not  excite  special  attention,  and  give  me 
such  details  as  to  cost,  character,  &c.,  as  you  may  deem  im 
portant. 


88  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

Under  these  instructions  I  made  diligent  search  in  the 
waters  of  New  York,  for  such  steamers  as  were  wanted,  but 
none  could  be  found.  The  river,  and  Long  Island  Sound  boats 
were  mere  shells,  entirely  unfit  for  the  purposes  of  war,  and 
it  was  difficult  to  find  any  of  the  sea-going  steamers,  which 
combined  the  requisite  lightness  of  draught,  with  the  other 
qualities  desired. 

March  was  now  drawing  to  a  close,  the  war-cloud  was  assum 
ing  darker,  and  more  portentous  hues,  and  it  soon  became  evident 
that  my  usefulness  in  the  North  was  about  to  end.  Men  were 
becoming  more  shy  of  making  engagements  with  me,  and  the 
Federal  Government  was  becoming  more  watchful.  The  New 
York,  and  Savannah  steamers  were  still  running,  curiously 
enough  carrying  the  Federal  flag  at  the  peak,  and  the  Con 
federate  flag  at  the  fore ;  and  in  the  last  days  of  March,  I  em 
barked  on  board  one  of  them,  arriving  in  Montgomery  on  the 
4th  of  April,  just  eight  days  before  fire  was  opened  upon  Fort 
Sumter.  During  the  short  interval  that  elapsed  between  my 
arrival,  and  my  going  afloat,  I  was  put  in  charge  of  the  Light- 
House  Bureau ;  the  Confederate  Congress  having,  upon  my 
recommendation,  established  a  Bureau,  with  a  single  naval 
officer  at  its  head,  instead  of  the  complicated  machinery  of  a 
Board,  which  existed  in  the  old  Government.  I  had  barely 
time  to  appoint  the  necessary  clerks,  and  open  a  set  of  books, 
before  Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  and  the  tocsin  of  war  waa 
sounded. 


CHAPTEE   IX. 

THE     COMMISSIONING    OF    THE    STJMTEK,  THE    FIKST    CON- 
FEDEKATE   STATES'    SHIP    OF   WAK. 

FOET  Sumter  surrendered  on  the  13th  of  April.  The 
next  clay  was  a  gala  day  in  Montgomery.  We  had 
driven  an  insolent  enemy  from  one  of  the  strongest  positions 
in  the  South,  and  -the  people  were  all  agog  to  hear  the  news. 
A  large  Confederate  flag  was  displayed  from  a  balcony  of  the 
War  Office,  and  the  Hon.  L.  P.  Walker,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
announced  in  a  brief  speech,  to  the  assembled  multitude  be 
low,  amid  repeated  cheering,  and  the  waving  of  hats,  and 
handkerchiefs,  the  welcome  tidings.  The  Union  men,  who 
have  become  so  numerous  since  the  war,  had,  if  any  of  them 
were  in  the  city,  slunk  to  their  holes,  and  corners,  and  the  air 
was  redolent,  alone,  of  Southern  patriotism,  and  Southern 
enthusiasm. 

The  driving  of  the  enemy  from  Charleston  harbor,  decided 
the  fate  of  Virginia,  which  had  been  trembling  in  the  balance 
for  some  days.  The  grand  old  State  could  no  longer  resist 
her  generous  impulses.  Under  a  proclamation  of  President 
Lincoln  the  martial  hosts  of  an  enraged  and  vindictive  North 
were  assembling,  to  make  war  upon  her  sisters,  and  this  was 
enough  —  her  ordinance  of  secession  was  passed,  by  a  very 
gratifying  majority.  Patrick  Henry  had  become  a  prophet, 
and  the  beautiful,  and  touching  apostrophe  of  James  Madison 
to  the  "kindred  blood,"  and  the  "mingled  blood"  of  the 
American  people,  which  was  given  to  the  reader  a  few  pages 
back,  had  proved  to  be  the  mere  chimera  of  an  excited 
imagination. 

The  effect  of  the  surrender  of  Sumter  in  the  North  was  be 
yond  conception.  A  prominent  leader  of  the  public  press  of 

that  section  had  said  of  the  American  flag :  — 

89 


90  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  Tear  down  that  flaunting  lie, 
Half-mast  the  starry  flag, 
Insult  no  sunny  sky 
With  hate's  polluted  rag." 

Instantly,  and  as  if  by  the  touch  of  a  magician's  wand,  the 
polluted  rag  became  the  rallying  cry  of  the  whole  Northern 
people,  and  of  none  more  so,  than  of  the  very  men  who  had 
thus  denounced  it.  But  there  was  method  in  this  madness ; 
the  rag  had  only  been  polluted  whilst  it  was  the  emblem  of 
good  faith  between  the  North,  and  the  South ;  whilst,  in  other 
words,  it  prevented  the  rnad  fanatics  of  the  North  from  vio 
lating  that  slave  property,  which  their  ancestors  had  promised 
our  ancestors,  in  the  solemn  league  and  covenant  of  the  Con 
stitution,  should  forever  remain  inviolate. 

But  now  that  the  rag,  instead  of  being  an  obstacle,  might 
be  made  the  means  of  accomplishing  their  designs,  it  was  no 
longer  necessary  to  pull  it  down.  The  moment  it  was  fired 
upon,  it  became,  in  their  eyes,  a  new  flag,  and  the  symbol  of 
a  new  faith.  It  was  no  longer  to  represent  the  federative 
principle,  or  to  protect  the  rights  of  States ;  it  was  henceforth 
to  wave  over  yelling,  and  maddened  majorities,  whose  will 
was  to  be  both  Constitution,  and  law.  Strange  that  the 
thinking  portion  of  the  Northern  people  did  not  see  this; 
strange  that  the  hitherto  conservative  Democratic  party  did 
not  see  it.  Or  was  it  that  the  whole  North  had  been  wearing 
a  mask,  and  that  the  mask  was  now  no  longer  available,  or 
desirable,  to  hide  their  treachery? 

Perhaps  the  future  historian,  in  calmer  moments,  when  the 
waves  of  passion  engendered  by  the  late  storm  shall  have  sunk 
to  rest,  will  be  better  able  to  answer  this  question.  For  the 
present  it  is  sufficient  to  record  the  fact,  mortifying,  it  must  be 
confessed,  to  poor  human  nature,  that  all  our  quondam  friends, 
without  so  many  as  half  a  dozen  exceptions  in  a  whole  nation  — 
I  speak,  of  course,  of  prominent  men  —  went  over  to  the  com 
mon  enemy.  The  very  men  who  had  stood,  shoulder  to  shoul 
der,  with  us,  in  resisting  Northern  aggression,  who  had  en 
couraged  us  with  pen,  and  voice,  to  resist,  if  need  be,  unto  the 
death,  who  promised  in  case  of  secession,  to  stand  between  us; 
and  the  march  of  Northern  armies  of  invasion,  instantly,  and 


DURING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        91 

without  even  the  salvo  to  their  consciences  of  circumlocution, 
changed  their  political  faith  of  a  life-time,  and  became,  if  not 
straight-out  Republicans,  at  least  blatant  War  Democrats. 

The  reader  cannot  be  at  a  loss  to  account  for  this  change. 
It  was  caused  by  the  purest,  and  most  refined  selfishness. 
Next  to  the  love  of  wealth,  the  love  of  office  may  be  said  to  be 
the  distinguishing  passion  of  the  American  people.  In  the 
hands  of  a  skilful  office-seeker,  patriotism  is  a  mere  word  with 
which  to  delude  the  ignorant  masses,  and  not  a  sentiment,  or  a 
creed,  to  be  really  entertained.  Our  allies  in  the  North  were 
very  patriotic,  whilst  there  were  still  hopes  of  preserving  the 
Union,  and  along  with  it  the  prospect  of  office,  by  the  aid  of  the 
Southern  people,  but  the  moment  the  Southern  States  went  out, 
and  it  became  evident  that  they  would  be  politically  dead,  unless 
they  recanted  their  political  faith,  it  was  seen  that  they  had  no 
intention  of  becoming  martyrs.  Their  motto,  on  the  contrary, 
became  sauve  qui peut,  and  the  d — 1  take  the  hindmost;  and  the 
banks  of  the  new  political  Jordan  were  at  once  crowded  with 
a  multitude  anxious  to  be  dipped  in  its  regenerating  waters ! 

As  the  tidings  of  these  doings  in  the  North  were  flashed  to 
us,  over  the  wires,  in  Montgomery,  it  became  evident  to  me,  that 
the  Light-House  Bureau  was  no  longer  to  be  thought  of.  It 
had  become  necessary  for  every  man,  who  could  wield  a  sword, 
to  draw  it  in  defence  of  his  country,  thus  threatened  by  the 
swarming  hordes  of  the  North,  and  to  leave  the  things  of 
peace  to  the  future. 

I  had  already  passed  the  prime  of  life,  and  was  going  gently 
down  that  declivity,  at  whose  base  we  all  arrive,  sooner  or 
later,  but  /  thanked  God,  that  I  had  still  a  few  years  before  me, 
and  vigor  enough  of  constitution  left,  to  strike  in  defence  of 
the  right.  I  at  once  sought  an  interview  with  the  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  and  explained  to  him  my  desire  to  go  afloat.  We 
had,  as  yet,  nothing  that  could  be  called  a  navy ;  not  a  ship  in 
deed,  if  we  except  a  few  river  steamers,  that  had  been  hastily 
armed  by  some  of  the  States,  and  turned  over,  by  them,  to  the 
Navy  Department.  The  naval  officers,  who  had  come  South, 
had  brought  with  them  nothing  but  their  poverty,  and  their 
swords ;  all  of  them  who  had  been  in  command  of  ships,  at  the 
secession  of  their  respective  States,  having,  from  a  sense  of 
honor,  delivered  them  back  to  the  Federal  Government. 


92  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

If  a  sense  of  justice  had  presided  at  the  separation  of  the 
States,  a  large  portion  of  the  ships  of  the  Navy  would  have 
been  turned  over  to  the  South ;  and  this  failing  to  be  done,  it 
may  be  questionable  whether  the  Southern  naval  officers,  in 
command,  would  not  have  been  justified  in  bringing  their 
ships  with  them,  which  it  would  have  been  easy  for  them  to 
do.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  they  had  been  personally  intrusted 
with  their  commands,  by  the  Federal  Government,  and  it  would 
have  been  treason  to  a  military  principle,  if  not  to  those  great 
principles  which  guide  revolutions,  to  deliver  those  commands 
to  a  different  government.  Perhaps  they  decided  correctly  — 
at  all  events,  a  military,  or  naval  man,  cannot  go  very  far 
astray,  who  abides  by  the  point  of  honor. 

Shortly  before  the  war-cloud  had  arisen  so  ominously  above 
the  political  horizon,  I  had  written  a  letter  to  a  distinguished 
member  of  the  Federal  Congress  from  the  South,  in  reply  to 
one  from  himself,  giving  him  my  views  as  to  the  naval  policy 
of  our  section,  in  case  things  should  come  to  a  crisis.  I  make 
no  apology  to  the  reader  for  presenting  him  with  the  following 
extract  from  that  letter,  bearing  upon  the  subject,  which  we 
have  now  in  hand.  "  You  ask  me  to  explain  what  I  mean,  by 
an  irregular  naval  force.  I  mean  a  well -organized  system  of 
private  armed  ships,  called  privateers.  If  you  are  warred  upon 
at  all,  it  will  be  by  a  commercial  people,  whose  ability  to  do 
you  harm  will  consist  chiefly  in  ships,  and  shipping.  It  is  at 
ships  and  shipping,  therefore,  that  you  must  strike ;  and  the 
most  effectual  way  to  do  this,  is,  by  means  of  the  irregular 
force  of  which  I  speak.  Private  cupidity  will  always  furnish 
the  means  for  this  description  of  warfare,  and  all  that  will  be 
required  of  you  will  be  to  put  it  under  sufficient  legal  restraints, 
to  prevent  it  from  degenerating  into  piracy,  and  becoming  an 
abuse.  Even  New  England  ships,  and  New  England  capital 
would  be  at  your  service,  in  abundance.  The  system  of  pri 
vateering  would  be  analogous  to  the  militia  system  on  the 
land.  You  could  have  a  large  irregular  sea  force,  to  act  in  aid 
of  the  regular  naval  force,  so  long  as  the  war  lasted,  and  which 
could  be  disbanded,  without  further  care  or  expense,  at  the 
end  of  the  war." 

Wealth  is  necessary  to  the  conduct  of  all  modern  wars,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        93 

I  naturally  turned  my  eyes,  as  indicated  in  the  above  letter,  to 
the  enemy's  chief  source  of  wealth.  The  ingenuity,  enter 
prise,  and  natural  adaptation  of  the  Northern  people  to  the 
sea,  and  seafaring  pursuits,  had  enabled  them,  aided  by  the 
vast  resources,  which  they  had  filched,  under  pretence  of 
legislation,  from  the  South,  to  build  up,  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  years,  a  commercial  marine  that  was  second  only  to 
that  of  Great  Britain,  in  magnitude  and  importance. 

The  first  decked  vessel  that  had  been  built  in  the  United 
States,  was  built  by  one  Adrian  Block,  a  Dutch  skipper,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Hudson,  in  1614,  and  in  1860,  or  in  less  than 
two  centuries  and  a  half,  the  great  Eepublic  was  competing 
with  England,  the  history  of  whose  maritime  enterprise  ex 
tended  back  a  thousand  years,  for  the  carrying  trade  of  the 
world !  This  trade,  if  permitted  to  continue,  would  be  a  pow 
erful  means  of  sustaining  the  credit  of  the  enemy,  and  enabling 
him  to  carry  on  the  war.  Hence  it  became  an  object  of  the 
first  necessity  with  the  Confederate  States,  to  strike  at  his  com 
merce.  I  enlarged  upon  this  necessity,  in  the  interview  I  was 
now  holding  with  Mr.  Mallory,  and  I  was  gratified  to  find  that 
that  able  officer  agreed  with  me  fully  in  opinion. 

A  Board  of  naval  officers  was  already  in  session  at  New 
Orleans,  charged  writh  the  duty  of  procuring,  as  speedily  as 
possible,  some  light  and  fast  steamers  to  be  let  loose  against 
the  enemy's  commercial  marine,  but  their  reports  up  to  this 
time,  had  been  but  little  satisfactory.  They  had  examined  a 
number  of  vessels,  and  found  some  defects  in  all  of  them. 
The  Secretary,  speaking  of  the  discouragement  presented  by 
these  reports,  handed  me  one  of  them,  wrhich  he  had  received 
that  morning,  from  the  Board.  I  read  it,  and  found  that  it 
described  a  small  propeller  steamer,  of  five  hundred  tons  bur 
den,  sea-going,  with  a  low-pressure  engine,  sound,  and  capable 
of  being  so  strengthened  as  to  be  enabled  to  carry  an  ordinary 
battery  of  four,  or  five  guns.  Her  speed  was  reported  to  be 
between  nine,  and  ten  knots,  but  unfortunately,  said  the  Board, 
she  carries  but  five  days'  fuel,  and  has  no  accommodations 
for  the  crew  of  a  ship  of  war.  She  was,  accordingly,  con 
demned.  When  I  had  finished  reading  the  report,  I  turned 
to  the  Secretary,  and  said,  "  Give  me  that  ship ;  I  think  I  can 


94  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

make  her  answer  the  purpose."  My  request  was  at  once 
acceded  to,  the  Secretary  telegraphed  to  the  Board,  to  receive 
the  ship,  and  the  clerks  of  the  Department  were  set  at  work, 
to  hunt  up  the  necessary  officers,  to  accompany  me,  and  make 
out  the  proper  orders.  And  this  is  the  way  in  which  the 
Confederate  States'  steamer  Sumter,  which  was  to  have  the 
honor  of  being  the  first  ship  of  war  to  throw  the  new  Confede 
rate  flag  to  the  breeze,  was  commissioned.  I  had  accepted  a 
stone  which  had  been  rejected  of  the  builders,  and  which, 
though,  it  did  not  afterward  become  the  "  chief  corner-stone  of 
the  temple,"  I  endeavored  to  work  into  the  building  which  the 
Confederates  were  then  rearing,  to  remind  their  posterity  that 
they  had  struggled,  as  Patrick  Henry  and  his  contemporaries 
had  struggled  before  them,  "in  defence  of  their  liberties." 

The  next  day,  the  chief  clerk  of  the  Navy  Department 
handed  me  the  following  order : 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  ") 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  MONTGOMERY,  April  18,  1861.  J 
SIR  :  —  You  are  hereby  detached  from  duty  as  Chief  of  the 
Light-House  Bureau,  and  -will  proceed  to  New  Orleans,  and  take 
command  of  the  steamer  Sumter  (named  in  honor  of  our  recent 
victory  over  Fort  Sumter).  The  following  officers  have  been 
ordered  to  report  to  you,  for  duty :  Lieutenants  John  M.  Kell,  R. 
T.  Chapman,  John  M.  Stribling,  and  Wm.  E.  Evans ;  Paymaster 
Henry  Myers  ;  Surg-eon  Francis  L.  Gait ;  Midshipmen,  Wm.  A. 
Hicks,  Richard  F.  Armstrong,  Albert  G.  Hudgins,  John  F.  Holden, 
and  Jos.  D.  Wilson.  I  am  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

S.  R.  MALLORY,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
Commander  RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  I  am  addressed  as  a  "com 
mander,"  the  rank  which  I  held  in  the  old  service.  The  Navy 
Department,  in  consultation  with  the  President,  had  adopted 
the  rule  of  accepting  all  the  officers  who  chose  to  come  to  us 
from  the  old  Navy  —  as  the  Federal  Navy  began  now  to  be  called 
—  without  increase  of  rank ;  and  in  arranging  them  on  the 
Navy-list,  their  old  relative  rank  was  also  preserved.  This  rule 
had  two  good  effects ;  it  did  not  tempt  any  officer  to  come  to 
us,  moved  by  the  hope  of  immediate  promotion,  and  it  put  us 
all  on  an  equal  footing,  in  the  future  race  for  honors. 

I  had  been  living  in  Montgomery  as  a  bachelor,  at  the  house 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        95 

of  Mr.  Wm.  Knox,  an  old  friend  —  my  family  Laving  gone 
to  spend  some  time  with  a  beloved  brother,  in  Maryland,  until 
I  could  see,  by  the  light  of  events,  what  final  disposition  to 
make  of  it.  It  did  not  occupy  me  long,  therefore,  to  make  my 
preparations  for  departure,  in  obedience  to  my  orders.  I  took 
a  respectful,  and  affectionate  leave  of  the  officers  of  the  gov 
ernment,  with  whom  I  had  been  associated,  and  embarked  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  on  which  I  had  received  my 
orders,  on  board  the  steamer  Southern  Republic  for  Mobile. 
At  Mobile  I  fell  in  with  Lieutenant  Chapman,  one  of  the  offi 
cers  who  had  been  detailed  to  report  to  me,  and  he,  being  a 
minute-man  like  myself,  took  a  hasty  leave  of  a  young  wife, 
and  we  continued  our  journey  together. 

I  found  Mobile,  like  the  rest  of  the  Confederacy,  in  a  great 
state  of  excitement.  Always  one  of  the  truest  of  Southern 
cities,  it  was  boiling  over  with  enthusiasm ;  the  young  mer 
chants  had  dropped  their  daybooks  and  ledgers,  and  were 
forming,  and  drilling  companies,  by  night  and  by  day,  whilst 
the  older  ones  were  discussing  questions  of  finance,  and  anx 
iously  casting  about  them,  to  see  how  the  Confederate  Treasury 
could  be  supported.  The  Battle  House,  at  which  I  stopped 
for  a  few  hours,  previous  to  taking  the  steamer  for  New  Or 
leans,  was  thronged  with  young  men  in  military  costume,  and 
all  seemed  going  "  as  merrily  as  a  marriage-bell."  Alas  !  my 
poor  young  countrymen,  how  many  of  you  had  disappeared 
from  the  scene,  when  I  next  returned  among  you,  near  the 
close  of  the  war,  and  how  many  poor  mothers  there  were,  weeping 
for  the  sons  that  were  not.  But  your  gallant  and  glorious 
record!  —  that,  at  least,  remains,  and  must  remain  forever;  for 
you  have  inscribed  your  names  so  high  on  the  scroll  of  fame, 
that  the  slanderous  breath  of  an  ungenerous  foe  can  never 
reach  them. 

I  arrived  in  New  Orleans,  on  Monday,  the  22d  of  April,  and 
at  once  put  myself  in  communication  with  the  commanding 
naval  officer,  the  venerable  Lawrence  Rousseau,  since  gone  to 
his  long  home,  full  of  years,  and  full  of  honors.  Like  a  true 
son  of  the  South  he  had  obeyed  the  first  call  of  his  fatherland, 
the  State  of  Louisiana,  and  torn  off  the  seal  from  the  commis 
sion  of  a  Federal  captain,  which  he  had  honored  for  forty 
7 


06  MEMOIRS  OF  SEEVICE  AFLOAT. 

years.  I  will  not  say,  "  peace  to  his  ashes,"  for  the  spirit  of  a 
Christian  gentleman,  which  animated  his  frame  during  life,  has 
doubtless  received  its  appropriate  reward ;  nor  will  I  say 
aught  of  his  name,  or  fame,  for  these  are  embalmed  in  the 
memories  of  his  countrymen.  He  was  my  friend,  and  in  that 
name  "  friend  "  I  pronounce  his  eulogy.  On  the  same  day  of 
my  arrival,  in  company  with  Lieutenant  Chapman,  I  inspected, 
and  took  possession  of  my  new  ship.  I  found  her  only  a  dis 
mantled  packet-ship,  full  of  upper  cabins,  and  other  top-hamper, 
furniture,  and  crockery,  but  as  unlike  a  ship  of  war  as  possible. 
Still,  I  was  pleased  with  her  general  appearance.  Her  lines 
were  easy,  and  graceful,  and  she  had  a  sort  of  saucy  air  about 
her,  which  seemed  to  say,  that  she  was  not  averse  to  the  ser 
vice  on  which  she  was  about  to  be  emploved. 


CHAPTEE   X. 

THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  SUMTER  FOR  SEA SHE  DROPS 

DOWN  BETWEEN  THE  FORTS  JACKSON,  AND  ST.  PHILIP 

RECEIVES  HER  SAILING  ORDERS LIST  OF  OFFICERS. 

A  GREAT  change  was  apparent  in  New  Orleans  since  I 
had  last  visited  it.  The  levee  in  front  of  the  city  was  no 
longer  a  great  mart  of  commerce,  piled  with  cotton  bales,  and 
supplies  going  back  to  the  planter ;  densely  packed  with  steam 
ers,  and  thronged  with  a  busy  multitude.  The  long  lines  of 
shipping  above  the  city  had  been  greatly  thinned,  and  a  gen 
eral  air  of  desolation  hung  over  the  river  front.  It  seemed  as 
though  a  pestilence  brooded  over  the  doomed  city,  and  that  its 
inhabitants  had  fled  before  the  fell  destroyer.  The  Sumter  lay 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  at  Algiers,  and  I  crossed  over 
every  morning  to  superintend  her  refitment.  I  was  sometimes 
detained  at  the  ferry-house,  waiting  for  the  ferry-boat,  and  on 
these  occasions,  casting  my  eyes  up  and  down  the  late  busy 
river,  it  was  not  unfrequent  to  see  it  without  so  much  as  a 
skiff  in  motion  on  its  bosom. 

But  this  first  simoon  of  the  desert  which  had  swept  over  the 
city,  as  a  foretaste  of  what  was  to  come,  had  by  no  means  dis 
couraged  its  patriotic  inhabitants.  The  activity  of  commerce 
had  ceased,  it  is  true,  but  another  description  of  activity  had 
taken  its  place.  War  now  occupied  the  thoughts  of  the  mul 
titude,  and  the  sound  of  the  drum,  and  the  tramp  of  armed 
men  were  heard  in  the  streets.  The  balconies  were  crowded 
with  lovely  women  in  gay  attire,  to  witness  the  military  pro 
cessions,  and  the  Confederate  flag  in  miniature  was  pinned  on 
almost  every  bosom.  The  enthusiasm  of  the  Frenchman  had 
been  most  easily  and  gracefully  blended  with  the  stern  deter 
mination  of  the  Southern  man  of  English  descent;  the  con 
sequence  of  which  was,  that  there  was  more  demonstrative 

97 


98  MEMOIKS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

patriotism  in  New  Orleans,  than  in  any  other  of  our  Southern 
cities.  Nor  was  this  patriotism,  demonstrative  only,  it  was 
deep  and  real,  and  was  afterward  sealed  with  some  of  the  best 
Creole  blood  of  the  land,  poured  out,  freely,  on  many  a  despe 
rate  battle-field.  Alas!  poor  Louisiana.  Once  the  seat  of 
wealth,  and  of  a  gay  and  refined  hospitality,  thy  manorial  resi 
dences  are  deserted,  and  in  decay,  or  have  been  levelled  by 
the  torch  of  the  incendiary ;  thy  fruitful  fields,  that  were  cul 
tivated  by  the  contented  laborer,  who  whistled  his  merriment 
to  his  lazy  plow,  have  been  given  to  the  jungle ;  thy  fair 
daughters  have  been  insulted,  by  the  coarse,  and  rude  Vandal ; 
and  even  thy  liberties  have  been  given  in  charge  of  thy  freed- 
men ;  and  all  this,  because  thou  wouldst  thyself  be  free ! 

I  now  took  my  ship  actively  in  hand,  and  set  gangs  of  me 
chanics  at  work  to  remove  her  upper  cabins,  and  other  top- 
hamper,  preparatory  to  making  the  necessary  alterations. 
These  latter  were  considerable,  and  I  soon  found  that  I  had  a 
tedious  job  on  my  hands.  It  was  no  longer  the  case,  as  it  had 
been  in  former  years,  when  I  had  had  occasion  to  fit  out  a  ship, 
that  I  could  go  into  a  navy-yard,  with  well-provided  work 
shops,  and  skilled  workmen  ready  with  all  the  requsite  mate 
rials  at  hand  to  execute  my  orders.  Everything  had  to  be  im 
provised,  from  the  manufacture  of  a  water-tank,  to  the  "  kids, 
and  cans"  of  the  berth-deck  messes,  and  from  a  gun-carriage 
to  a  friction-primer.  I  had  not  only  to  devise  all  the  altera 
tions  but  to  make  plans,  and  drawings  of  them,  before  they 
could  be  comprehended.  The  main  deck  was  strengthened,  by 
the  addition  of  heavy  beams  to  enable  it  to  support  the  battery; 
a  berth-deck  was  laid  for  the  accommodation  of  the  crew ;  the 
engine,  which  was  partly  above  the  water-line,  was  protected 
by  a  system  of  wood-work,  and  iron  bars  ;  the  ship's  rig  was 
altered  so  as  to  convert  her  into  a  barkentine,  with  square-sails 
on  her  fore  and  main-masts ;  the  officers'  quarters,  including 
my  own  cabin,  were  re-arranged  ;  new  suits  of  sails  were  made, 
and  new  boats  constructed ;  hammocks  and  bedding  were  pro 
cured  for  the  crew,  and  guns,  gun-carriages,  and  ammunition 
ordered.  Two  long,  tedious  months  were  consumed  in  mak 
ing  these  various  alterations,  and  additions.  My  battery  was 
to  consist  of  an  eight-inch  shell  gun,  to  be  pivoted  amid- 


DURING    THE   WAE    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.         99 

ships,  and  of  four  light  thirty-two  pounders,  of  thirteen  cwt. 
each,  in  broadside. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  was  as  anxious  as  myself  that 
I  should  get  to  sea  immediately,  had  given  me  all  the  assist 
ance  in  his  power,  readily  acceding  to  my  requests,  and 
promptly  filling,  or  causing  to  be  rilled,  all  my  requisitions. 
With  the  secession  of  Virginia  we  had  become  possessed  of  a 
valuable  depot  of  naval  supplies,  in  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard.  It 
was  filled  with  guns,  shot,  shell,  cordage,  and  everything  that 
was  useful  in  the  equipment  of  a  ship,  but  it  was  far  away 
from  New  Orleans,  and  such  was  the  confusion  along  the  dif 
ferent  lines  of  railroad,  that  it  was  difficult  to  procure  trans 
portation.  Commander  Terry  Sinclair,  the  active  ordnance 
officer  of  the  yard,  had  early  dispatched  my  guns,  by  railroad, 
but  weeks  elapsed  without  my  being  able  to  hear  anything  of 
them.  I  was  finally  obliged  to  send  a  lieutenant  in  search  of 
them,  who  picked  them  up,  one  by  one,  as  they  had  been 
thrown  out  on  the  road-side,  to  make  room  for  other  freight. 
My  gun-carriages  I  was  obliged  to  have  constructed  myself, 
and  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  the  services  of  a  very 
ingenious  mechanic  to  assist  me  in  this  part  of  my  duties  — 
Mr.  Eoy,  a  former  employee  of  the  Custom-House,  within 
whose  ample  walls  he  had  established  his  work-shop.  He  con 
trived  most  ingeniously,  and  constructed  out  of  railroad  iron, 
one  of  the  best  carriages  (or  rather,  slide  and  circle)  for  a  pivot- 
gun,  which  I  have  ever  seen.  The  large  foundry  of  Leeds  & 
Co.  took  the  contract  for  casting  my  shot,  and  shells,  and 
executed  it  to  my  satisfaction. 

Whilst  all  these  various  operations  are  going  on,  we  may 
conveniently  look  around  us  upon  passing  events,  or  at  least 
upon  such  of  them  as  have  a  bearing  upon  naval  operations. 
President  Davis,  a  few  days  after  the  secession  of  Virginia,  and 
when  war  had  become  imminent,  issued  a  proclamation  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  that  irregular  naval  force,  of  which  I  have 
spoken  in  a  previous  page.  Parties  were  invited  to  apply  for 
letters-of-marque  and  reprisal,  with  a  view  to  the  fitting  out 
of  privateers,  to  prey  upon  the  enemy's  commerce.  Under 
this  proclamation  several  privateers  —  generally  light-draught 
river-steamers,  with  one  or  two  small  guns  each  —  were  hastily 


100  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

prepared,  in  New  Orleans,  and  bad  already  brought  in  some 
prizes  captured  off  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi.  Even  this 
small  demonstration  seemed  to  surprise,  as  well  as  alarm  the 
Northern  government,  for  President  Lincoln  now  issued  a  pro 
clamation  declaring  the  molestation  of  Federal  vessels,  on  the 
high  seas,  by  Confederate  cruisers,  piracy.  He  had  also  issued 
a  proclamation  declaring  the  ports  of  the  Confederacy  in  a 
state  of  blockade.  The  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  were  to  be 
sealed  on  the  25th  of  May. 

The  European  governments,  as  soon  as  it  became  evident, 
that  the  two  sections  were  really  at  war,  took  measures  accord 
ingly.  Great  Britain  took  the  lead,  and  declared  a  strict  neu 
trality  between  the  combatants.  It  was  of  the  essence  of  such 
a  declaration,  that  it  should  put  both  belligerents  on  the  same 
footing.  This  was  apparently  done,  and  the  cruisers  of  both 
sections  were  prohibited,  alike,  from  taking  their  prizes  into 
British  ports.  I  shall  have  something  to  say  of  the  unequal 
operation  of  this  declaration  of  neutrality,  in  a  future  part  of 
these  memoirs ;  for  the  present  it  is  only  necessary  to  state, 
that  it  acknowledged  us  to  be  in  possession  of  belligerent 
rights.  This  was  a  point  gained  certainly,  but  it  was  no  more 
than  was  to  have  been  expected.  Indeed,  Great  Britain  could 
do  nothing  less.  In  recognizing  the  war  which  had  broken 
out  between  the  sections,  as  a  war,  and  not  as  a  mere  insurrec 
tion,  she  had  only  followed  the  lead  of  Mr.  Lincoln  himself. 
Efforts  had  been  made  it  is  true,  both  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  his 
Secretary  of  State,  to  convince  the  European  governments  that 
the  job  which  they  had  on  their  hands  was  a  small  affair ;  a 
mere  family  quarrel,  of  no  great  significance, 

But  the  truth  would  not  be  suppressed,  and  when,  at  last,  it 
became  necessary  to  declare  the  Confederate  ports  in  a  state  of 
blockade,  and  to  send  ships  of  war  thither,  to  enforce  the  dec 
laration,  the  sly  little  game  which  they  had  been  playing  was 
all  up  with  them.  A  blockade  was  an  act  of  war,  which  came 
under  the  cognizance  of  the  laws  of  nations.  It  concerned 
neutrals,  as  well  as  belligerents,  and  foreign  nations  were 
bound  to  take  notice  of  it.  It  followed  that  there  could  not 
be  a  blockade  without  a  war;  and  it  equally  followed,  that 
there  could  not  be  a  war  without  at  least  two  belligerent  par- 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES        101 

ties  to  it.  It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  the  declaration  of  neu 
trality  of  Great  Britain  was  a  logical  sequence  of  Mr.  Lincoln's, 
and  Mr.  Seward's  own  act.  And  yet  with  sullen,  and  singular 
inconsistency,  the  Northern  Government  has  objected,  from  that 
day  to  this,  to  this  mere  routine  act  of  Great  Britain.  So 
much  was  this  act  considered,  as  a  matter  of  course,  at  the  time, 
that  all  the  other  powers  of  the  earth,  of  sufficient  dignity  to 
act  in  the  premises,  at  all,  followed  the  example  set  them  by 
Great  Britain,  and  issued  similar  declarations ;  and  the  four 
years  of  bloody  war  that  followed  justified  the  wisdom  of  their 
acts. 

We  may  now  return  to  the  equipment  of  the  Sumter.  A 
rendezvouz  had  been  opened,  and  a  crew  had  been  shipped  for 
her,  which  was  temporarily  berthed  on  board  the  receiving 
ship,  Star  of  the  West,  a  transport-steamer  of  the  enemy, 
which  had  been  gallantly  captured  by  some  Texans,  and 
turned  over  to  the  Navy.  New  Orleans  was  full  of  seamen, 
discharged  from  ships  that  had  been  laid  up,  and  more  men 
were  offering  themselves  for  service,  than  I  could  receive.  I 
had  the  advantage,  therefore,  of  picking  my  crew,  an  advan 
tage  which  no  one  but  a  seaman  can  fully  appreciate.  My 
lieutenants,  surgeon,  paymaster,  and  marine  officer  had  all 
arrived,  and,  with  the  consent  of  the  Navy  Department,  I  had 
appointed  my  engineers  —  one  chief,  and  three  assistants  — 
boatswain,  carpenter,  and  sailmaker.  My  provisions  had  been 
purchased,  and  were  ready  to  be  put  on  board,  and  my  funds 
had  already  arrived,  but  we  were  still  waiting  on  the  mechan 
ics,  who,  though  doing  their  best,  had  not  yet  been  able  to  turn 
the  ship  over  to  us.  From  the  following  letter  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy,  inclosing  a  requisition  for  funds,  it  will  be 
seen  that  my  demands  upon  the  department  were  quite  mode 
rate,  and  that  I  expected  to  make  the  Sumter  pay  her  own  ex 
penses,  as  soon  as  she  should  get  to  sea. 

NEW  ORLEANS,  May  14,  1861. 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose,  herewith,  a  requisition  for 
the  sum  of  $10,000,  which  I  request  may  be  remitted  to  the  pay 
master  of  the  Sinnter,  in  specie,  for  use  during  my  contemplated 
cruise.  I  may  find  it  necessary  to  coal  several  times,  and  to  sup 
ply  my  crew  with  fresh  provisions,  &c.,  before  I  have  the  opportu 
nity  of  replenishing  my  military  chest  from  the  enemy. 


102  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  ammunition  remained  to  be  provided,  and  on  the  20th  of 
May,  I  dispatched  Lieutenant  Chapman  to  the  Baton  Kouge 
Arsenal,  which  had  been  captured  a  short  time  before,  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  it,  under  the  following  letter  of  instruc 
tions  : 

NEW  ORLEANS,  May  20,  1861. 

SIR: — You  will  proceed  to  Baton  Kouge,  and  put  yourself  in  com 
munication  with  the  commander  of  the  C.  S.  Arsenal,  at  that  point, 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  ammunition,  arms,  shot,  shell,  &c., 
that  may  be  required  for  the  supply  of  the  C.  S.  steamer  Sumter, 
now  fitting  for  sea  at  this  port.  It  is  presumed  that  the  proper  orders 
[which  had  been  requested]  have  been,  or  will  be  dispatched  from 
Montgomery,  authorizing  the  issue  of  all  such  articles,  as  we  may 
need.  Should  this  not  be  the  case,  with  regard  to  any  of  the 
articles,  it  is  hoped  that  the  ordnance  officer  in  charge  will  not 
hesitate  to  deliver  them,  as  it  is  highly  important  that  the  Sumter 
should  not  be  detained,  because  of  any  oversight,  or  informality,  in 
the  orders  of  the  War  Department.  Be  pleased  to  present  the  ac 
companying  requisition  to  Captain  Booth,  the  superintendent,  and 
ask  that  it  may  be  filled.  The  gunner  will  be  directed  to  report  to 
you,  to  accompany  you  to  Baton  Rouge,  on  this  service. 

The  reader  will  thus  perceive  that  many  difficulties  lay  in 
the  way  of  equipping  the  Sumter ;  that  I  was  obliged  to  pick 
up  one  material  here,  and  another  there,  as  I  could  best  find  it, 
and  that  I  was  not  altogether  free  from  the  routine  of  the 
"  Circumlocution  Office,"  as  my  requisitions  had  frequently 
to  pass  through  many  hands,  before  they  could  be  complied 
with. 

About  this  time,  we  met  with  a  sad  accident  in  the  loss  of 
one  of  our  midshipmen,  by  drowning.  He,  with  other  young 
officers  of  the  Sumter,  had  been  stationed,  temporarily,  on 
board  the  receiving  ship,  in  charge  of  the  Sumter1  s  crew, 
whilst  the  latter  ship  was  still  in  the  hands  of  the  mechanics. 
The  following  letter  of  condolence  to  the  father  of  the  young 
gentleman  will  sufficiently  explain  the  circumstances  of  the 

disaster 

NEW  ORLEANS,  May  18,  1861. 

SIR: — It  becomes  my  melancholy  duty  to  inform  you,  of  the 
death,  by  drowning,  yesterday,  of  your  son,  Midshipman  John  F. 
Holden,  of  the  C.  S.  steamer  Sumter,  Your  son  was  temporarily 
attached  to  the  receiving  ship  (late  Star  of  the  Went)  at  this 
place,  whilst  the  Sumter  was  being  prepared  for  sea,  and  whilst 
engaged  in  carrying  out  an  anchor,  in  a  boat  belonging  to  that 


DUEING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        103 

ship,  met  bis  melancholy  fate,  along  with  three  of  the  crew,  by  the 
swamping  of  the  boat,  in  which  he  was  embarked.  I  offer  you,  my 
dear  sir,  my  heartfelt  condolence  on  this  sad  bereavement.  You 
have  lost  a  cherished  son,  and  the  Government  a  valuable  and 
promising  young  officer. 

W.  B.  HOLDEN,  ESQ.,    Louisburg,    Tenn. 

War  had  begun,  thus  early,  to  demand  of  us  our  sacrifices. 
Tennessee  had  not  yet  seceded,  and  yet  this  ardent  Southern 
youth  had  withdrawn  from  the  Naval  Academy,  and  cast  his 
lot  with  his  section. 

A  few  extracts  from  my  journal  will  now;  perhaps,  give  the 
reader  a  better  idea  of  the  progress  of  my  preparations  for  sea, 
and  of  passing  events,  than  any  other  form  of  narrative.  May 
27th.  —  News  received  this  morning  of  the  appearance,  at  Pass 
a  L'Outre,  yesterday,  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  Brooklyn,  and  of 
the  establishment  of  the  blockade.  Work  is  progressing  satis 
factorily,  and  I  expect  to  be  ready  for  sea,  by  Sunday  next. 

News  of  skirmishing  in  Virginia,  and  of  fresh  arrivals  of 
Northern  troops,  at  Washington,  en  route  for  that  State.  The 
Federal  Government  has  crossed  the  Potomac,  in  force,  and 
thus  inaugurated  a  bloody,  and  a  bitter  war,  by  the  inva 
sion  of  our  territory.  So  be  it  —  we  but  accept  the  gantlet, 
which  has  been  flung  in  our  faces.  The  future  will  tell  a  tale 
not  unworthy  of  the  South,  and  her  glorious  cause. 

Monday,  May  30th.  My  patience  is  sorely  tried  by  the 
mechanics.  The  water-tanks  for  the  Sumter  are  not  yet  com 
pleted.  The  carriage  for  the  8-inch  gun  was  finished,  to-day, 
and  we  are  busy  laying  down  the  circles  for  it,  and  cutting  the 
holes  for  the  fighting-bolts.  The  carriages  for  the  32-pounders 
are  promised  us,  by  Saturday  next,  and  also  the  copper  tanks 
for  the  magazine.  Our  ammunition,  and  small  arms  arrived, 
yesterday,  from  Baton  Eouge.  Besides  the  Brooklyn,  at  the 
Passes,  we  learn,  to-day,  that  the  Niagara,  and  Minnesota,  two 
of  the  enemy's  fastest,  and  heaviest  steamships  have  arrived, 
to  assist  in  enforcing  the  blockade,  and  to  lie  in  wait  for  sorr.3 
ships  expected  to  arrive,  laden  with  arms  and  ammunition,  for 
the  Confederacy.  May  31s£.  —  The  tanks  are  at  last  finished, 
and  they  have  all  been  delivered,  to-day.  Leeds  &  Co.  have 
done  an  excellent  job,  and  I  shall  be  enabled  to  carry  three 


104  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

months'  water  for  my  crew.     We  shall  now  get  on,  rapidly, 
with  our  preparations. 

Saturday,  June  1st,  finds  us  not  yet  ready  for  sea!  The 
tanks  have  all  been  taken  on  board,  and  stowed;  the  gun  car 
riages  for  the  32s  will  be  finished  on  Monday.  The  circles  for 
the  8 -inch  gun  have  been  laid  down,  and  the  fighting-bolts 
are  ready  for  placing.  On  Monday  I  shall  throw  the  crew  on 
board,  and  by  Thursday  next,  I  shall,  without  doubt  be  ready 
for  sea.  We  are  losing  a  great  deal  of  precious  time.  The 
enemy's  flag  is  being  flaunted  in  our  faces,  at  all  our  ports  by 
his  ships  of  war,  and  his  vessels  of  commerce  are  passing,  and 
repassing,  on  the  ocean,  in  defiance,  or  in  contempt  of  our 
power,  and,  as  yet,  we  have  not  struck  a  blow. 

At  length  on  the  3d  of  June,  I  was  enabled  to  put  the  Sum- 
ter,  formally,  in  commission.  On  that  day  her  colors  were 
hoisted,  for  the  first  time  —  the  ensign  having  been  presented 
to  me,  by  some  patriotic  ladies  of  New  Orleans — the  crew  was 
transferred  to  her,  from  the  receiving  ship,  and  the  officers 
were  ordered  to  mess  on  board.  The  ship  was  now  hauled  off 
and  anchored  in  the  stream,  but  we  were  delayed  two  long 
and  tedious  weeks  yet,  before  we  were  finally  ready.  During 
these  two  weeks  we  made  a  trial  trip  up  the  river,  some  ten  or 
twelve  miles.  Some  of  the  principal  citizens  were  invited  on 
board,  and  a  bright,  and  beautiful  afternoon  was  pleasantly 
spent,  in  testing  the  qualities  of  the  ship,  the  range  of  her 
guns,  and  the  working  of  the  gun-carriages ;  the  whole  ending 
by  a  collation,  in  partaking  of  which  my  guests  were  kind 
enough  to  wish  me  a  career  full  of  "  blazing  honors." 

I  was  somewhat  disappointed  in  the  speed  of  my  ship,  as  we 
did  not  succeed  in  getting  more  than  nine  knots  out  of  her. 
There  was  another  great  disadvantage.  With  all  the  space  I 
could  allot  to  my  coal-bunkers,  she  could  be  made  to  carry  no 
more  than  about  eight  days'  fuel.  We  had  masts,  and  sails,  it 
is  true,  but  these  could  be  of  but  little  use,  when  the  coal  was 
exhausted,  as  the  propeller  would  remain  a  drag  in  the  water, 
there  being  no  means  of  hoisting  it.  It  was  with  such  draw 
backs,  that  I  was  to  take  the  sea,  alone,  against  a  vindictive 
and  relentless  enemy,  whose  Navy  already  swarmed  on  our 
coasts,  and  whose  means  ot  increasing  it  were  inexhaustible. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       105 

But  the  sailor  lias  a  saying,  that  "Luck  is  a  Lord/'  and  wo 
trusted  to  luck. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  after  all  the  vexatious  delays  that  have 
been  described,  I  got  up  my  anchor,  and  dropped  down  to  the 
Barracks,  below  the  city  a  short  distance,  to  receive  my  pow 
der  on  board,  which,  for  safety,  had  been  placed  in  the  State 
magazine.  At  10.30  P.  M.  of  the  same  day,  we  got  up  steam, 
and  by  the  soft  and  brilliant  light  of  a  moon  near  her  full, 
threw  ourselves  into  the  broad,  and  swift  current  of  the  Father 
of  Waters,  and  ran  rapidly  down  to  the  anchorage,  between 
Fort  Jackson,  and  Fort  St.  Philip,  where  we  came  to  at  4  A. 
M.  In  the  course  of  the  day,  Captain  Brand,  an  ex-officer  of 
the  old  Navy,  and  now  second  in  command  of  the  forts,  came 
on  board  to  make  us  the  ceremonial  visit ;  and  I  subsequently 
paid  my  respects  to  Major  Duncan,  the  officer  in  chief  com 
mand,  an  ex-officer  of  the  old  Army.  These  gentlemen  were 
both  busy,  as  I  found  upon  inspecting  the  forts,  in  perfecting 
their  batteries,  and  drilling  their  men,  for  the  hot  work  that 
was  evidently  before  them.  As  was  unfortunately  the  case 
with  our  people,  generally,  at  this  period,  they  were  over-con 
fident.  They  kindly  supplied  some  few  deficiencies,  that  still 
remained  in  our  gunner's  department,  and  I  received  from 
them  a  howitzer,  which  I  mounted  on  my  taffarel,  to  guard 
against  boat  attacks,  by  night. 

I  remained  three  days  at  my  anchors  between  the  forts,  for 
the  purpose  of  stationing,  and  drilling  my  crew,  before  ven 
turing  into  the  presence  of  the  enemy ;  and  I  wilk-take  advan 
tage  of  this  lull  to  bring  up  some  matters  connected  with  the 
ship,  which  we  have  hitherto  overlooked.  On  the  7th  of  June, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy — the  Government  having,  in  the 
mean  time,  removed  to  Eichmond  —  sent  me  my  sailing  orders, 
and  in  my  letter  of  the  14th  of  the  same  month,  acknowledg 
ing  their  receipt,  I  had  said  to  him :  "  I  have  an  excellent  set 
of  men  on  board,  though  they  are  nearly  all  green,  and  will 
require  some  little  practice,  and  drilling,  at  the  guns,  to  enable 
them  to  handle  them  creditably.  Should  I  be  fortunate  enough 
to  reach  the  high  seas,  you  may  rely  upon  my  implicit  obe 
dience  of  your  instructions,  'to  do  the  enemy's  commerce  the 
greatest  injury,  in  the  shortest  time.'" 


106  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Here  was  a  model  of  a  letter  of  instruction — it  meant 
"burn,  sink,  and  destroy,"  always,  of  course,  within  the  limits 
prescribed  by  the  laws  of  nations,  and  with  due  attention  to 
the  laws  of  humanity,  in  the  treatment  of  prisoners.  The  reader 
will  see,  as  we  progress,  that  I  gave  the  "  implicit  obedience '' 
which  had  been  promised,  to  these  instructions,  and  that  if 
greater  results  were  not  accomplished,  it  was  the  fault  of  the 
Sumter,  and  not  of  her  commander.  In  the  same  letter  that 
brought  me  my  sailing  orders,  the  Secretary  had  suggested  to 
me  the  propriety  of  adopting  some  means  of  communicating 
with  him,  by  cipher,  so  that,  my  despatches,  if  captured  by  the 
enemy,  would  be  unintelligible  to  him.  The  following  letter 
in  reply  to  this  suggestion,  will  explain  how  this  was  arranged  : 
"  I  have  the  honor  to  enclose  herewith  a  copy  of  '  Eeid's  Eng 
lish  Dictionary,'  a  duplicate  of  which  I  retain,  for  the  purpose 
mentioned  in  your  letter  of  instructions,  of  the  7th  instant.  I 
have  not  been  able  to  find  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  '  Cobb's 
Miniature  Lexicon,'  suggested  by  you,  or  any  other  suitable 
dictionary,  with  but  a  single  column  on  a  page.  This  need 
make  no  difference,  however.  In  my  communications  to  the 
Department,  should  I  have  occasion  to  refer  to  a  word  in  the 
copy  sent,  I  will  designate  the  first  column  on  the  page,  A,  and 
the  second  column,  B.  Thus,  if  I  wish  to  use  the  word  '  pris 
oner,'  my  reference  to  it  would  be  as  follows :  323,  B,  15 ;  the 
first  number  referring  to  the  page,  the  letter  to  the  column,  and 
the  second  number  to  the  number  of  the  word  from  the  top 
of  the  column."  By  means  of  this  simple,  and  cheap  device, 
I  was  enabled,  at  all  times,  to  keep  my  dispatches  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  or,  in  other  words,  prevent  him  from 
interpreting  them,  when  I  had  anything  of  importance  to 
communicate. 

Before  leaving  New  Orleans,  I  had,  in  obedience  to  a  general 
order  of  the  service,  transmitted  to  the  Navy  Department,  a 
Muster  Eoll  of  the  officers,  and  men,  serving  on  board  the 
Sumter.  Her  crew,  as  reported  by  this  roll,  consisted  of 
ninety-two  persons,  exclusive  of  officers.  Twenty  of  these 
ninety-two  persons  were  marines  —  a  larger  guard  than  was 
usual  for  so  small  a  ship.  The  officers  were  as  follows : 

Commander. — Raphael  Semmes. 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       107 

Lieutenants.  —  John  M.  Kell;  Eobert  T.  Chapman;  John  M, 
Stribling ;  William  B.  Evans. 

Paymaster.  —  Henry  Myers. 

Surgeon.  —  Francis  L.  Gait. 

1st  Lieutenant  of  Marines. — B.  Howell. 

Midshipmen.  —  William  A.  Hicks;  Albert  Gr.  Hudgins ; 
Eichard  F.  Armstrong ;  Joseph  D.  Wilson. 

Engineers.  —  Miles  J.  Freeman;  William  P.  Brooks;  Mat 
thew  O'Brien;  Simeon  W.  Cummings. 

Boatswain.  —  Benjamin  P.  Mecasky. 

Gunner.  —  Thomas  C.  Cuddy. 

Sail-maker.  — W.  P.  Beaufort, 

Carpenter.  —  William  Eobinson. 

Captain's  Cleric.  —  W.  Breedlove  Smith. 

Commissions  had  been  forwarded  to  all  the  officers  entitled 
to  receive  them,  and  acting  appointments  had  been  given  by 
me  to  the  warrant  officers.  It  will  thus  be  seen,  how  formally 
all  these  details  had  been  attended  to.  These  commissions 
were  to  be  our  warrants  for  what  we  were  to  do,  on  the  high 
seas. 

And  now  the  poor  boon  will  be  permitted  to  human  nature, 
that  before  we  launch  our  frail  bark,  on  the  wild  sea  of  adven 
ture,  before  us,  we  should  turn  our  thoughts,  homeward,  for  a 
moment. 

"  'And  is  he  gone?  ' — on  sudden  solitude 
How  oft  that  fearful  question  will  intrude ! 
'T  was  but  an  instant  past  —  and  here  he  stood  ! 
And  now! ' — without  the  portal's  porch  she  rushed, 
And  then  at  length  her  tears  in  freedom  gushed  ; 
Big,  bright,  and  fast,  unknown  to  her  they  fell; 
But  still  her  lips  refused  to  send  'farewell!' 
For  in  that  word  —  that  fatal  word  —  howe'er 
We  promise  —  hope  —  believe  —  there  breathes  despair." 

Such  was  the  agony  of  many  a  fair  bosom,  as  the  officers  of 
the  Sumter  had  torn  themselves  from  the  embraces  of  their 
families,  in  those  scenes  of  leave-taking,  which  more  than  any 
other,  try  the  sailor's  heart.  Several  of  them  were  married 
men,  and  it  was  long  years  before  they  returned  to  the  home* 
which  they  had  made  sad  by  their  absence. 


CHAPTEE  XI. 

AFTER  LONG  WAITING  AND  WATCHING,  THE  SUMTER  RUNS 
THE  BLOCKADE  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI,  IN  OPEN  DAYLIGHT, 
PURSUED  BY  THE  BROOKLYN. 

WHILST  we  were  lying  at  our  anchors  between  the 
forts,  as  described  in  the  last  chapter,  Governor  Moore 
of  Louisiana,  who  had  done  good  service  to  the  Confederacy, 
by  seizing  the  forts,  and  arsenals  in  his  State,  in  advance  of 
secession,  and  the  Hon.  John  Slidell,  lately  returned  from  his 
seat  in  the  Federal  Senate,  and  other  distinguished  gentlemen 
came  down,  on  a  visit  of  inspection  to  the  forts.  I  went  on 
shore  to  call  on  them,  and  brought  them  on  board  the  Sumter 
to  lunch  with  me.  My  ship  was,  by  this  time,  in  excellent 
order,  and  my  crew  well  accustomed  to  their  stations,  under 
the  judicious  management  of  my  first  lieutenant,  and  I  took 
pleasure  in  shoAving  these  gentlemen  how  much  a  little  disci 
pline  could  accomplish,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks.  Disci 
pline  ! — what  a  power  it  is  everywhere,  and  under  all  circum 
stances  ;  and  how  mu^ch  the  want  of  it  lost  us,  as  the  war  pro 
gressed.  What  a  pity  the  officers  of  our  army  did  not  have 
their  respective  commands,  encircled  by  wooden  walls,  with 
but  a  "  single  monarch  to  walk  the  peopled  deck." 

Just  at  nightfall,  on  the  evening  of  the  21st  of  June,  I 
received  the  following  despatch  from  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  forts  : 

CAPTAIN  :  —  I  am  desired  by  the  commanding  officer  to  state,  that 
the  Ivy — this  was  a  small  tender  of  the  forts,  and  letter-of-marque 
— reports  that  the  Powliatan  has  left,  in  pursuit  of  two  ships,  and 
that  he  has  a  telegram  from  Pass  a  L'  Outre,  to  the  effect,  that  a 
boat  from  the  Brooklyn  had  put  into  the  river  and  was  making  for 
the  telegraph  station,  where  she  was  expected  to  arrive  within  a 
few  minutes. 

108 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  109 

The  Poioliatan  was  blockading  the  Southwest  Pass,  and  it  was 
barely  possible  that  I  might  get  to  sea,  through  this  pass,  if  a 
pilot  could  be  at  once  procured  ;  and  so  I  immediately  ordered 
steam  to  be  raised,  and  getting  up  my  anchor,  steamed  down 
to  the  Head  of  the  Passes,  where  the  river  branches  into  its 
three  principal  outlets.  Arriving  here,  at  half-past  ten  p.  M.  I 
dispatched  a  boat  to  the  light-house,  for  a  pilot ;  but  the  keeper 
knew  nothing  of  the  pilots,  and  was  unwilling  to  come  on  board, 
himself,  though  requested.  The  night  wore  away,  and  nothing 
could  be  done. 

The  telescope  revealed  to  us,  the  next  morning,  that  the 
Powhatan  had  returned  to  her  station.  From  the  sullen,  and 
unsatisfactory  message,  which  had  been  returned  to  me,  by  the 
keeper  of  the  light-house,  I  began  to  suspect  that  there  was 
something  wrong,  about  the  pilots ;  and  it  being  quite  necessary 
that  I  should  have  one  constantly,  on  board,  to  enable  me  to 
take  advantage  of  any  temporary  absence  of  the  enemy's  cruis 
ers,  without  having  to  hunt  up  one  for  the  emergency,  I  dis 
patched  the  Ivy,  to  the  pilots'  station,  at  the  Southwest  Pass, 
in  search  of  one.  This  active  little  cruiser  returned  in  the 
course  of  a  few  hours,  and  reported  that  none  of  the  pilots  were 
willing  to  come  on  board  of  me !  I  received,  about  the  same 
time,  a  telegraphic  despatch  from  the  Southwest  Pass,  for 
warded  to  me  through  Major  Duncan,  which  read  as  follows  : 
"Applied  to  the  Captain  of  the  Pilots'  Association  for  a  pilot 
for  the  Sumter.  He  requested  me  to  state,  that  there  are  no 
pilots  on  duty  now  1"  "  So  ho !  sits  the  wind  in  that  quarter," 
thought  I  —  I  will  soon  set  this  matter  right.  I,  at  once,  sent 
Lieutenant  Stribling  on  board  the  Ivy,  and  directed  him  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  Pilots1  Association,  and  deliver,  and  see  executed 
the  following  written  order : 

C.  S.  STEAMER  SUMTER,  HEAD  OF  THE  PASSES,  ) 
June  22,  1861.  j 

SIR  :  —  This  is  to  command  you  to  repair  on  board  this  ship,  with 
three  or  four  of  the  most  experienced  pilots  of  the  Bar.  I  am  sur 
prised  to  learn,  that  an  unwillingness  has  been  expressed,  by  some 
of  the  pilots  of  your  Association,  to  come  on  board  the  Sumter  ; 
and  my  purpose  ^is  to  test  the  fact  of  such  disloyalty  to  the  Con 
federate  States.  If  any  man  disobeys  this  summons  I  will  not 
only  have  his  Branch  taken  from  him,  but  I  will  send  an  armed 
force,  and  arrest,  and  bring  him  on  board. 


110  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

This  order  had  the  desired  effect,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
afternoon,  Lieutenant  Stribling  returned,  bringing  with  him,  the 
Captain  of  the  Association,  and  several  of  the  pilots.  I  di 
rected  them  to  be  brought  into  my  cabin,  and  when  they  were 
assembled,  demanded  to  know  the  reason  of  their  late  behavior. 
Some  stammering  excuses  were  offered,  which  I  cut  short,  by 
informing  them  that  one  of  them  must  remain  on  board  con 
stantly,  and  that  they  might  determine  for  themselves,  who 
should  take  the  first  week's  service  ;  to  be  relieved  at  the  end 
of  the  week,  by  another,  and  so  on,  as  long  as  I  should  find  it 
necessary.  One  of  their  number  being  designated,  I  dismissed 
the  rest.  The  reader  will  see  how  many  faithful  auxiliaries, 
Admiral  Farragut  afterward  found,  in  the  Pilots'  Association 
of  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  when  he  made  his  famous 
ascent  of  the  river,  and  captured  its  great  seaport.  Nor  was 
this  defection  confined  to  New  Orleans.  The  pilots  along  our 
whole  Southern  coast  were,  with  few  exceptions,  Northern  men, 
and  as  a  rule  they  went  over  to  the  enemy,  though  pretending, 
in  the  beginning  of  our  troubles,  to  be  good  secessionists.  The 
same  remark  may  be  applied  to  our  steamboat  men,  of  Northern 
birth,  as  a  class.  Many  of  them  had  become  domiciled  in  the 
South,  and  were  supposed  to  be  good  Southern  men,  until  the 
crucial  test  of  self-interest  was  applied  to  them,  when  they,  too, 
deserted  us,  and  took  service  with  the  enemy. 

The  object  of  the  Brooklyn's  boat,  which,  as  we  have  seen, 
pulled  into  the  telegraph  station  at  Pass  a  L'Outre,  just  before 
we  got  under  way  from  between  the  forts,  was  to  cut  the  wires, 
and  break  up  the  station,  to  prevent  intelligence  being  given 
me  of  the  movements  of  the  blockading  fleet.  I  now  resorted 
to  a  little  retaliation.  I  dispatched  an  officer  to  the  different 
light-houses,  to  stave  the  oil-casks,  and  bring  away  the  light 
ing  apparatus,  to  prevent  the  enemy's  shipping  from  using  the 
lights.  They  were  of  great  convenience,  not  only  to  the  ships 
employed  on  the  blockade,  but  to  the  enemy's  transports,  and 
other  ships,  bound  to  and  from  the  coast  of  Texas.  They 
could  be  of  no  use  to  our  own  blockade-runners,  as  the  passes 
of  the  Mississippi,  by  reason  of  their  long,  and  tortuous,  and' 
frequently  shifting  channels,  were  absolutely  closed  to  them. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       Ill 

The  last  letter  addressed  by  me  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
before  escaping  through  the  blockade,  as  hereinafter  described, 
was  the  following : 

C.  S.  STEAMER  SUMTER,  HEAD  OF  THE  PASSES,") 
June  30,  1861.  j 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  Department  that  I  am 
still  at  my  anchors  at  the  "Head  of  the  Passes"  —  the  enemy 
closely  investing  both  of  the  practical  outlets.  At  Pass  a  L'Outre 
there  are  three  ships,  the  Brooklyn,  and  another  propeller,  and  a 
large  side-wheel  steamer ;  and  at  the  Southwest  Pass,  there  is  the 
Powhatan,  lying  within  half  a  mile  of  the  bar,  and  not  stirring  an 
inch  from  her  anchors,  night  or  day.  I  am  only  surprised  that  the 
Brooklyn  does  not  come  up  to  this  anchorage,  which  she  might 
easily  do  —  as  there  is  water  enough,  and  no  military  precautions, 
whatever,  have  been  taken  to  hold  the  position  —  and  thus  effectu 
ally  seal  all  the  passes  of  the  river,  by  her  presence  alone  ;  which 
would  enable  the  enemy  to  withdraw  the  remainder  of  his  block 
ading  force,  for  use  elsewhere.  With  the  assistance  of  the  Jackson, 
Lieutenant  Gwathmey,  and  the  McRae,  Lieutenant  Huger  —  neither 
of  which  has,  as  yet,  however,  dropped  down — I  could  probably  hold 
my  position  here,  until  an  opportunity  offers  of  my  getting  to  sea.  I 
shall  watch,  diligently,  for  such  an  opportunity,  and  have  no  doubt, 
that  sooner  or  later,  it  will  present  itself.  I  found,  upon  dropping 
down  to  this  point,  that  the  lights  at  Pass  a  L'Outre,  and  South 
Pass  had  been  strangely  overlooked,  and  that  they  were  still  being 
nightly  exhibited.  I  caused  them  both  to  be  extinguished,  so  that 
if  bad  weather  should  set  in — a  gale  from  the  south-east,  for  in 
stance —  the  blockading  ships,  having  nothing  to  "  hold  on  to,"  will 
be  obliged  to  make  an  offing.  At  present  the  worst  feature  of  the 
blockade  of  Pass  a  L'Outre  is,  that  the  Brooklyn  has  the  speed  of 
me;  so  that  even  if  I  should  run  the  bar,  I  could  not  hope  to  escape 
her,  unless  I  surprised  her,  which  with  her  close  watch  of  the  bar, 
at  anchor  near  by,  both  night  and  day,  it  will  be  exceedingly  diffi 
cult  to  do.  I  should  be  quite  willing  to  try  speed  with  the  Pow 
hatan,  if  I  could  hope  to  run  the  gantlet  of  her  guns,  without 
being  crippled ;  but  here  again,  unfortunately,  with  all  the  buoys, 
and  other  marks  removed,  the  bar  which  she  is  watching  is  a  per 
fectly  blind  bar,  except  by  daylight.  In  the  meantime,  I  am  drill 
ing  my  green  crew,  to  a  proper  use  of  the  great  guns,  and  small  arms. 
With  the  exception  of  a  diarrhoea,  which  is  prevailing,  to  some  ex 
tent,  brought  on  by  too  free  use  of  the  river  water,  in  the  excessive 
heats  which  prevail,  the  crew  continues  healthy. 

Nothing  in  fact  surprised  me  more,  during  the  nine  days  I 

lay  at  the  Head  of  the  Passes,  than  that  the  enemy  did  not 

attack  me  with  some  of  his  light-draught,  but  heavily  armed 

steamers,  or  by  his  boats,  by  night.     Here  was  the  Sumter,  a 

8 


112  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

small  ship,  with  a  crew,  all  told,  of  a  little  over  a  hundred 
men,  anchored  only  ten,  or  twelve  miles  from  the  enemy,  with 
out  a  gun,  or  an  obstruction  between  her  and  him;  and  yet  no 
offensive  movement  was  made  against  her.  The  enemy  watched 
me  closely,  day  by  day,  and  bent  all  his  energies  toward  pre 
venting  my  escape,  but  did  not  seem  to  think  of  the  simple 
expedient  of  endeavoring  to  capture  me,  with  a  superior  force. 
In  nightly  expectation  of  an  assault,  I  directed  the  engineer  to 
keep  the  water  in  his  boilers,  as  near  the  steam-point  as  pos 
sible,  without  actually  generating  the  vapor,  and  sent  a  patrol 
of  boats  some  distance  down  the  Southwest  Pass ;  the  boats 
being  relieved  every  four  hours,  and  returning  to  the  ship,  at 
the  first  streaks  of  dawn.  After  I  went  to  sea,  the  enemy  did 
come  in,  and  take  possession  of  my  anchorage,  until  he  was 
driven  away  by  Commodore  Hollins,  in  a  little  nondescript 
ram ;  which,  by  the  way,  was  the  first  ram  experiment  of  the 
war.  The  reader  may  imagine  the  tedium,  and  discomforts  of 
our  position,  if  he  will  reflect  that  it  is  the  month  of  June,  and 
that  at  this  season  of  the  year,  the  sun  comes  down  upon  the 
broad,  and  frequently  calm  surface  of  the  Father  of  Waters, 
with  an  African  glow,  and  that  clouds  of  that  troublesome 
little  insect  the  mosquito  tormented  us,  by  night  arid  by  day. 
There  was  no  sleeping  at  all  without  the  mosquito  bar,  and  I 
had  accordingly  had  a  supply  sent  down  for  all  the  crew. 
Kather  than  stand  the  assaults  of  these  little  picadores,  much 
longer,  I  believe  my  crew  would  have  run  the  gantlet  of  the 
whole  Federal  Navy. 

My  diary  will  now  perhaps  give  the  reader,  his  clearest  con 
ception  of  the  condition  of  things  on  board  the  Sumter,  for  the 
remaining  few  days  that  she  is  to  continue  at  her  anchors. 

Tuesday,  June  25th.  —  A  sharp  thunder-storm  at  half-past  three 
A.  M.,  jarring  and  shaking  the  ship  with  its  crashes.  The  very 
flood-gates  of  the  heavens  seem  open,  and  the  rain  is  descend 
ing  on  our  decks  like  a  cataract.  Clearing  toward  ten  o'clock. 
Both  blockading  ships  still  at  their  anchors.  The  British 
steam  sloop  Jason  touched  at  the  Southwest  Pass,  yesterday, 
and  communicated  with  the  Powhatan.  We  learn  by  the  news 
papers,  to-day,  that  the  enemy  has  taken  possession  of  Ship 
Island,  and  established  a  blockade  of  the  Sound.  The  ana- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN     THE    STATES.      113 

conda  is  drawing  his  folds  around  us.  We  are  filling  some 
shell,  and  cartridges  to-day,  and  drilling  the  crew  at  the 
battery. 

Wednesday,  June  26t7i. —  Cloudy,  with  occasional  rain  squalls, 
which  have,  tempered  the  excessive  heats.  The  Ivy  returned 
from  the  city  to-day,  and  brought  me  eighty  barrels  of  coal. 
Sent  the  pilot,  in  the  light-house  keeper's  boat,  to  sound  the 
S.  E.  bar,  an  unused  and  unwatched  outlet  to  the  eastward  of 
the  South  Pass  —  in  the  hope  that  we  may  find  sufficient  water 
over  it,  to  permit  the  egress  of  the  ship.  The  Federal  ships 
are  keeping  close  watch,  as  usual,  at  both  the  passes,  neither 
of  them  having  stirred  from  her  anchor,  since  we  have  been 
at  the  "Head  of  the  Passes." 

Thursday,  June  27th.  —  Weather  sultry,  and  atmosphere 
charged  with  moisture.  Pilot  returned  this  afternoon,  and 
reports  ten  and  a  half  feet  water  on  the  S.  E.  bar.  Unfortu 
nately  the  Sumter  draws  twelve  feet;  so  we  must  abandon  this 
hope. 

Saturday,  June  29th.  —  A  mistake  induced  us  to  expend  a 
little  coal,  to-day,  uselessly.  The  pilot  having  gone  aloft,  to 
take  his  usual  morning's  survey  of  the  "situation,"  reported  that 
the  Brooklyn  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  !  Groat  excitement  imme 
diately  ensued,  on  the  decks,  and  the  officer  of  the  watch  hur 
ried  into  my  cabin  with  the  information.  I  ordered  steam  to 
be  gotten  up  with  all  dispatch,  and  when,  in  the  course  of  a 
very  few  minutes,  it  was  reported  ready  —  for  we  always  kept 
our  fires  banked  —  the  anchor  was  tripped,  and  the  ship  was 
under  way,  ploughing  her  way  through  the  turbid  waters,  to 
ward  Pass  A  L'Outre.  When  we  had  steamed  about  four  miles 
down  the  pass,  the  Brooklyn  was  seen  riding  very  quietly  at 
her  anchors,  in  her  usual  berth  near  the  bar.  Explanation  : 
The  Sumter  had  dragged  her  anchor  during  the  night,  and  the 
alteration  in  her  position  had  brought  a  clump  of  trees  between 
her,  and  the  enemy's  ship,  which  had  prevented  the  pilot  from 
seeing  the  latter !  With  disappointed  hopes  we  had  nothing 
to  do,  but  to  return  to  our  anchors,  and  watch  and  wait.  In 
half  an  hour  more,  the  sailors  were  lounging  idly  about  the 
decks,  under  well -spread  awnings ;  the  jest,  and  banter  went 
round,  as  usual,  and  save  the  low  hissing  and  singing  of  the 


114  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

steam,  which  was  still  escaping,  there  was  nothing  to  remind 
the  beholder  of  our  recent  disappointment.  Such  is  the 
school  of  philosophy  in  which  the  seaman  is  reared.  Our 
patience,  however,  was  soon  to  be  rewarded. 

Early  on  the  next  morning,  which  was  the  30th  of  June,  the 
steamer,  Empire  Parish,  came  down  from  the  city,  and  coming 
alongside  of  us,  put  on  board  some  fresh  provisions  for  the 
crew,  and  about  one  hundred  barrels  of  coal,  which  my  thought 
ful,  and  attentive  friend,  Commodore  Eousseau,  had  sent  down 
to  me.  Having  done  this,  the  steamer  shoved  off,  and  proceeded 
on  her  trip,  down  Pass  a  L'Outre,  to  the  pilots'  station,  and 
lighthouse.  .It  was  a  bright  Sunday  morning,  and  we  were 
thinking  of  nothing  but  the  usual  muster,  and  how  we  should 
get  through  another  idle  day.  In  the  course  of  two  or  three 
hours,  the  steamer  returned,  and  when  she  had  come  near  us, 
she  was  seen  to  cast  oft'  a  boat,  which  she  had  been  towing, 
containing  a  single  boatman  —  one  of  the  fishermen,  or  oyster- 
men  so  common  in  these  waters.  The  boatman  pulled  rapidly 
under  our  stern,  and  hailing  the  officer  of  the  deck,  told  him, 
that  the  Brooklyn  had  gone  off  in  chase  of  a  sail,  and  was  no 
longer  in  sight.  The  crew,  who  had  been  "cleaning  them 
selves,"  for  Sunday  muster,  at  once  stowed  away  their  bags ; 
the  swinging-booms  were  gotten  alongside,  the  boats  run  up, 
and,  in  ten  minutes,  the  steam  was  again  hissing,  as  if  impa 
tient  of  control.  The  men  ran  round  the  capstan,  in  "double- 
quick,"  in  their  eagerness  to  get  up  the  anchor,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  more,  the  ship's  head  swung  off  gracefully  with  the 
current,  and,  the  propeller  being  started,  she  bounded  off  like 
a  thing  of  life,  on  this  new  race,  which  was  to  decide  whether 
we  should  continue  to  stagnate  in  midsummer,  in  the  marshes 
of  the  Mississippi,  or  reach  those  "glad  waters  of  the  dark 
blue  sea,"  which  form  as  delightful,  a  picture  in  the  imagina 
tion  of  the  sailor,  as  in  that  of  the  poet. 

Whilst  we  were  heaving  up  our  anchor,  I  had  noticed  the 
pilot,  standing  near  me,  pale,  and  apparently  nervous,  and  agi 
tated,  but,  as  yet,  he  had  said  not  a  word.  When  we  were 
fairly  under  way,  however,  and  it  seemed  probable,  at  last,  that 
we  should  attempt  the  blockade,  the  fellow's  courage  fairly 
broke  down,  and  he  protested  to  rue  that  he  knew  nothing  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      115 

the  bar  of  Pass  a  L'Outre,  and  durst  not  attempt  to  run  me 
over.  "I  am,"  said  he,  "a  S.  W.  bar  pilot,  and  know  nothing 
of  the  other  passes."  "  What,"  said  I,  "  did  you  not  know  that 
I  was  lying  at  the  Head  of  the  Passes,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
taking  any  one  of  the  outlets  through  which  an  opportunity 
of  escape  might  present  itself,  and  yet  you  dare  tell  me,  that 
you  know  but  one  of  them,  and  have  been  deceiving  me." 
The  fellow  stammered  out  something  in  excuse,  but  I  was  too 
impatient  to  listen  to  him,  and,  turning  to  the  first  lieutenant, 
ordered  him  to  hoist  the  "  Jack  "  at  the  fore,  as  a  signal  for  a 
pilot.  I  had,  in  fact,  resolved  to  attempt  the  passage  of  the 
bar,  from  my  own  slight  acquaintance  with  it,  when  I  had  been 
a  light-house  inspector,  rather  than  forego  the  opportunity  of 
escape,  and  caused  the  Jack  to  be  hoisted,  rather  as  a  matter 
of  course,  than  because  I  hoped  for  any  good  result  from  it. 
The  Brooklyn  had  not  "  chased  out  of  sight,"  as  reported  —  she 
had  only  chased  to  the  westward,  some  seven  or  eight  miles, 
and  had  been  hidden  from  the  boatman,  by  one  of  the  spurs  of 
the  Delta.  She  had  probably,  all  the  while,  had  her  telescopes 
on  the  Sumter,  and  as  soon  as  she  saw  the  black  smoke  issuing 
from  her  chimney,  and  the  ship  moving  rapidly  toward  the 
pass,  she  abandoned  her  chase,  and  commenced  to  retrace  her 
steps. 

We  had  nearly  equal  distances  to  run  to  the  bar,  but  I  had 
the  advantage  of  a  four- knot  current.  Several  of  my  officers 
now  collected  around  me,  and  we  were  discussing  the  chances 
of  escape.  "What  think  you  of  our  prospect,"  said  I,  turning 
to  one  of  my  lieutenants,  who  had  served  a  short  time  before, 
on  board  the  Brooklyn,  and  knew  well  her  qualities.  "  Pros 
pect,  sir!  not  the  least  in  the  world  —  there  is  no  possible 
chance  of  our  escaping  that  ship.  Even  if  we  get  over  the  bar 
ahead  of  her,  she  must  overhaul  us,  in  a  very  short  time.  The 
Brooklyn  is  good  for  fourteen  knots  an  hour,  sir."  "That  was 
the  report,"  said  I,  "on  her  trial  trip,  but  you  know  how  all  such 
reports  are  exaggerated ;  ten  to  one,  she  has  no  better  speed, 
if  so  good,  as  the  Sumter"  "You  will  see,  sir,"  replied  my 
lieutenant ;  "we  made  a  passage  in  her,  only  a  few  months  ago, 
from  Tampico  to  Pensacola,  and  averaged  about  thirteen  knots 
the  whole  distance." 


116  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

Here  the  conversation  dropped,  for  an  officer  now  came  to 
report  to  me  that  a  boat  had  just  shoved  off  from  the  pilots'  sta 
tion,  evidently  with  a  pilot  in  her.  Casting  my  eyes  in  the 
given  direction,  I  saw  a  whale-boat  approaching  us,  pulled  by  four 
stout  blacks,  who  were  bending  like  good  fellows  to  their  long 
ashen  oars,  and  in  the  stern- sheets  was  seated,  sure  enough,  the 
welcome  pilot,  swaying  his  body  to,  and  fro,  as  his  boat  leaped 
under  the  oft-repeated  strokes  of  the  oars,  as  though  he  would 
hasten  her  already  great  speed.  But  more  beautiful  still  was 
another  object  which  presented  itself.  In  the  balcony  of  the 
pilot's  house,  which  had  been  built  in  the  very  marsh,  on  the 
margin  of  the  river,  there  stood  a  beautiful  woman,  the  pilot's 
young  wife,  waving  him  on  to  his  duty,  with  her  handkerchief. 
We  could  have  tossed  a  biscuit  from  the  Sumter  to  the  shore, 
and  I  uncovered  my  head  gallantly  to  my  fair  countrywoman. 
A  few  moments  more,  and  a  tow-line  had  been  thrown  to  the 
boat,  and  the  gallant  young  fellow  stood  on  the  horse-block 
beside  me. 

As  we  swept  past  the  light-house  wharf,  almost  close  enough 
to  touch  it,  there  were  other  petticoats  fluttering  in  the  breeze, 
the  owners  of  which  were  also  waving  handkerchiefs  of 
encouragement  to  the  Sumter.  I  could  see  my  sailors'  eyes 
brighten  at  these  spectacles,  for  the  sailor's  heart  is  capacious 
enough  to  love  the  whole  sex,  and  I  now  felt  sure  of  their 
nerves,  in  case  it  should  become  necessary  to  tax  them.  Half 
a  mile  or  so,  from  the  light-house,  and  the  bar  is  reached. 
There  was  a  Bremen  ship  lying  aground  on  the  bar,  and  there 
was  just  room,  and  no  more,  for  us  to  pass  her.  She  had  run 
out  a  kedge,  and  had  a  warp  attached  to  it  that  was  lying 
across  the  passage-way.  The  crew  considerately  slackened  the 
line,  as  we  approached,  and  in  another  bound  the  Sumter  was 
outside  the  bar,  and  the  Confederate  flag  was  upon  the  high 
seas!  We  now  slackened  our  speed,  for  an  instant  —  only  an 
instant,  for  my  officers  and  men  all  had  their  wits  about  them, 
and  worked  like  good  fellows — to  haul  the  pilot's  boat  along 
side,  that  he  might  return  to  the  shore.  As  the  gallant  young 
fellow  grasped  my  hand,  and  shook  it  warmly,  as  he  descended 
from  the  horse-block,  he  said,  "Now,  Captain,  you  are  all  clear; 
give  her  h — 11,  and  let  her  go  !  " 

We  had  now  nothing  to  do,  but  turn  our  attention  to  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        117 

enemy.  The  Brooklyn,  as  we  cleared  the  bar,  was  about  three 
and  a  half,  or  four  miles  distant;  we  were  therefore  just  out 
of  reach  of  her  guns,  with  nothing  to  spare.  Thick  volumes 
of  smoke  could  be  seen  pouring  from  the  chimneys  of  both 
ships ;  the  firemen,  and  engineers  of  each  evidently  doing  their 
best. .  I  called  a  lieutenant,  and  directed  him  to  heave  the  log. 
He  reported  our  speed  to  be  nine,  and  a  half  knots.  Loth  to 
believe  that  we  could  be  making  so  little  way,  through  the  yet 
turbid  waters,  which  were  rushing  past  us  with  great  appar 
ent  velocity,  I  directed  the  officer  to  repeat  the  experiment; 
but  the  same  result  followed,  though  he  had  paid  out  the  line 
with  a  free  hand.  I  now  sent  for  the  engineer,  and,  upon  in 
quiry,  found  that  he  was  doing  his  very  best  —  "though,"  said 
he,  "there  is  a  little  drawback,  just  now,  in  the  'foaming'  of 
our  boilers,  arising  from  the  suddenness  with  which  we  got  up 
steam ;  when  this  subsides,  we  may  be  able  to  add  half  a  knot 
more.". 

The  Brooklyn  soon  loosed,  and  set  her  sails,  bracing  them 
sharp  up  on  the  starboard  tack.  I  loosed  and  set  mine,  also. 
The  enemy's  ship  was  a  little  on  my  weather  quarter,  say  a 
couple  of  points,  and  had  thus  slightly  the  weather-gauge  of 
me.  As  I  knew  I  could  lay  nearer  the  wind  than  she,  being 
able  to  brace  my  yards  sharper,  and  had  besides,  the  advan 
tage  of  larger  fore-and-aft  sails,  comparatively,  stay-sails,  try 
sails,  and  a  very  large  spanker,  I  resolved  at  once  to  hold  my 
wind,  so  closely,  as  to  compel  her  to  furl  her  sails,  though  this 
would  carry  me  a  little  athwart  her  bows,  and  bring  me  perhaps 
a  little  nearer  to  her,  for  the  next  half  hour,  or  so.  A  rain 
squall  now  came  up,  and  enveloped  the  two  ships,  hiding  each 
from  the  other.  As  the  rain  blew  off  to  leeward,  and  the  Brook 
lyn  reappeared,  she  seemed  fearfully  near  to  us,  and  I  began 
to  fear  I  should  realize  the  foreboding  of  my  lieutenant.  I 
could  not  but  admire  the  majesty  of  her  appearance,  with 
her  broad  flaring  bows,  and  clean,  and  beautiful  run,  and  her 
masts,  and  yards,  as  taunt  and  square,  as  those  of  an  old  time 
sailing  frigate.  The  stars  and  stripes  of  a  large  ensign  flew 
out  from  time  to  time,  from  under  the  lee  of  her  spanker,  and 
we  could  see  an  apparently  anxious  crowd  of  officers  on  her 
quarter-deck,  many  of  them  with  telescopes  directed  toward 
us.  She  had,  evidently,  I  thought,  gained  upon  us,  and  I  ex- 


118  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

pected  every  moment  to  hear  the  whiz 'of  a  shot;  but  still  she 
did  not  fire. 

I  now  ordered  my  paymaster  to  get  his  public  chest,  and 
papers  ready  for  throwing  overboard,  if  it  should  become 
necessary.  At  this  crisis  the  engineer  came  up  from  below, 
bringing  the  welcome  intelligence  that  the  "  foaming  "  of  his 
boilers  had  ceased,  and  that  his  engine  was  "  working  beauti 
fully/'  giving  the  propeller  several  additional  turns  per 
minute.  The  breeze,  too,  favored  me,  for  it  had  freshened 
considerably ;  and  what  was  still  more  to  the  purpose,  I 
began  to  perceive  that  I  was  "  eating  "  the  Brooklyn  "  out  of 
the  wind  "  ;  in  other  words,  that  she  was  falling  more  and  more 
to  leeward.  I  knew,  of  course,  that  as  soon  as  she  fell  into 
my  wake,  she  would  be  compelled  to  furl  her  sails.  This  she 
did  in  half  an  hour  or  so  afterward,  and  I  at  once  began  to  breathe 
more  freely,  for  I  could  still  hold  on  to  my  own  canvas.  I  have 
witnessed  many  beautiful  sights  at  sea,  but  the  most  beautiful 
of  them  all  was  when  the  Brooklyn  let  fly  all  her  sheets,  and 
halliards,  at  once,  and  clewed  up,  and  furled,  in  man-of-war 
style,  all  her  sails,  from  courses  to  royals.  We  now  began  to 
gain  quite  perceptibly  on  our  pursuer,  and  at  half-past  three, 
the  chase  was  abandoned,  the  baffled  Brooklyn  retracing  her 
steps  to  Pass  a  1'Outre,  and  the  Sumter  bounding  away  on  her 
course  seaward. 

We  fired  no  gun  of  triumph  in  the  face  of  the  enemy  —  my 
powder  was  too  precious  for  that  —  but  I  sent  the  crew  aloft,  to 
man  the  rigging,  and  three  such  cheers  were  given  for  the  Con 
federate  flag,  "  that  little  bit  of  striped  bunting,"  that  had  waved 
from  the  Sumter's  peak  during  the  exciting  chase,  as  could  pro 
ceed  only  from  the  throats  of  American  seamen,  in  the  act  of 
defying  a  tyrant  —  those  cheers  were  but  a  repetition  of  many 
such  cheers  that  had  been  given,  by  our  ancestors,  to  that  other 
bit  of  "  striped  bunting  "  which  had  defied  the  power  of  Eng 
land  in  that  olden  war,  of  which  our  war  was  but  the  logi 
cal  sequence.  The  reader  must  not  suppose  that  our  anxiety 
was  wholly  allayed,  as  soon  as  we  saw  the  Brooklyn  turn  away 
from  us. 

We  were,  as  yet,  only  a  few  miles  from  the  land,  and  our 
coast  was  swarming  with  the  enemy's  cruisers.  Ship  Island 


Of   Tri 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      119 

was  not  a  great  way  off,  and  there  was  a  constant  passing  to 
and  fro,  of  ships-of-war  between  that  island  and  the  passes  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  we  might  stumble  upon  one  of  these  at 
any  moment.  "Sail  ho!"  was  now  shouted  from  the  mast 
head.  "Where  away!"  cried  the  officer  of  thedeck.  "Eight 
ahead,"  said  the  look-out.  A  few  minutes  only  elapsed,  and  a 
second  sail  was  descried,  "broad  on  the  starboard  bow."  But 
nothing  came  of  these  spectres  ;  we  passed  on,  seaward,  with 
out  so  much  as  raising  either  of  them  from  the  deck,  and 
finally,  the  friendly  robes  of  night  enveloped  us.  When  we  at 
length  realized  that  we  had  gained  an  offing;  when  we  be 
gan  to  feel  the  welcome  heave  of  the  sea ;  when  we  looked 
upon  the  changing  aspect  of  its  waters,  now  darkening  into 
the  deepest  blue,  and  breathed  the  pure  air,  fresh  from  the 
Gulf,  untainted  of  malaria,  and  untouched  of  mosquito's  wing, 
we  felt  like  so  many  prisoners  who  had  been  turned  loose  from 
a  long  and  painful  confinement ;  and  when  I  reflected  upon  my 
mission,  to  strike  for  the  right !  to  endeavor  to  sweep  from  the 
seas  the  commerce  of  a  treacherous  friend,  who  had  become  a 
cruel  and  relentless  foe,  I  felt,  in  full  force,  the  inspiration  of 
the  poet :  — 

"  Ours  the  wild  life  in  tumult  still  to  range, 
From  toil  to  rest,  and  joy  in  every  change. 
Oh,  who  can  tell?     Not  thou,  luxurious  slave, 
Whose  soul  would  sicken  o'er  the  heaving  wave; 
Not  thou,  vain  lord  of  wantonness  and  ease, 
Whom  slumber  soothes  not  — pleasures  cannot  please; 
Oh,  who  can  tell,  save  he  whose  heart  hath  tried, 
And  danced  in  triumph  o'er  the  waters  wide, 
The  exulting  sense  —  the  pulse's  maddening  play, 
That  thrills  the  wanderer  of  that  trackless  way  ? 
*********      Death! 
Come  when  it  will —  we  snatch  the  life  of  life; 
When  lost —  what  recks  it — by  disease  or  strife? 
Let  him  who  crawls,  enamored  of  decay, 
Cling  to  his  couch,  and  sicken  years  away; 
Heave  his  thick  breath,  and  shake  his  palsied  head; 
Ours !  the  fresh  turf,  and  not  the  feverish  bed ; 
While  gasp  by  gasp  he  falters  forth  his  soul, 
Ours,  with  one  pang  —  one  bound  —  escapes  control. 
His  corpse  may  boast  its  wan  and  narrow  cave, 
And  they  who  loathed  his  life,  may  gild  his  grave: 
Ours  are  the  tears,  though  few,  sincerely  shed, 
When  ocean  shrouds  and  sepulchres  our  dead." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BRIEF  SKETCH   OF  THE  OFFICERS   OF  THE   SUMTER HER 

FIRST   PRIZE,    WITH   OTHER   PRIZES,    IN    QUICK   SUCCES 
SION HER   FIRST   PORT. 

/CAPTAIN  POOE,  the  commander  of  the  Brooklyn,  was 
\J  greatly  censured  by  his  Government,  for  permitting  the 
escape  of  the  Sumter.  It  was  even  hinted  that  there  had  been 
treason,  in  the  engine  room  of  the  Brooklyn,  as  one  or  more 
of  the  engineers  had  been  heard  to  express  sentiments  favor 
able  to  the  South.  There  was  no  truth,  of  course,  in  this 
report.  It  had  its  origin  in  the  brain  of  a  people,  who,  having 
become  traitors,  themselves,  to  their  former  principles,  were 
ready  to  suspect,  and  to  impute  treason  to  every  one  else.  The 
greatest  offence  which  had  been  committed  by  Captain  Poor 
was  that  he  had  probably  permitted  his  cupidity  to  draw  him 
away  from  his  station.  He  had  chased  a  prize,  in  his  eager 
ness  to  clutch  the  prize-money,  a  little  too  far — that  was  all. 
But  in  this,  he  sinned  only  in  common  with  his  countrymen. 
The  thirst  of  gain,  as  well  as  the  malignity  of  hate,  seemed,  from 
the  very  first  days  of  the  war,  to  have  seized  upon  a  majority 
of  the  Northern  people.  The  Army,  and  the  Navy,  professions 
hitherto  held  honorable,  did  not  escape  the  contamination.  They 
were  soon  found,  first  plundering,  and  then  maliciously  burn 
ing  private  houses.  The  spectacle  of  cotton-thieving  was  more 
than  once  presented  by  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the  two  ser 
vices — the  Admiral  quarrelling  with  the  General,  as  ignoble 
rogues  are  wont  to  quarrel,  as  to  which  rightly  pertained  the 
booty. 

The  evening  of  the  escape  of  the  Sumter  was  one  of  those 
Gulf  evenings,  which  can  only  \>Qfelt,  and  not  described.  The 
wind  died  gently  away,  as  the  sun  declined,  leaving  a  calm, 
and  sleeping  sea,  to  reflect  a  myriad  of  stars.  The  sun  had 
gone  down  behind  a  screen  of  purple,  and  gold,  and  to  add  to 

120 


MEMOIRS    OP    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  121 

the  beauty  of  the  scene,  as  night  set  in,  a  blazing  comet,  whose 
tail  spanned  nearly  a  quarter  of  the  heavens,  mirrored  itself 
within  a  hundred  feet  of  our  little  bark,  as  she  ploughed  her 
noiseless  way  through  the  waters.  As  I  leaned  on  the  carriage 
of  a  howitzer  on  the  poop  of  my  ship,  and  cast  a  glance  toward 
the  quarter  of  the  horizon  whence  the  land  had  disappeared, 
memory  was  busy  with  the  events  of  the  last  few  months. 
How  hurried,  and  confused  they  had  been!  It  seemed  as 
though  I  had  dreamed  a  dream,  and  found  it  difficult,  upon 
waking,  to  unite  the  discordant  parts.  A  great  government 
had  been  broken  up,  family  ties  had  been  severed,  and  war  — 
grim,  ghastly  war  —  was  arraying  a  household  against  itself. 
A  little  while  back,  and  I  had  served  under  the  very  flag  which 
I  had  that  day  defied.  Strange  revolution  of  feeling,  how  I 
now  hated  that  flag !  It  had  been  to  me  as  a  mistress  to  a 
lover ;  I  had  looked  upon  it  with  admiring  eyes,  had  dallied 
with  it  in  hours  of  ease,  and  had  had  recourse  to  it,  in  hours 
of  trouble,  and  now  I  found  it  false !  What  wonder  that  I  felt 
a  lover's  resentment  ? 

My  first  lieutenant  now  approached  me,  and  touching  my 
elbow,  said,  "Captain,  had  we  not  better  throw  this  howitzer 
overboard  ?  it  can  be  of  no  further  service  to  us,  and  is  very 
much  in  the  way."  My  waking  dream  was  dissolved,  on  the 
instant,  and  I  returned  at  once  to  the  duties  of  the  ship.  I 
assented  to  the  lieutenant's  proposition,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
more,  the  poop  was  cleared  of  the  incumbrance.  It  was  the 
howitzer  —  a  heavy,  awkward,  iron  field-piece  with  huge 
wheels  —  which  we  had  received  on  board,  when  we  lay 
between  the  forts,  as  a  protection  against  the  enemy's  boats. 
The  rest  of  the  night,  to  a  late  hour,  was  devoted  to  lashing, 
and  otherwise  securing  such  heavy  articles,  as  were  likely  to 
be  thrown  from  their  places,  by  the  rolling  of  the  ship ;  getting 
the  anchors  in-board  and  stowing  them,  and,  generally,  in  mak 
ing  the  ship  snug.  I  turned  in  after  a  day  of  excitement,  and 
slept  too  soundly  to  continue  the  day-dream  from  which  I  had 
been  aroused  by  my  first  lieutenant. 

The  sun  rose  in  an  unclouded  sky,  the  next  morning,  with  a 
gentle  breeze  from  the  south-west,  or  about  abeam  ;  our  course 
being  about  south-east.  The  look-out  at  the  mast-head,  after 


122  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

having  carefully  scanned  the  horizon  in  every  direction,  in- 
formed  the  officer  of  the  deck,  that  there  was  nothing  in  sight. 
The  awnings  were  soon  spread,  and  the  usual  routine  of  a  man- 
of-war,  at  sea,  commenced.  The  crew  was  mustered,  in  clean 
apparel,  at  quarters,  at  nine  o'clock,  and  a  division  of  guns 
was  exercised,  the  rest  of  the  crew  being  dispersed  in  idle 
groups  about  the  deck ;  the  old  salts  overhauling  their  bags, 
and  seeing  that  their  tobacco,  and  soap,  and  needles,  and  thread 
were  all  right  for  the  cruise,  and  the  youngsters  discussing 
their  recent  escape.  At  noon,  we  found  ourselves  in  latitude 
26°  18',  and  longitude  87°  23'.  T  had  provided  myself  with 
two  excellent  chronometers,  before  leaving  New  Orleans,  and 
having  had  much  experience  as  a  master,  I  was  always  enabled, 
when  the  sun  was  visible,  at  the  proper  hours,  to  fix  my  posi 
tion  within  from  a  quarter,  to  half  a  mile,  or,  what  is  the  same 
thing,  within  from  one  to  two  seconds  of  time.  I  appointed 
my  junior  lieutenant,  navigating  officer,  pro  forma,  but  always 
navigated  my  ship,  myself.  I  had  every  confidence  in  the 
ability  of  my  young  lieutenant,  but  I  always  found,  that  I 
slept  better,  when  surrounded  by  danger,  after  I  had  fixed  the 
position  of  my  ship,  by  my  own  observations. 

We  held  on  our  course,  during  the  rest  of  this  day,  without 
the  least  incident  to  break  in  upon  the  monotony  —  not  so 
much  as  a  sail  having  been  descried  in  any  direction  ;  not  that 
we  were  in  want  of  excitement,  for  we  had  scarcely  regained 
our  equilibrium  from  the  excitement  of  the  previous  day. 
An  occasional  swash  of  the  sea  against  the  ship's  sides,  the 
monotonous  beating  of  time  by  her  propeller,  an  occasional 
order  from  the  officer  of  the  deck,  and  the  routine  "  calls "  of 
the  boatswain's  whistle,  as  dinner,  or  grog  was  piped,  were  the 
only  sounds  audible,  beyond  the  usual  hum  of  conversation 
among  the  crew. 

If  the  reader  will  permit  me,  I  will  avail  myself  of  this  inter 
val  of  calm  before  the  storm,  to  introduce  to  him  some  of  my 
officers.  This  is  indeed  but  a  courtesy  due  him,  as  he  is  to  be 
a  passenger  in  our  rnidst.  On  the  afternoon  of  our  escape 
from  the  Brooklyn,  the  officers  of  the  ward-room  were  kind 
enough  to  invite  me  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine  with  them,  in 
honor  of  our  success,  and  I  will  avail  myself  of  this  occasion, 


DUEING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       123 

to  make  the  presentations.  I  am  seated  at  one  end  of  the 
long  mess-table,  and  my  first  lieutenant  at  the  other.  The 
first  lieutenant,  as  the  reader  has  already  been  informed,  by  an 
inspection  of  the  Sumter's  muster-roll,  is  from  Georgia.  John 
Mclntosh  Kell  is  a  descendant  from  one  of  the  oldest  families 
in  that  State,  having  the  blood  of  the  Macintoshes  in  his  veins, 
through  one  branch  of  his  ancestors.  He  was  bred  in  the  old 
Navy,  and  my  acquaintance  with  him  commenced  when  he 
was  in  trouble.  He  was  serving  as  a  passed  midshipman,  on 
board  the  old  sailing  sloop  Albany,  and  being  ordered,  on  one 
occasion,  to  perform  what  he  considered  a  menial  duty,  he 
resisted  the  order.  Some  of  his  brother  passed  midshipmen 
were  in  the  same  category.  A  court-martial  resulted,  and,  at 
the  request  of  the  young  gentlemen,  I  defended  them.  The 
relation  of  counsel,  and  client,  as  a  matter  of  course,  brought 
us  close  together,  and  I  discovered  that  young  Kell  had  in 
him,  the  making  of  a  man.  So  far  from  being  a  mutineer,  he 
had  a  high  respect  for  discipline,  and  had  only  resisted  obe 
dience  to  the  order  in  question,  from  a  refined  sense  of  gentle 
manly  propriety.  The  reader  will  see  these  qualities  in  him, 
now,  as  he  sits  opposite  me.  He  has  developed  since  the  time 
I  speak  of,  into  the  tall,  well-proportioned  gentleman,  of  mid 
dle  age,  with  brown,  wavy  hair,  and  a  magnificent  beard,  in 
clining  to  red.  See  how  scrupulously  neat  he  is  dressed,  and 
how  suave,  and  affable  he  is,  with  his  associates.  His  eye  is 
now  beaming  gentleness,  and  kindness.  You  will  scarcely 
recognize  him,  as  the  same  man,  when  you  see  him  again  on 
deck,  arraigning  some  culprit,  "  at  the  mast,"  for  a  breach  of 
discipline.  When  Georgia  seceded,  Lieutenant  Kell  was  well 
on  his  way  to  the  commander's  list,  in  the  old  Navy,  but  he 
would  have  scorned  the  commission  of  an  admiral,  if  it  had 
been  tendered  him  as  the  price  of  treason  to  his  State.  To 
have  brought  a  Federal  ship  into  the  waters  of  Georgia,  and 
ravaged  her  coasts,  and  fired  upon  her  people,  would  have 
been,  in  his  eyes,  little  less  than  matricide.  He  forthwith  re 
signed  his  commission,  and  joined  his  fortunes  with  those  of 
his  people.  When  it  was  decided,  at  Montgomery,  that  I  was 
to  have  the  Sumter,  I  at  once  thought  of  Kell,  and,  at  my  re 
quest;  he  was  ordered  to  the  ship  —  Commodore  Tattnall,  with 


124  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

whom  be  had  been  serving  on  the  Georgia  coast,  giving  him 
up  very  reluctantly. 

Seated  next  to  myself,  on  my  right  hand,  is  Lieutenant 
Robert  T.  Chapman.  This  gentleman  is  from  Alabama ;  he  is 
several  years  younger  than  Kell,  not  so  tall,  but  stouter,  in 
proportion.  His  complexion,  as  you  see,  is  dark,  and  he  has 
jet-black  hair,  and  eyes — the  latter  remarkable  for  their  bril 
liancy,  and  for  a  twinkle  of  fun,  and  good  humor.  Chapman 
is  the  life  of  the  mess-table ;  always  in  a  pleasant  mood,  and 
running  over  with  wit  and  anecdote.  Though  he  has  a  fash 
ion,  as  you  see,  of  wearing  his  hair  closely  cropped,  he  is  the 
very  reverse  of  a  round-head,  being  a  preux  chevalier,  as  ready 
for  the  fight  as  the  dance,  and  having  a  decided  preference  for 
the  music  of  the  band,  over  that  of,  "Old  Hundred."  He  is 
the  second  lieutenant,  and  has,  consequently,  the  easiest  berth 
among  the  sea  lieutenants,  being  relieved  from  the  drudgery 
of  the  first  lieutenant,  and  exempt  from  the  calls  for  extra  duty, 
that  are  sometimes  made  upon  the  junior  lieutenant.  When 
his  watch  is  over,  and  his  division  drilled,  he  is  a  gentleman 
at  large,  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  You  see  by  his  build  —  a 
slight  inclination  to  corpulency  —  that  he  is  fond  of  his  ease, 
and  that  he  has  fallen  as  naturally  into  the  place  of  second 
lieutenant,  as  if  it  had  been  cut  out  for  him  on  purpose.  He 
also  was  bred  in  the  old  Navy,  and  was  found  to  be  of  the 
pure  metal,  instead  of  the  dross,  when  the  touchstone  of 
secession  came  to  be  applied  to  separate  the  one  from  the 
other. 

At  Lieutenant  Kell's  right  hand,  sits  Lieutenant  John  M. 
Stribling,  the  third  lieutenant,  and  a  native  of  the  glorious  little 
State  of  South  Carolina.  He  is  of  medium  height,  somewhat 
spare  in  build,  with  brown  hair,  and  whiskers,  and  mild  and 
expressive  blue  eyes ;  the  mildness  of  the  eye  only  dwelling 
in  it,  however,  in  moments  of  repose.  When  excited  at  the 
thought  of  wrong,  or  oppression,  it  has  a  peculiar  stare  of  firm 
ness,  as  much  as  to  say, 

"This  rock  shall  fly, 
From  its  firm  base  as  soon  as   I." 

Stribling  was  also  an  Sieve  of  the  old  Navy,  and,  though  tied 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.       125 

to  it,  by  cords  that  were  hard  to  sever,  lie  put  honor  above 
place,  in  the  hour  of  trial,  arid  came  South. 

Next  to  Stribling,  sits  Lieutenant  William  E.  Evans,  the 
fourth  and  junior  lieutenant  of  the  ship.  He  is  not  more  than 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  slim  in  person,  of  medium  height, 
and  rather  delicate-looking,  though  not  from  ill  health.  His 
complexion  is  dark,  and  he  has  black  hair,  and  eyes.  He  has 
a  very  agreeable,  riante  expression  about  his  face,' and  is  some 
what  given  to  casuistry,  being  fond  of  an  argument,  when 
occasion  presents  itself.  He  is  but  recently  out  of  the  Naval 
Academy,  at  Annapolis,  and  like  all  new  graduates,  feels  the 
freshness  of  academic  honors.  He  is  a  native  of  South  Caro 
lina,  and  a  brother  of  General  Evans  of  that  State,  who  so 
greatly  distinguished  himself,  afterward,  at  the  battle  of 
Manassas,  and  on  other  bloody  fields. 

If  the  reader  will  now  cast  his  eye  toward  the  centre  of  the 
table,  on  my  right  hand,  he  will  see  two  gentlemen,  both  with 
black  hair  and  eyes,  and  both  somewhat  under  middle  size, 
conversing  together.  These  are  Dr.  Francis  L.  Gait,  the  Sur 
geon,  and  Mr.  Henry  Myers,  the  Paymaster,  both  from  the  old 
service;  the  former  a  native  of  Virginia,  and  the  latter  a  native 
of  South  Carolina  ;  and  opposite  these,  are  the  Chief  Engineer, 
and  Marine  Officer, — Mr.  Miles  J.  Freeman,  and  Lieutenant  B. 
Howell,  the  latter  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  our 
honored  President.  I  have  thus  gone  the  circuit  of  the  ward 
room.  All  these  officers,  courteous  reader,  will  make  the  cruise 
with  us,  and  if  you  will  inspect  the  adjoining  engraving,  and 
are  a  judge  of  character,  after  the  rules  of  Lavater  and  Spurz- 
heim,  you  will  perceive  in  advance,  how  much  reason  I  shall 
have  to  be  proud  of  them. 

We  may  now  take  up  our  narrative,  from  the  point  at  which 
it  was  interrupted,  for  the  purpose  of  these  introductions.  Day 
passed  into  night,  and  with  the  night  came  the  brilliant  comet 
again,  lighting  us  on  our  way  over  the  waste  of  waters.  The 
morning  of  the  second  of  July,  our  second  day  out,  dawned 
clear,  and  beautiful,  the  Sumter  still  steaming  in  an  almost 
calm  sea,  with  nothing  to  impede  her  progress.  At  eight  A.M. 
we  struck  the  north-east  trade-wind,  and  made  sail  in  aid  of 
steam,  giving  orders  to  the  engineer,  to  make  the  most  of  his 
fuel,  by  carrying  only  a  moderate  head  of  steam.  Toward 


126  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE     AFLOAT 

noon,  a  few  trade  squalls  passed  over  us,  with  light  and  refresh 
ing  showers  of  rain ;  just  enough  to  cause  me  to  take  shelter, 
for  a  few  moments,  under  the  lee  of  the  spanker.  At  noon, 
we  observed  in  latitude  23°  4'  showing  that  we  had  crossed 
the  tropic  —  the  longitude  being  86°  13'.  The  reader  has 
seen  that  we  have  been  steering  to  the  S.  E.,  diminishing  both 
latitude,  and  longitude,  and  if  he  will  look  upon  the  chart  of 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  he  will  perceive,  that  we  are  approaching 
Cape  San  Antonio,  the  south  end  of  the  island  of  Cuba ;  but  he 
can  scarcely  conjecture  what  sort  of  a  cruise  I  had  marked  out 
for  myself.  The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  those  curt  sailing 
orders  which  we  have  already  seen,  had  considerately  left  me 
carte  blanche  as  to  cruising-ground,  but  as  I  was  "to  do  the 
greatest  injury  to  the  enemy's  commerce,  in  the  shortest  time," 
the  implication  was,  that  I  should,  at  once,  throw  myself  into 
some  one  of  the  chief  thoroughfares  of  his  trade.  I  accord 
ingly  set  my  eye  on  Cape  St.  Koque,  in  Brazil,  which  may  be 
said  to  be  the  great  turning-point  of  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  My  intention  was  to  make  a  dash,  of  a  few  days,  at  the 
enemy's  ships  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba,  coal  at  some  con 
venient  point,  stretch  over  to  Barbadoes,  coal  again,  and  then 
strike  for  the  Brazilian  coast.  It  is  with  this  view,  that  the 
Sumter  is  now  running  for  the  narrow  outlet,  that  issues  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between  Cape  Antonio,  and  the  opposite 
coast  of  Yucatan.  I  shaped  my  course  for  the  middle  of  this 
passage,  but  about  midnight,  made  the  light  of  Cape  Antonio 
right  ahead,  showing  that  I  had  been  drifted,  northward,  by  a 
current  setting,  at  the  rate  of  from  three  fourths  of  a  mile,  to  a 
mile  per  hour.  We  drew  off  a  little  to  the  southward,  doubled 
the  Cape,  with  the  light  still  in  view,  and  at  nine  o'clock,  the 
next  morning,  we  found  ourselves  off  Cape  Corrientes. 

The  weather  had  now  become  cloudy,  and  we  had  a  fresh 
trade-wind,  veering  from  E.  to  E.  S.  E.,  with  some  sea  on.  At 
meridian,  we  observed  in  latitude  21°  29',  the  longitude  being 
84°  06'.  Eunning  along  the  Cuban  coast,  between  it  and  the 
Isle  of  Pines,  of  piratical  memory,  at  about  three  in  the  after 
noon,  the  cry  of  "Sail  ho!"  was  heard  from  the  mast-head,  for 
the  first  time  since  we  had  left  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  look-out,  upon  being  questioned,  said  that  he  saw  two 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        127 

sail,  and  that  they  were  both  right  ahead.  We  came  up  with 
them,  very  rapidly,  for  they  were  standing  in  our  direction, 
and  when  we  had  approached  within  signal  distance,  we  showed 
them  the  English  colors.  The  nearest  sail,  which  proved  to 
be  a  brig,  hoisted  the  Spanish  colors,  and,  upon  being  boarded, 
was  found  to  be  from  Cadiz,  bound  for  Yera  Cruz.  She  was 
at  once  permitted  to  proceed.  Resuming  our  course,  we  now 
stood  for  the  other  sail,  which,  by  this  time,  there  was  no  mis 
taking;  she  being  plainly  American,  although  she  had  not  yet 
shown  her  colors.  A  gun  soon  brought  these  to  the  peak, 
when,  as  I  had  expected,  the  stars  and  stripes  unfolded  them 
selves,  gracefully,  to  the  breeze.  Here  was  our  first  prize,  and 
a  most  welcome  sight  it  was.  The  capture,  I  find,  upon  look 
ing  over  my  notes,  was  recorded  in  a  few  lines,  barren  of  all 
incident,  or  remark,  except  only  that  the  doomed  ship  was 
from  the  "Black  Eepublican  State  of  Maine;"  but  I  well 
recollect  the  mingled  impressions  of  joy,  and  sadness,  that 
were  made  upon  me  by  the  event.  The  "  old  flag,"  which  I 
had  been  accustomed  to  worship,  in  my  youth,  had  a  criminal 
look,  in  my  eyes,  as  it  ascended  to  the  peak  of  that  ship.  How 
strangely  we  sometimes  invest  mere  inanimate  things  with  the 
attributes  of  life !  When  I  had  fired  the  gun,  as  a  command 
to  the  stranger  to  heave  to,  and  show  his  colors,  I  had  hauled 
down  the  English,  and  hoisted  my  own  flag.  The  '  stars  and 
stripes  seemed  now  to  look  abashed  in  the  presence  of  the  new 
banner  of  the  South ;  pretty  much  as  a  burglar  might  be  sup 
posed  to  look,  who  had  been  caught  in  the  act  of  breaking  into 
a  gentleman's  house ;  but  then  the  burglar  was  my  relative, 
and  had  erst  been  my  friend  —  how  could  I  fail  to  feel  some 
pity  for  him,  along  with  the  indignation,  which  his  crime  had 
excited  ?  The  boarding  officer  soon  returned  from  the  cap 
tured  ship,  bringing  with  him  the  master,  with  his  papers. 
There  were  no  knotty  points  of  fact  or  law  to  embarrass  my 
decision.  There  were  the  American  register,  and  clearance, 
and  the  American  character  impressed  upon  every  plank  and 
spar  of  the  ship.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  astonishment  of 
the  master,  who  was  rather  a  mild,  amiable-looking  gentle 
man,  not  at  all  disposed  to  go  either  into  hysterics,  or  the 
heroics.  "A  clap  of  thunder  in  a  cloudless  sky  could  not 


128  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

have  surprised  me  more,"  said  he  to  me  as  I  overhauled  his 
papers,  "  than  the  appearance  of  the  Confederate  flag  in  these 
seas."  "  My  duty  is  a  painful  one,"  said  I,  "  to  destroy  so  noble 
a  ship  as  yours,  but  I  must  discharge  it  without  vain  regrets ; 
and  as  for  yourself,  you  will  only  have  to  do,  as  so  many  thou 
sands  have  done  before  you,  submit  to  the  fortunes  of  war  — 
yourself  and  your  crew  will  be  well  treated  on  board  my 
ship."  The  prize  bore  the  name  of  The  Golden  Rocket,  was  a 
fine  bark,  nearly  new,  of  about  seven  hundred  tons,  and  was 
seeking,  in  ballast,  a  cargo  of  sugar  in  some  one  of  the  Cuban 
ports.  Boats  were  dispatched  to  bring  off  the  crew,  and  such 
provisions,  cordage,  sails,  and  paints  as  the  different  depart 
ments  of  my  ship  stood  in  need  of,  and  at  about  ten  o'clock 
at  night,  the  order  was  given  to  apply  the  torch  to  her. 

The  wind,  by  this  time,  had  become  very  light,  and  the 
night  was  pitch-dark  —  the  darkness  being  of  that  kind,  graph 
ically  described  by  old  sailors,  when  they  say,  you  may  cut  it 
with  a  knife.  I  regret  that  I  cannot  give  to  the  reader  the  picture 
of  the  burning  ship,  as  it  presented  itself  to  the  silent,  and 
solemn  watchers  on  board  the  Sumter  as  thev  leaned  over  her 
hammock  rails  to  witness  it.  The  boat,  which  had  been  sent 
on  this  errand  of  destruction,  had  pulled  out  of  sight,  and  her 
oars  ceasing  to  resound,  we  knew  that  she  had  reached  the 
doomed  ship,  but  so  impenetrable  was  the  darkness,  that  no 
trace  of  either  boat,  or  ship  could  be  seen,  although  the  Sum 
ter  was  distant  only  a  few  hundred  yards.  Not  a  sound  could 
be  heard  on  board  the  Sumter,  although  her  deck  was  crowded 
with  men.  Every  one  seemed  busy  with  his  own  thoughts, 
and  gazing  eagerly  in  the  direction  of  the  doomed  ship,  en 
deavoring,  in  vain,  to  penetrate  the  thick  darkness.  Suddenly, 
one  of  the  crew  exclaimed,  "There  is  the  flame !  She  is  on  fire  ! " 
The  decks  of  this  Maine-built  ship  were  of  pine,  calked  with 
old-fashioned  oakum,  and  paid  with  pitch ;  the  wood- work  of 
the  cabin  was  like  so  much  tinder,  having  been  seasoned  by 
many  voyages  to  the  tropics,  and  the  forecastle  was  stowed 
with  paints,  and  oils.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  flame  was 
not  long  in  kindling,  but  leaped,  full-grown,  into  the  air,  in  a 
very  few  minutes  after  its  first  faint  glimmer  had  been  seen. 
The  boarding  officer,  to  do  his  work  more  effectually,  had  ap- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      129 

plied  the  torch  simultaneously  in  three  places,  the  cabin,  the 
mainhold  and  the  forecastle ;  and  now  the  devouring  flames 
rushed  up  these  three  apertures,  with  a  fury  which  nothing 
could  resist.  The  burning  ship,  with  the  Sumter's  boat  in  the 
act  of  shoving  off  from  her  side ;  the  Sumter  herself,  with  her 
grim,  black  sides,  lying  in  repose  like  some  great  sea-monster, 
gloating  upon  the  spectacle,  and  the  sleeping  sea,  for  there  was 
scarce  a  ripple  upon  the  water,  were  all  brilliantly  lighted. 
The  indraught  into  the  burning  ship's  holds,  and  cabins,  added 
every  moment  new  fury  to  the  flames,  and  now  they  could  be 
heard  roaring  like  the  fires  of  a  hundred  furnaces,  in  full  blast. 
The  prize  ship  had  been  laid  to,  with  her  main-topsail  to  the  mast, 
and  all  her  light  sails,  though  clewed  up,  were  flying  loose  about 
the  yards.  The  forked  tongues  of  the  devouring  element,  leap 
ing  into  the  rigging,  newly  tarred,  ran  rapidly  up  the  shrouds, 
first  into  the  tops,  then  to  the  topmast-heads,  thence  to  the  top 
gallant,  and  royal  mast-heads,  and  in  a  moment  more  to  the 
trucks;  and  whilst  this  rapid  ascent  of  the  main  current  of 
fire  was  going  on,  other  currents  had  run  out  upon  the  yards, 
and  ignited  all  the  sails.  A  top-gallant  sail,  all  on  fire,  would 
now  fly  off  from  the  yard,  and  sailing  leisurely  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  light  breeze  that  was  fanning,  rather  than  blowing, 
break  into  bright,  and  sparkling  patches  of  flame,  and  settle, 
or  rather  silt  into  the  sea.  The  yard  would  then  follow,  and 
not  being  wholly  submerged  by  its  descent  into  the  sea,  would 
retain  a  portion  of  its  flame,  and  continue  to  burn,  as  a  floating 
brand,  for  some  minutes.  At  one  time,  the  intricate  net-work 
of  the  cordage  of  the  burning  ship  was  traced,  as  with  a  pen 
cil  of  fire,  upon  the  black  sky  beyond,  the  many  threads  of 
flame  twisting,  and  writhing,  like  so  many  serpents  that  had 
received  their  death  wounds.  The  mizzen-mast  now  went  by 
the  board,  then  the  fore-mast,  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterward, 
the  great  main-mast  tottered,  reeled,  and  fell  over  the  ship's 
side  into  the  sea,  making  a  noise  like  that  of  the  sturdy  oak 
of  the  forests  when  it  falls  by  the  stroke  of  the  axeman 

By  the  light  of  this  flambeau,  upon  the  lonely  and  silent  sea, 
lighted  of  the  passions  of  bad  men  who  should  have  been  our 
brothers,  the  Sumter,  having  aroused  herself  from  her  dream  of 
vengeance,  and  run  up  her  boats,  moved  forward  on  her  course. 


130  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  captain  of  the  Golden  Rocket  watched  the  destruction  of 
his  ship  from  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Sumter,  apparently  with 
the  calm  eye  of  a  philosopher,  though,  doubtless,  he  felt  the 
emotions  which  the  true  sailor  always  feels,  when  he  looks 
upon  the  dying  agonies  of  his  beloved  ship,  whether  she  be 
broken  up  by  the  storm,  or  perish  in  any  other  way. 

The  flag!  what  was  done  with  the  "old  flag"?  It  was 
marked  with  the  day,  and  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  the 
capture,  and  consigned  to  the  keeping  of  the  signal  quarter 
master,  who  prepared  a  bag  for  its  reception ;  and  when  this 
bag  was  full,  he  prepared  another,  and  another,  as  the  cruise 
progressed,  and  occasion  required.  It  was  the  especial  pride 
of  this  veteran  American  seaman  to  count  over  his  trophies, 
and  when  the  weather  was  fine,  he  invariably  asked  permis 
sion  of  the  officer  of  the  deck,  under  pretence  of  damage  from 
moths,  to  "air"  his  flags;  and  as  he  would  bend  on  his  signal- 
halliards,  and  throw  them  out  to  the  breeze,  one  by  one,  his 
old  eye  would  glisten,  and  a  grim  smile  of  satisfaction  would 
settle  upon  his  sun-burned,  and  weather-beaten  features.  This 
was  our  practice  also  on  board  the  Alabama,  and  when  that 
ship  was  sunk  in  the  British  channel,  in  her  engagement  with 
the  enemy's  ship  Kearsarge,  as  the  reader  will  learn  in  due 
time,  if  he  has  the  patience  to  follow  me  in  these  memoirs,  we 
committed  to  the  keeping  of  the  guardian  spirits  of  that  famous 
old  battle-ground,  a  great  many  bags-full  of  "  old  flags,'7  to  be 
stored  away  in  the  caves  of  the  sea,  as  mementos  that  a  nation 
once  lived  whose  naval  officers  prized  liberty  more  than  the 
false  memorial  of  it,  under  which  they  had  once  served,  and 
who  were  capable,  when  it  became 

"  Hate's  polluted  rag/' 

of  tearing  it  down. 

The  prisoners — -what  did  we  do  with  them?  The  captain 
was  invited  to  mess  in  the  ward-room,  and  when  he  was  after 
ward  landed,  the  officers  generously  made  him  up  a  purse  to 
supply  his  immediate  necessities.  The  crew  was  put  into  a 
mess  by  themselves,  with  their  own  cook,  and  was  put  on  a 
footing,  with  regard  to  rations,  with  the  Sumter's  own  men. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      131 

We  were  making  war  upon  the  enemy's  commerce,  but  not 
upon  his  unarmed  seamen.  It  gave  me  as  much  pleasure  to 
treat  these  with  humanity,  as  it  did  to  destroy  his  ships,  and 
one  of  the  most  cherished  recollections  which  I  have  brought 
out  of  a  war,  which,  in  some  sense,  may  be  said  to  have  been 
a  civil  war,  is,  that  the  "pirate,"  whom  the  enemy  denounced, 
with  a  pen  dipped  in  gall,  and  with  a  vocabulary  of  which 
decent  people  should  be  ashamed,  set  that  same  enemy  the 
example,  which  he  has  failed  to  follow,  of  treating  prisoners  of 
war,  according  to  the  laws  of  war. 


CHAPTEK   XIII. 

EAPID     WORK SEVEN      PHIZES      IN      TWO      DAYS. THE 

SUMTER     MAKES     HER    FIRST     PORT,     AND     WHAT     OC 
CURRED     THERE. 

WE  burned  the  Q-olden  Rocket,  as  lias  been  seen,  on  the  3d 
of  July.  The  next  day  was  the  "glorious  Fourth"  — 
once  glorious,  indeed,  as  the  day  on  which  a  people  broke  the 
chains  of  a  government  which  had  bound  them  against  their 
will,  and  vindicated  the  principle  of  self-government  as  an  in 
alienable  right;  but  since  desecrated  by  the  same  people,  who 
have  scorned,  and  spat  upon  the  record  made  by  their  fathers, 
and  repudiated,  as  a  heresy  fraught  with  the  penalties  of  trea 
son,  the  inalienable  right  for  which  their  fathers  struggled. 
The  grand  old  day  belonged,  of  right,  to  us  of  the  South,  for 
we  still  venerated  it,  as  hallowed  by  our  fathers,  and  were  en 
gaged  in  a  second  revolution,  to  uphold,  and  defend  the  doc 
trines  which  had  been  proclaimed  in  the  first,  but  we  failed  to 
celebrate  it  on  board  the  Sumter.  We  could  not  help  associat 
ing  it  with  the  "old  flag,"  which  had  now  become  a  sham  and 
a  deceit ;  with  the  wholesale  robberies  which  had  been  com 
mitted  upon  our  property,  and  with  the  villification  and  abuse 
which  had  been  heaped  upon  our  persons  by  our  late  co-part 
ners,  for  a  generation  and  more.  The  Declaration  of  Indepen 
dence  had  proved  to  be  a  specious  mask,  under  which  our 
loving  brethren  of  the  North  had  contrived  to  draw  us  into  a 
co-partnership  with  them,  that  they  might  be  the  better  en 
abled,  in  the  end,  to  devour  us.  How  could  we  respect  it,  in 
such  a  connection?  Accordingly,  the  Captain  of  the  Sumter 
was  not  invited  to  dine  in  the  ward-room,  on  the  time-honored 
day,  nor  was  there  any  extra  glass  of  grog  served  to  the  crew, 
as  had  been  the  custom  in  the  old  service. 

The  weather  still  continued  cloudy,  with  a  few  rain  squalls 

132 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  133 

passing  with  the  trade  wind,  during  the  morning.  I  had 
turned  into  my  cot,  late  on  the  previous  night,  and  was  still 
sleeping  soundly,  when,  at  daylight,  an  officer  came  below  to 
inform  me,  that  there  were  two  sails  in  sight  from  the  mast 
head.  We  were  steaming,  as  before,  up  the  south  side  of 
Cuba,  with  the  land  plainly  in  sight,  and  soon  came  close 
enough  to  distinguish  that  the  vessels  ahead  were  both  brig- 
antines,  and  probably  Americans.  There  being  no  occasion  to 
resort  to  ruse,  or  stratagem,  as  the  wind  was  light,  and  there 
was  no  possibility  of  the  ships  running  away  from  us,  we 
showed  them  at  once  the  Confederate  colors,  and  at  the  same 
time  fired  a  blank  cartridge  to  heave  them  to.  They  obeyed 
our  signal,  promptly,  and  came  to  the  wind,  with  their  foretop- 
sails  aback,  and  the  United  States  colors  at  their  peaks.  When 
within  a  few  hundred  yards,  we  stopped  our  engine,  and 
lowered,  and  sent  a  boat  on  board  of  them  —  the  boarding 
officer  remaining  only  a  few  minutes  on  board  of  each,  and 
bringing  back  with  him,  their  respective  masters,  with  their 
ships'  papers.  Upon  examination  of  these,  it  appeared  that 
one  of  the  brigantines  was  called  the  Cuba,  and  the  other  the 
Machias;  that  they  were  both  laden  with  sugar  and  molasses, 
for  English  ports,  and  that  they  had  recently  come  out  of  the 
port  of  Trinidad-de-Cuba.  Indeed  the  recency  of  their  sail 
ing  was  tested,  by  the  way  in  which  their  stern-boats  were  gar 
landed,  with  festoons  of  luscious  bananas,  and  pine-apples,  and 
by  sundry  nets  filled  with  golden-hued  oranges  —  all  of  which 
was  very  tempting  to  the  eyes  and  olfactories  of  men,  who  had 
recently  issued  from  a  blockaded  port,  in  which  such  luxuries 
were  tabooed.  The  cargoes  of  these  small  vessels  being  neu 
tral,  as  certified  by  the  papers — and  indeed  of  this  there  could 
be  little  doubt,  as  they  were  going  from  one  neutral  port  to 
another — I  could  not  burn  the  vessels  as  I  had  done  the 
Golden  Rocket,  and  so  after  transferring  prize  crews  to  them, 
which  occupied  us  an  hour  or  two,  we  took  them  both  in  tow, 
and  steamed  away  for  Cienfuegos  —  it  being  my  intention  to 
test  the  disposition  of  Spain  toward  us,  in  this  matter  of 
taking  in  prizes.  England  and  France  had  issued  procla 
mations,  prohibiting  both  belligerents,  alike,  from  bringing 
prizes  into  their  ports,  but  Spain  had  not  yet  spoken,  and 


134  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  had  hopes  that  she  might  be  induced  to  pursue  a  different 
course. 

Nothing  worthy  of  note  occurred  during  the  rest  of  this 
day ;  we  steamed  leisurely  along  the  coast,  making  about  five 
knots  an  hour.  Finding  our  speed  too  much  diminished,  by 
the  towage  of  two  heavily  laden  vessels,  we  cast  off  one  of 
them — the  Cuba  —  during  the  night  and  directed  the  prize- 
master  to  make  sail,  and  follow  us  into  port.  The  Cuba  did 
not  rejoin  us,  and  we  afterward  learned  through  the  medium 
of  the  enemy's  papers,  that  she  had  been  recaptured  by  her 
crew.  I  had  only  sent  a  midshipman  and  four  men  on  board 
of  her  as  a  prize  crew;  and  the  midshipman  incautiously 
going  aloft,  to  look  out  for  the  land,  as  he  was  approaching 
his  port,  and  a  portion  of  his  prize  crew  proving  treacherous  — 
they  were  not  native  Americans  I  am  glad  to  say  —  he  was 
fired  upon  by  the  master,  and  crew  of  the  brig,  who  had  got 
ten  possession  of  the  revolvers  of  the  prize  crew,  and  com 
pelled  to  surrender,  after  defending  himself  the  best  he  could, 
and  being  wounded  in  one  or  two  places.  The  vessel  then 
changed  her  course  and  made  haste  to  get  out  of  the  Carib 
bean  Sea. 

The  morning  of  the  fifth  dawned  cloudy,  with  the  usual 
moderate  trade-wind.  It  cleared  toward  noon,  and  at  two 
p.  M.  we  crossed  the  shoal  off  the  east  end  of  the  Jardinillos 
reef,  in  from  seven  to  five  fathoms  of  water.  The  sea,  by  this 
time,  had  become  quite  smooth,  and  the  rays  of  a  bright  sun 
penetrated  the  clear  waters  to  the  very  bottom  of  the  shoal, 
revealing  everything  to  us,  as  clearly  as  though  the  medium 
through  which  we  were  viewing  it  were  atmosphere  instead  of 
water.  Every  rock,  sea-shell,  and  pebble  lying  at  the  bottom 
of  the  sea  were  distinctly  visible  to  us,  and  we  could  see  the 
little  fish  darting  into  their  holes,  and  hiding-places,  as  the 
steamer  ploughed  her  way  through  their  usually  quiet  domain. 
It  was  quite  startling  to  look  over  the  side,  so  shallow  did 
the  waters  appear.  The  chart  showed  that  there  was  no  dan 
ger,  and  the  faithful  lead  line,  in  the  hands  of  a  skilful  sea 
man,  gave  us  several  fathoms  of  water  to  spare,  and  yet  one 
could  hardly  divest  himself  of  the  belief,  that  at  the  next 
moment  the  steamer  would  run  aground. 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        135 

Crossing  this  shoal,  we  now  hauled  up  1ST.  E.  by  N.,  for  the 
Cienfuegos  lighthouse.  As  we  approached  the  lights,  we  de 
scried  two  more  sail  in  the  south-east,  making  an  offing  with  all 
diligence,  to  which  we  immediately  gave  chase.  They  were 
eight  or  nine  miles  distant  from  the  land,  and  to  facilitate  our 
pursuit,  we  cast  off  our  remaining  tow,  directing  the  prize- 
master  to  heave  to,  off  the  lighthouse,  and  await  our  return. 
We  had  already  captured  three  prizes,  in  twenty-four  hours, 
and,  as  here  were  probably  two  more,  I  could  perceive  that  my 
crew  were  becoming  enamoured  of  their  business,  pretty  much 
as  the  veteran  fox-hunter  does  in  view  of  the  chase.  They 
moved  about  with  great  alacrity,  in  obedience  to  orders;  the 
seamen  springing  aloft  to  furl  the  sails  like  so  many  squirrels, 
and  the  firemen  below  sending  up  thick  volumes  of  black 
smoke,  from  their  furnaces.  The  Sumter,  feeling  the  renewed 
impulse  of  her  engines,  sprang  forward  in  pursuit  of  the 
doomed  craft  ahead,  as  if  she  too  knew  what  was  going  on. 
We  had  just  daylight  enough  left  to  enable  us  to  accomplish 
our  purpose;  an  hour  or  two  later,  and  at  least  one  of  the  ves 
sels  might  have  escaped.  Coming  up,  first  with  one,  and  then 
the  other,  we  hove  them  to,  successively,  by  "  hail,"  and  brought 
the  masters  on  board.  They  both  proved  to  be  brigtmtines, 
and  were  American,  as  we  had  supposed : —  one,  the  Ben.  Dun 
ning,  of  Maine,  and  the  other,  the  Albert  Adams,  of  Massachu 
setts.  They  had  come  out  of  the  port  of  Cienfuegos,  only  a 
few  hours  before,  were  both  sugar  laden,  and  their  cargoes 
were  documented  as  Spanish  property.  We  hastily  threw  prize 
crews  on  board  of  them,  and  directed  the  prize  masters  to  stand 
in  for  the  light,  still  in  sight,  distant  about  twelve  miles,  and 
hold  on  to  it  until  daylight.  It  was  now  about  ten  p.  M. 
Some  appeal  was  made  to  me  by  the  master  of  one  of  the 
brigantines,  in  behalf  of  his  wife  and  a  lady  companion  of 
hers,  who  were  both  invalids  from  the  effects  of  yellow  fever, 
which  they  had  taken  in  Cienfuegos,  and  from  which  they 
were  just  convalescing.  I  desired  him  to  assure  the  ladies, 
that  they  should  be  treated  with  every  tenderness,  and  respect, 
and  that  if  they  desired  it,  I  would  send  my  surgeon  to  visit 
them ;  but  I  declined  to  release  the  captured  vessel  on  this 
account. 


136  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

We  now  stood  in  for  the  light  ourselves,  and  letting  our 
steam  go  down,  to  the  lowest  point  consistent  with  locomotion, 
lay  off,  and  on,  until  daylight.  The  next  morning  dawned 
beautiful,  and  bright,  as  a  tropic  morning  only  can  dawn.  We 
were  close  in  under  the  land,  and  our  prizes  were  lying  around 
us,  moving  to  and  fro,  gracefully,  to  preserve  their  positions. 
The  most  profuse,  and  luxuriant  vegetation,  of  that  peculiarly 
dark  green  known  only  to  the  tropics,  ran  down  to  the  very 
water's  edge;  the  beautiful  little  stream,  on  which  Cienfuegos 
lies,  disembogued  itself  at  the  foot  of  the  lighthouse  perched 
on  a  base  of  blackened  limestone  rock;  and  the  neat,  white 
fort,  that  sat  a  mile  or  two  up  the  river,  was  now  glistening  in 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  just  lifting  himself  above  the  central 
range  of  mountains.  The  sea  breeze  had  died  away  during 
the  night,  and  been  replaced  by  the  land  breeze,  in  obedience 
to  certain  laws  which  prevail  in  all  countries  swept  by  the 
trade-winds;  and  this  land  breeze,  blowing  so  gently,  as 
scarce  to  disturb  a  tress  on  the  brow  of  beauty,  came  laden 
with  the  most  delicious  perfume  of  shrub  and  flower. 

But,  "what  smoke  is  that  we  perceive,  coming  down  the 
river?"  said  I,  to  the  officer  of  the  deck.  "I  will  see  in  a 
moment,"  said  this  active  young  officer,  and  springing  several 
ratlines  up  the  rigging,  to  enable  him  to  obtain  a  view  over 
the  intervening  foliage,  he  said,  "There  is  a  small  steam-tug 
coming  down,  with  three  vessels  in  tow,  two  barks  and  a 
brig."  "  Can  you  make  out  the  nationality  of  the  ships  in 
tow?"  I  inquired.  "Plainly,"  he  replied,  "they  all  have  the 
American  colors  set."  Here  was  a  piece  of  unlooked-for  good 
fortune.  I  had  not  reckoned  upon  carrying  more  than  three, 
or  four  prizes  into  port,  but  here  were  three  others.  But  to 
secure  these  latter,  a  little  management  would  be  necessary. 
I  could  not  molest  them,  within  neutral  jurisdiction,  and  the 
neutral  jurisdiction  extended  to  a  marine  league,  or  three  geo 
graphical  miles  from  the  land.  I  immediately  hoisted  a  Span 
ish  jack  at  the  fore,  as  a  signal  for  a  pilot,  and  directed  the 
officer  of  the  deck,  to  disarrange  his  yards,  a  little,  cock-billing 
this  one,  slightly,  in  one  direction,  and  that  one,  in  another,  and 
to  send  all  but  about  a  dozen  men  below,  to  give  the  strangers  the 
idea  that  we  were  a  common  merchant  steamer,  instead  of  a  ship 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      137 

of  war.  To  carry  still  further  the  illusion,  we  hoisted  the  Spanish 
merchant  flag.  But  the  real  trouble  was  with  the  prizes  —  two  of 
these  must  surely  be  recognized  by  their  companions  of  only  the 
day  before !  Luckily  my  prize  masters  took  the  hint  I  had 
given  them,  and  hoisted  their  respective  flags,  at  the  fore,  for 
a  pilot  also.  This  mystified  the  new-comers,  and  they  con 
cluded  that  the  two  brigantines,  though  very  like,  could  not 
be  the  same.  Besides,  there  was  a  third  brigantine  in  company, 
and  she  evidently  was  a  new  arrival.  And  so  they  came  on, 
quite  unsuspiciously,  and  when  the  little  steamer  had  towed 
them  clear  of  the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  she  let  them  go,  and 
they  made  sail.  The  fellows  worked  very  industriously,  and 
soon  had  their  ships  under  clouds  of  canvas,  pressing  them  out 
to  get  an  offing,  before  the  sea  breeze  should  come  in.  The 
steam-tug,  as  soon  as  she  had  let  go  her  tows,  came  alongside 
the  Sumter,  and  a  Spanish  pilot  jumped  on  board  of  me,  ask 
ing  me  in  his  native  tongue,  if  I  desired  to  go  up  to  town  ; 
showing  that  my  ruse  of  the  Spanish  flag  had  even  deceived 
him.  I  replied  in  the  affirmative,  and  said  to  him,  pleasantly, 
"  but  I  am  waiting  a  little,  to  take  back  those  ships  you  have 
just  towed  down."  "  Diablo !  "  said  he,  "  how  can  that  be  ;  they 
are  Americanos  del  Norte,  bound  to  Boston,  and  la  Nueva  York!  " 
"That  is  just  what  I  want,"  said  I,  "  we  are  Confederacies,  and 
we  have  la  guerra  with  the  Americanos  del  Norte  !  "  "  Oaram- 
ba !  "  said  he,  "  that  is  good ;  give  her  the  steam  quick,  Cap 
tain !  "  "No,  no,"  replied  I,  "wait  a  while.  I  must  pay  due 
respect  to  your  Queen,  and  the  Captain-General ;  they  com 
mand  in  these  waters,  within  the  league,  and  I  must  wait  until 
the  ships  have  passed  beyond  that."  I  accordingly  waited 
until  the  ships  had  proceeded  some  five  miles  from  the  coast, 
as  estimated  both  by  the  pilot,  and  myself,  when  we  turned  the 
Sumter's  head  seaward,  and  again  removed  the  leash.  She  was 
not  long  in  pouncing  upon  the  astonished  prey.  A  booming 
gun,  and  the  simultaneous  descent  of  the  Spanish,  and  ascent 
of  the  Confederate  flag  to  the  Sumter1  s  peak,  when  we  had 
approached  within  about  a  mile  of  them,  cleared  up  the  mys 
tery  of  the  chase,  and  brought  the  fugitives  to  the  wind.  In 
half  an  hour  more,  their  papers  had  been  examined,  prize 
crews  had  been  thrown  on  board  of  them,  and  they  were 


138  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

standing  back  in  company  with  the  Sumter,  to  rejoin  the  other 
prizes. 

I  had  now  a  fleet  of  six  sail,  and  when  the  sea  breeze  set  in 
next  morning,  which  it  did  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  I  led 
into  the  harbor,  the  fleet  following.  The  three  newly  captured 
vessels  were  the  bark  West  Wind,  of  Ehode  Island;  the 
bark  Louisa  Kilham,  of  Massachusetts,  and  the  brigantine 
Naiad,  of  New  York.  They  had  all  cargoes  of  sugar,  which 
were  covered  by  certificates  of  neutral  property.  When  the 
Sumter  came  abreast  of  the  small  fort,  which  has  already 
been  noticed,  we  were  surprised  to  see  the  sentinels  on  post 
fire  a  couple  of  loaded  muskets,  the  balls  of  which  whistled 
over  our  heads,  and  to  observe  them  making  gestures,  indicat 
ing  that  we  must  come  to  anchor.  This  we  immediately  did ; 
but  the  prizes,  all  of  which  had  the  United  States  colors  flying, 
were  permitted  to  pass,  and  they  sped  on  their  way  to  the  town, 
some  miles  above,  as  they  had  been  ordered.  When  we  had  let 
go  our  anchor,  I  dispatched  Lieutenant  Evans  to  the  fort,  to  call 
on  the  Commandant,  and  ask  for  an  explanation  of  his  conduct, 
in  bringing  us  to.  The  explanation  was  simple  enough.  •  He 
did  not  know  what  to  make  of  the  new-born  Confederate  flag. 
He  had  never  seen  it  before.  It  did  not  belong  to  any  of  the 
nations  of  the  earth,  of  which  he  had  any  knowledge,  and  we 
might  be  a  buccaneer  for  aught  he  knew.  In  the  afternoon, 
the  Commandant  himself  came  on  board  to  visit  me,  and  inform 
me,  on  the  part  of  the  Governor  of  Cienfuegos,  with  whom  he 
had  communicated,  that  I  might  proceed  to  the  town,  in  the 
Sumter,  if  I  desired.  We  drank  a  glass  of  wine  together,  and 
I  satisfied  him,  that  I  had  not  come  in  to  carry  his  fort  by 
storm  —  which  would  have  been  an  easy  operation  enough,  as 
he  had  only  about  a  corporal's  guard  under  his  command — or 
to  sack  the  town  of  Cienfuegos,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Drakes, 
and  other  English  sea-robbers,  who  have  left  so  vivid  an 
impression  upon  Spanish  memory,  as  to  make  Spanish  com 
mandants  of  small  forts,  cautious  of  all  strange  craft. 

It  had  only  been  a  week  since  the  Sumter  had  run  the 
blockade  of  New  Orleans,  and  already  she  was  out  of  fuel ! 
having  only  coal  enough  left  for  about  twenty-four  hours 
steaming.  Here  was  food  for  reflection.  Active  operations 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      139 

which  would  require  the  constant  use  of  steam,  would  never 
do ;  for,  by-and-by,  when  the  enemy  should  get  on  my  track, 
it  would  be  easy  for  him  to  trace  me  from  port  to  port,  if  I 
went  into  port  once  a  week.  I  must  endeavor  to  reach  some 
cruisiug-ground,  where  I  could  lie  in  wait  for  ships,  under 
sail,  and  dispense  with  the  use  of  steam,  except  for  a  few  hours, 
at  a  time,  for  the  purpose  of  picking  up  such  prizes,  as  I  could 
not  decoy  within  reach  of  my  guns.  I  was  glad  to  learn  from 
the  pilot,  that  there  was  plenty  of  coal  to  be  had  in  Cienfuegos, 
and  I  dispatched  Lieutenant  Chapman  to  town,  in  one  of  the 
ship's  cutters,  for  the  double  purpose  of  arranging  for  a  sup 
ply,  and  communicating  with  the  Governor,  on  the  subject  of 
my  prizes,  and  the  position  which  Spain  was  likely  to  occupy,  • 
during  the  war.  The  following  letter  addressed  by  me  to  his 
Excellency  will  explain  the  object  I  had  in  view  in  coming 
into  Cienfuegos,  and  the  hopes  I  entertained  of  the  conduct  of 
Spain,  whose  important  island  of  Cuba  lay,  as  it  were,  athwart 
our  main  gateway  to  the  sea — the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  ) 
ISLAND  or  CUBA,  July  6,  1861.         j 

SIR  :  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  of  my  arrival  at  the  port 
of  Cienfuegos,  with  seven  prizes  of  war.  These  vessels  are  the 
brigantines  Cuba,*  Machias,  Ben.  Dunning,  Albert  Adams,  and 
Naiad;  and  barks  West  Wind,  and  Louisa  Kilham,  property  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  which  States,  as  your  Excellency  is 
aware,  are  waging  an  aggressive  and  unjust  war  upon  the  Confed 
erate  States,  which  I  have  the  honor,  with  this  ship  under  my  com 
mand,  to  represent.  I  have  sought  a  port  of  Cuba,  with  these 
prizes,  with  the  expectation  that  Spain  will  extend  to  the  cruisers 
of  the  Confederate  States,  the  same  friendly  reception  that,  in  simi 
lar  circumstances,  she  would  extend  to  the  cruisers  of  the  enemy ; 
in  other  words,  that  she  will  permit  me  to  leave  the  captured  ves 
sels  within  her  jurisdiction,  until  they  can  be  adjudicated  by  a 
Court  of  Admiralty  of  the  Confederate  States.  As  a  people  main 
taining  a  government  de  facto,  and  not  only  holding  the  enemy  in 
check,  but  gaming  advantages  over  him,  we  are  entitled  to  all  the 
rights  of  belligerents,  and  I  confidently  rely  upon  the  friendly  dis 
position  of  Spain,  who  is  our  near  neighbor,  in  the  most  important 
of  her  colonial  possessions,  to  receive  us  with  equal  and  even- 
handed  justice,  if  not  with  the  sympathy  which  our  identity  of 
interests  and  policy,  with  regard  to  an  important  social  and  indus 
trial  institution,  are  so  well  calculated  to  inspire.  A  rule  which  would 

*  The  Cuba  was  hourly  expected  to  arrive,  but,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  was 
recaptured,  and  did  not  make  her  appearance. 


140  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

exclude  our  prizes  from  her  ports,  during  the  war,  although  it 
should  be  applied,  in  terms,  equally  to  the  enemy,  would  not,  I 
respectfully  suggest,  be  an  equitable,  or  just  rule.  The  basis  of 
such  a  rule,  as  indeed,  of  all  the  conduct  of  a  neutral  during  war,  is 
equal  and  impartial  justice  to  all  the  belligerents,  without  inclining 
to  the  side  of  either ;  and  this  should  be  a  substantial  and  practi 
cal  justice,  and  not  exist  in  terms  merely,  which  may  be  deceptive. 
Now,  a  little  reflection  will,  I  think,  show  your  Excellency  that  the 
rule  in  question  —  the  exclusion  of  the  prizes  of  both  belligerents 
from  neutral  ports  —  cannot  be  applied  in  the  present  war,  without 
operating  with  great  injustice  to  the  Confederate  States.  It  is  well 
known  to  your  Excellency,  that  the  United  States  are  a  manufac 
turing  and  commercial  people,  whilst  the  Confederate  States  are  an 
agricultural  people.  The  consequence  of  this  dissimilarity  of  pur 
suits  was,  that  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  the  former  had  within 
their  limits,  and  control,  almost  all  the  naval  force  of  the  old  gov 
ernment.  This  naval  force  they  have  dishonestly  seized,  and  turned 
against  the  Confederate  States,  regardless  of  the  just  claims  of  the 
latter  to  a  large  proportion  of  it,  as  tax-payers,  out  of  whose  con 
tributions  to  the  common  Treasury  it  was  created.  The  United 
States,  by  this  disseizin  of  the  property  of  the  Confederate  States, 
are  enabled,  in  the  first  months  of  the  war,  to  blockade  all  the  ports 
of  the  latter  States.  In  this  condition  of  things,  observe  the  prac 
tical  working  of  the  rule  I  am  discussing,  whatever  may  be  the  seem 
ing  fairness  of  its  terms.  It  will  be  admitted  that  we  have  equal 
belligerent  rights  with  the  enemy.  One  of  the  most  important  of 
these  rights,  in  a  war  against  a  commercial  people,  is  that  which  I 
have  just  exercised,  of  capturing  his  property,  on  the  high  seas.  But 
how  are  the  Confederate  States  to  enjoy,  to  its  full  extent,  the 
benefit  of  this  right,  if  their  cruisers  are  not  permitted  to  enter  neu 
tral  ports,  with  their  prizes,  and  retain  them  there,  in  safe  custody, 
until  they  can  be  condemned,  and  disposed  of?  They  cannot  send 
them  into  their  own  ports,  for  the  reason  already  mentioned,  viz. : 
that  those  ports  are  hermetically  sealed  by  the  agency  of  their  own 
ships,  forcibly  wrested  from  them.  If  they  cannot  send  them  into 
neutral  ports,  where  are  they  to  send  them  ?  Nowhere.  Except 
for  the  purpose  of  destruction,  therefore,  their  right  of  capture 
would  be  entirely  defeated  by  the  adoption  of  the  rule  in  question, 
whilst  the  opposite  belligerent  would  not  be  inconvenienced  by  it, 
at  all,  as  all  his  own  ports  are  open  to  him.  I  take  it  for  granted, 
that  Spain  will  not  think  of  acting  upon  so  unjust,  and  unequal 
a  rule. 

But  another  question  arises,  indeed  has  already  arisen,  in  the 
ca-ses  of  some  of  the  very  captures  which  I  have  brought  into  port. 
The  cargoes  of  several  of  the  vessels  are  claimed,  as  appears  by 
certificates  found  among  the  papers,  as  Spanish  property.  This 
fact  cannot,  of  course,  be  verified,  except  by  a  judicial  proceeding, 
in  the  Prize  Courts  of  the  Confederate  States.  But  if  the  prizes 
cannot  be  sent  either  into  the  ports  of  the  Confederate  States,  or 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        141 

into  neutral  ports, -how  can  this  verification  be  made?  Further  — 
supposing  there  to  be  no  dispute  about  the  title  to  the  cargo,  how 
is  it  to  be  unladen,  and  delivered  to  the  neutral  claimant,  unless 
the  captured  ship  can  make  a  port  ?  Indeed,  one  of  the  motives 
which  influenced  me  in  making  a  Spanish  colonial  port,  was  the 
fact  that  these  cargoes  were  claimed  by  Spanish  subjects,  whom  I 
was  desirous  of  putting  to  as  little  inconvenience  as  possible,  in  the 
unlading  and  reception  of  their  property,  should  it  be  restored  to 
them,  by  a  decree  of  the  Confederate  Courts.  It  will  be  for  your 
Excellency  to  consider,  and  act  upon  these  grave  questions,  touch 
ing  alike  the  interests  of  both  our  governments. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c.,  &c., 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 

I  did  not  expect  much  to  grow  immediately  out  of  the 
above  communication.  Indeed,  as  the  reader  will  probably 
surmise,  I  had  written  it  more  for  the  eye  of  the  Spanish  Pre 
mier,  than  for  that  of  the  Governor  of  a  small  provincial  town, 
who  had  no  diplomatic  power,  and  whom  I  knew  to  be  timid, 
as  are  all  the  subordinate  officers  of  absolute  governments.  I 
presumed  that  the  Governor  would  telegraph  it  to  the  Captain- 
General,  at  Havana,  and  that  the  latter  would  hold  the  subject 
in  abeyance,  until  he  could  hear  from  the  Home  Government. 
Nor  was  I  disappointed  in  this  expectation,  for  Lieutenant  Chap 
man  returned  from  Cienfuegos,  the  next  morning,  and  brought 
me  intelligence  to  this  effect. 

To  dispose  of  the  questions  raised,  without  the  necessity  of 
again  returning  to  them,  the  reader  is  informed,  that  Spain,  in 
due  time,  followed  the  lead  of  England  and  France,  in  the  mat 
ter  of  excluding  prizes  from  her  ports ;  and  that  my  prizes 
were  delivered  —  to  whom,  do  you  think,  reader?  You  will 
naturally  say,  to  myself,  or  my  duly  appointed  agent,  with  in 
structions  to  take  them  out  of  the  Spanish  port.  This  was  the 
result  to  be  logically  expected.  The  Captain-General  had  re 
ceived  them,  in  trust,  as  it  were,  to  abide  the  decision  of  his 
Government.  If  that  decision  should  be  in  favor  of  receiving 
the  prizes  of  both  belligerents,  well ;  if  not,  I  expected  to  be 
notified  to  take  them  away.  But  nothing  was  further,  it  seems, 
from  the  intention  of  the  Captain-General,  than  this  simple  and 
just  proceeding;  for  as  soon  as  the  Queen's  proclamation  was 
received,  he  deliberately  handed  back  all  my  prizes  to  their 
original  owners!  This  was  so  barefaced  a  proceeding,  that 


142  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

it  was  necessary  to  allege  some  excuse  for-  it,  and  the  ex 
cuse  given  was,  that  I  had  violated  the  neutral  waters  of 
Cuba,  and  captured  my  three  last  prizes  within  the  marine 
league  — my  sympathizing  friend,  the  Spanish  pilot,  and  an 
English  sailor,  on  board  the  tug,  being  vouched  as  the  re 
spectable  witnesses  to  the  fact!  Such  was  the  power  of 
Spanish  gold,  and  Yankee  unscrupulousness  in  the  use  of  it. 
When  I  heard  of  these  transactions  a  few  months  afterward, 
I  planned  a  very  pretty  little  quarrel  between  the  Confed 
erate  States  and  Spain,  in  case  the  former  should  be  success 
ful  in  establishing  their  independence.  Cuba,  I  thought, 
would  make  us  a  couple  of  very  respectable  States,  with  her 
staples  of  sugar  and  tobacco,  and  with  her  similar  system  of 
labor;  and  if  Spain  refused  to  foot  our  bill  for  the  robbery 
of  these  vessels,  we  would  foot  it  ourselves,  at  her  expense. 
But  poor  old  Spain!  I  ought  perhaps  to  forgive  thee,  for  thou 
wast  afterward  kicked,  and  cuffed  by  the  very  Power  to 
which  thou  didst  truckle — the  Federal  steamers  of  war  making 
a  free  use  of  thy  coast  of  the  "Ever  Faithful  Island  of  Cuba," 
chasing  vessels  on  shore,  and  burning  them,  in  contempt  of 
thy  jurisdiction,  and  in  spite  of  thy  remonstrances.  And 
the  day  is  not  far  distant,  when  the  school-ma'am  and  the 
carpet-bag  missionary  will  encamp  on  thy  plantations,  and 
hold  joint  conventicles  with  thy  freedmen,  in  the  interests 
of  Godliness,  and  the  said  ma'am  and  missionary. 

Great  excitement  was  produced,  as  may  be  supposed,  by  the 
arrival  of  the  Sumter,  with  her  six  prizes,  at  the  quiet  little 
town  of  Cienfuegos.  Lieutenant  Chapman  was  met  by  a  host 
of  sympathizers,  and  carried  to  their  club,  and  afterward  to 
the  house  of  one  of  the  principal  citizens,  who  would  not  hear  of 
his  spending  the  night  at  a  hotel,  and  installed  as  his  honored 
guest.  Neighbors  were  called  in,  and  the  night  was  made  merry, 
to  a  late  hour,  by  the  popping  of  champagne-corks  and  the 
story,  and  the  song ;  and  when  the  festivities  had  ceased,  my 
tempest-tossed  lieutentant  was  laid  away  in  the  sweetest  and 
whitest  of  sheets,  to  dream  of  the  eyes  of  the  houries  of  the 
household,  that  had  beamed  upon  him  so  kindly,  that  he  was 
in  danger  of  forgetting  that  he  was  a  married  man.  For  weeks 
afterward,  his  messmates  could  get  nothing  out  of  him,  but  some- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      143 

thing  about  Don  this,  and  Dona  that.  There  was  a  hurrying  to  and 
fro,  too,  of  the  stewards,  and  mess  boys,  as  the  cutter  in  which  he 
returned,  came  alongside  of  the  ship,  for  there  were  sundry 
boxes,  marked  Bordeaux,  and  Cette,  and  sundry  baskets 
branded  with  anchors ;  and  there  were  fruits,  and  flowers,  and 
squalling  chickens  to  be  passed  up. 

The  principal  coffee-house  of  the  place  had  been  agog  with 
wonders ;  the  billiard-players  had  rested  idly  on  their  cues,  to 
listen  to  Madam  Rumor  with  her  thousand  tongues — how  the 
fort  had  fired  into  the  Sumter,  and  how  the  Sumter  had  fired 
back  at  the  fort,  and  how  the  matter  had  finally  been  settled 
by  the  Pirata  and  the  Commandante,  over  a  bottle  of  champagne. 
Yankee  captains,  and  consignees,  supercargoes,  and  consuls 
passed  in,  and  out,  in  consultation,  like  so  many  ants  whose 
nest  had  been  trodden  upon,  and  nothing  could  be  talked  of 
but  freights,  and  insurance,  with,  and  without  the  war  risk ; 
bills  of  lading,  invoices,  consul's  certificates  to  cover  cargoes, 
and  last,  though  not  least,  where  the  d — 1  all  the  Federal  gun 
boats  were,  that  this  Confederate  hawk  should  be  permitted  to 
make  such  a  flutter  in  the  Yankee  dove-cot. 
10 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

THE  SUMTER    ON    THE  WING  AGAIN IS   PUT  UNDER   SAIL 

FOR   THE   TIME REACHES    THE    ISLAND    OF   CURA9OA, 

AND    IS    ONLY   ABLE   TO    ENTER   AFTER   A    DIPLOMATIC 
FIGHT. 

FROM  what  has  been  said  in  the  last  chapter,  the  reader  will 
have  observed  how  anxious  I  was  to  conform  my  conduct, 
in  all  respects,  to  the  laws  of  war.  My  hope  was,  that  some  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  at  least,  would  give  me  an  asylum 
for  my  prizes,  so  that  I  might  have  them  formally  condemned 
by  the  Confederate  States  Prize  Courts,  instead  of  being 
obliged  to  destroy  them.  It  was  with  this  hope;  that  I  had 
entered  the  port  of  Cienfuegos,  as  the  reader  has  seen ;  and  it 
was  in  furtherance  of  this  object,  that  I  now  drew  up  the  fol 
lowing  appointment  of  a  Prize  Agent,  who  had  come  well 
recommended  to  me,  as  a  gentleman  of  integrity  and  capacity. 

C.  S.  STEAMER  SUMTER,  CIENFUEGOS, 

July  6,  1861. 

SIR:  —  You  are  hereby  appointed  Prize  Agent,  for,  and  in  behalf 
of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  of  the  following  prizes,  to 
wit:  The  Cuba,  Machias,  Ben.  Dunning,  Albert  Adams,  Naiad, 
West  Wind,  and  Louisa  Kilham,  and  their  cargoes,  until  the  same 
can  be  adjudicated,  by  the  Prize  Courts  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  disposed  of  by  the  proper  authorities.  You  will  take  the 
necessary  steps  for  the  safe  custody  of  these  prizes,  and  you  will 
not  permit  anything  to  be  removed  from,  or  disturbed  on  board  of 
them.  You  will  be  pleased,  also,  to  take  the  examinations  of  the 
master,  and  mate  of  each  of  these  vessels,  before  a  notary,  touch 
ing  the  property  of  the  vessels,  and  cargoes ;  and  making  a  copy 
thereof,  to  be  retained  in  your  own  possession,  you  will  send,  by 
some  safe  conveyance,  the  originals,  addressed  to  "  The  Judge  of 
the  Confederate  States  District  Court,  New  Orleans,  La." 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  &c., 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 
Senor  Don  MARIANO  BIAS. 

144 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  145 

During  the  day,  the  steam-tug  towed  down  from  the  town, 
for  me,  a  couple  of  lighters,  containing  about  one  hundred 
tons  of  coal,  five  thousand  gallons  of  water,  and  some  fresh 
provisions  for  the  crew.  It  was  necessary  that  we  should  pre 
pare  for  sea,  with  some  dispatch,  as  there  was  a  line  of  tele 
graph,  from  Cienfuegos  to  Havana,  where  there  were  always  a 
number  of  the  enemy's  ships  of  war  stationed.  As  a  matter 
of  course,  the  U.  S.  Consul  at  Cienfuegos  had  telegraphed  to 
his  brother  Consul,  in  Havana,  the  arrival  of  the  Sumtcr,  in 
the  first  ten  minutes  after  she  had  let  go  her  anchor ;  and  as 
another  matter  of  course,  there  must  already  be  several  fast 
steamers  on  their  way,  to  capture  this  piratical  craft,  which 
had  thus  so  unceremoniously  broken  in  upon  the  quiet  of  the 
Cuban  waters,  and  the  Yankee  sugar,  and  rurn  trade.  I  had 
recourse  to  the  chart,  and  having  ascertained  at  what  hour 
these  steamers  would  be  enabled  to  arrive,  I  fixed  my  own 
departure,  a  few  hours  ahead,  so  as  to  give  them  the  satisfac 
tion  of  finding  that  the  bird,  which  they  were  in  pursuit  of, 
had  flown.  My  excellent  first  lieutenant  came  up  to  time, 
and  the  ship  was  reported  ready  for  sea  before  sunset,  or  in  a 
little  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  after  our  arrival. 

To  avoid  the  coal  dust,  which  is  one  of  the  pests  of  a  steamer, 
and  the  confusion,  and  noise  which  necessarily  accompany  the 
exceedingly  poetic  operation  of  coaling,  I  landed,  as  the  sun 
was  approaching  the  western  horizon,  in  company  with  my 
junior  lieutenant  and  sailing-master,  for  a  stroll,  and  to  obtain 
sights  for  testing  my  chronometers,  as  well.  Having  disposed 
of  the  business  part  of  the  operation  first,  in  obedience  to  the 
old  rnaxirn  ;  that  is  to  say,  having  made  our  observations  upon 
the  sun,  for  time,  we  wandered  about,  for  an  hour,  and  more, 
amid  the  rich  tropical  vegetation  of  this  queen  of  islands,  now 
passing  under  the  flowering  acacia,  and  now  under  the  deep- 
foliaged  orange-tree,  which  charmed  two  senses  at  once — that 
of  smell,  by  the  fragrance  of  its  young  flowers,  and  that  of 
sight,  by  the  golden  hue  of  its  luscious  and  tempting  fruit. 
We  had  landed  abreast  of  our  ship,  and  a  few  steps  sufficed  to 
put  us  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  wilderness,  of  floral  beauty,  with 
nothing  to  commune  with  but  nature.  What  a  contrast  there 
was  between  this  peaceful,  and  lovely  scene,  and  the  life  we 


146  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

had  led  for  the  last  week !  We  almost  loathed  to  go  back  to 
the  dingy  walls,  and  close  quarters  of  our  little  craft,  where 
everything  told  us  of  war,  and  admonished  us  that  a  life  of 
toil,  vexation,  and  danger  lay  before  us,  and  that  we  must  bid 
a  long  farewell  to  rural  scenes,  and  rural  pleasures.  As  we 
still  wandered,  absorbed  in  such  speculations  as  these,  uncon 
scious  of  the  flight  of  time,  the  sound  of  the  evening  gun  came 
booming  on  the  ear,  to  recall  us  to  our  senses,  and  retracing  our 
steps,  we  hurriedly  re-embarked.  That  evening's  stroll  lingered 
long  in  my  memory,  and  was  often  recalled,  amid  the  whistling, 
and  surging  of  the  gale,  and  the  tumbling,  and  discomforts  of 
the  ship. 

I  had  been  looking  anxiously,  for  the  last  few  hours,  for  the 
arrival  of  our  prize  brigantine,  the  Cuba,  but  she  failed  to 
make  her  appearance,  and  I  was  forced  to  abandon  the  hope 
of  getting  back  my  prize  crew  from  her.  I  left  with  my  prize 
agent,  the  following  letter  of  instructions  for  the  midshipman 
in  command  of  the  Cuba. 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  ~) 
CIENFUEGOS,  July  Y,' 1861.  ) 

SIR:  —  Upon  your  arrival  at  this  place,  you  will  put  the  master, 
mate,  and  crew  of  the  Cuba  on  parole,  not  to  serve  against  the 
Confederate  States,  during  the  present  war,  unless  exchanged,  and 
release  them.  You  will  then  deliver  the  brigantine  to  the  Gov 
ernor,  for  safe  custody,  until  the  orders  of  the  Captain-General 
can  be  known  in  regard  to  her.  I  regret  much  that  you  are  not 
able  to  arrive  in  time,  to  rejoin  the  ship,  and  you  must  exercise  your 
judgment,  as  to  the  mode  in  which  you  shall  regain  your  country. 
You  will,  no  doubt,  be  able  to  raise  sufficient  funds  for  transporting 
yourself,  and  the  four  seamen  who  are  with  you,  to  some  point  in 
the  Confederate  States,  upon  a  bill  of  exchange,  which  you  are 
hereby  authorized  to  draw,  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  Upon 
your  arrival  within  our  territory,  you  will  report  yourself  to  that 
officer.  Your  baggage  has  been  sent  you  by  the  pilot. 

Midshipman  A.  G.  HUDGINS. 

I  did  not  meet  Mr.  Hudgins,  afterward,  until  as  a  rear 
admiral,  I  was  ordered  to  the  command  of  the  James  Biver 
fleet,  in  the  winter  of  1864.  He  was  then  attached  to  one  of 
my  ships,  as  a  lieutenant.  On  the  retreat  from  Eichmond,  I 
made  him  a  captain  of  light  artillery,  and  he  was  paroled 
with  me,  at  Greensboro',  North  Carolina,  in  May  1865.  How 
he  has  settled  with  my  friend,  the  Spanish  pilot,  who  agreed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      147 

with  me  that  the  prizes  which  I  captured,  off  Cienfuegos,  were 
five  miles  from  the  land,  and  with  the  Northern  claimants,  and 
the  Captain-General  of  Cuba,  that  they  were  less  than  three 
miles  from  it,  about  his  baggage,  I  have  never  learned. 

Everything  being  in  readiness  for  sea,  on  board  the  Sumter, 
and  the  officers  having  all  returned  from  their  visits  to  the  town, 
at  eleven  P.  M.,  we  got  under  way,  and  as  the  bell  struck  the 
midnight  hour,  we  steamed  out  of  the  harbor,  the  lamps  from 
the  light-house  throwing  a  bright  glare  upon  our  deck,  as  we 
passed  under  its  shadow,  close  enough  to  "  have  tossed  a  bis 
cuit"  to  the  keeper;  so  bold  is  the  entrance  of  the  little  river. 
The  sea  was  nearly  calm,  and  the  usual  land  breeze  was  gently 
breathing,  rather  than  blowing.  Having  given  the  course  to 
the  officer  of  the  deck,  I  was  glad  to  go  below,  and  turn  in, 
after  the  excitement,  and  confusion  of  the  last  forty-eight 
hours.  When  some  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  land,  we 
lost  the  land  breeze,  and  were  struck  by  the  sea  breeze,  nearly 
ahead,  with  some  force.  We  steamed  on,  all  the  next  dav> 
without  any  incident  to  break  in  upon  the  monotony,  except  a 
short  chase  which  we  gave  to  a  brigantine,  which  proved,  upon 
our  coming  up  with  her,  to  be  Spanish.  Between  nine,  and  ten 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  we  passed  the  small  islands  of  the  Cay 
mans,  which  we  found  to  be  laid  down  in  the  charts  we  were 
using,  some  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles  too  far  to  the  westward. 
As  there  is  a  current  setting  in  the  vicinity  of  these  islands, 
and  as  the  islands  themselves  are  so  low,  as  to  be  seen  with 
difficulty,  in  a  dark  night, —  and  the  night  on  which  we  were 
passing  them  was  dark, — I  make  this  observation,  to  put  navi 
gators  on  their  guard. 

The  morning  of  the  ninth  of  July  dawned  clear,  and  beau 
tifully,  but  as  the  sun  gained  power,  the  trade-wind  increased, 
until  it  blew  half  a  gale,  raising  considerable  sea,  and  impeding 
the  progress  of  the  ship.  Indeed,  so  little  speed  did  we  make, 
that  the  island  of  Jamaica,  which  we  had  descried  with  the 
first  streaks  of  dawn,  remained  in  sight  all  day;  its  blue 
mountains  softened  but  not  obliterated  by  the  distance  as  the 
evening  set  in.  The  sea  was  as  blue  as  the  mountains,  and  the 
waves  seemed  almost  as  large,  to  our  eyes,  as  the  little  steamer 
plunged  into,  and  struggled  with  them,  in  her  vain  attempt 


148  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

to  make  headway.  All  the  force  of  her  engine  was  incapable 
of  driving  her  at  a  greater  speed  than  five  knots.  The  next 
day,  and  the  day  after  were  equally  unpropitious.  Indeed  the 
weather  went  from  bad,  to  worse,  for  now  the  sky  became 
densely  overcast,  with  black,  and  angry-looking  clouds,  and 
the  wind  began  to  whistle  through  the  rigging,  with  all  the 
symptoms  of  a  gale.  We  were  approaching  the  hurricane 
season,  and  there  was  no  telling  at  what  moment,  one  of  those 
terrible  cyclones  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  might  sweep  over  us. 
To  add  to  the  gloominess  of  the  prospect,  we  were  compara 
tively  out  of  the  track  of  commerce,  and  had  seen  no  sail, 
since  we  had  overhauled  the  Spanish  brigantine. 

As  explained  to  the  reader,  in  one  of  the  opening  chapters, 
it  was  my  intention  to  proceed  from  Cuba,  to  Barbadoes,  there 
recoal,  and  thence  make  the  best  of  my  way  to  Cape  St.  Boque, 
in  Brazil,  where  I  expected  to  reap  a  rich  harvest  from  the 
enemy's  commerce.  I  was  now  obliged  to  abandon,  or  at  least 
to  modify  this  design.  It  would  not  be  possible  for  me  to 
reach  Barbadoes,  with  my  present  supply  of  coal,  in  the  teeth 
of  such  trade-winds,  as  I  had  been  encountering  for  the  last 
few  days.  I  therefore  determined  to  bend  down  toward  the 
Spanish  Main ;  converting  the  present  head- wind,  into  a  fair 
wind,  for  at  least  a  part  of  the  way,  and  hoping  to  find  the 
weather  more  propitious,  on  that  coast.  It  was  now  the 
thirteenth  of  July,  and  as  we  had  sailed  from  Cienfuegos,  on 
the  seventh,  we  had  consumed  six  out  of  our  eight  days'  sup 
ply  of  fuel.  Steaming  was  no  longer  to  be  thought  of,  and 
we  must  make  some  port  under  sail.  The  Dutch  island  of 
Cura^oa  lay  under  our  lee,  and  we  accordingly  made  sail  for 
that  island.  The  engineer  was  ordered  to  let  his  fires  go 
down,  and  uncouple  his  propeller  that  it  might  not  retard  the 
speed  of  the  ship,  and  the  sailors  were  sent  aloft  to  loose  the 
topsails. 

This  was  the  first  time  that  we  were  to  make  use  of  our  sails, 
unaided  by  steam,  and  the  old  sailors  of  the  ship,  who  had  not 
bestridden  a  yard  for  some  months,  leaped  aloft,  with  a  will,  to 
obey  the  welcome  order.  The  race  of  sailors  has  not  yet  entirely 
died  out,  though  the  steamship  is  fast  making  sad  havoc  with  it. 
There  is  the  same  difference  between  the  old-time  sailor,  who 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     149 

has  been  bred  in  the  sailing-ship,  and  the  modern  sailor  of  the 
steamship,  that  there  is  between  the  well-trained  fox-hound, 
who  chases  Reynard  all  day,  and  the  cur  that  dodges  a  rabbit 
about,  for  half  an  hour  or  so.  The  sailing-ship  has  a  romance, 
and  a  poetry  about  her,  which  is  thoroughly  killed  by  steam. 
The  sailor  of  the  former  loves,  for  its  own  sake,  the  howling 
of  the  gale,  and  there  is  no  music  so  sweet  to  his  ear,  as  the 
shouting  of  orders  through  the  trumpet  of  the  officer  of  the 
deck,  when  he  is  poised  upon  the  topsail-yard,  of  the  rolling 
and  tumbling  ship,  hauling  out  the  "  weather  ear-ring."  It  is 
the  ranz  de  vache,  which  recalls  the  memory  of  his  boyhood, 
and  youth,  when  under  the  tutelage  of  some  foster-father  of 
an  old  salt,  he  was  taking  his  first  lessons  in  seamanship. 

It  used  to  be  beautiful  to  witness  the  rivalry  of  these  chil 
dren  of  the  deep,  when  the  pitiless  hurricane  was  scourging  their 
beloved  ship,  and  threatening  her  with  destruction.  The  greater 
the  danger,  the  more  eager  the  contest  for  the  post  of  honor. 
Was  there  a  sail  to  be  secured,  which  appeared  about  to  be 
torn  into  ribbons,  by  the  gale,  and  the  loose  gear  of  which 
threatened  to  whip  the  sailor  from  the  yard ;  or  was  there  a 
topmast  to  be  climbed,  which  was  bending  like  a  willow  wand 
under  the  fury  of  the  blast,  threatening  to  part  at  every  mo 
ment,  and  throw  the  climber  into  the  raging,  and  seething 
caldron  of  waters  beneath,  from  which  it  would  be  impossible 
to  rescue  him,  Jack,  noble  Jack  was  ever  ready  for  the  ser 
vice.  I  have  seen  an  old  naval  captain,  who  had  been  some 
years  retired  from  the  sea,  almost  melt  into  tears,  as  he  listened 
to  the  musical  "  heaving  of  the  lead  "  by  an  old  sailor,  in  the 
"  chains  "  0£  a  passing  ship  of  war. 

But  steam,  practical,  commonplace,  hard-working  steam,  has 
well-nigh  changed  all  this,  and  cut  away  the  webbing  from  the 
foot  of  the  old-time  sailor.  Seamanship,  evolutions,  invention, 
skill,  and  ready  resource  in  times  of  difficulty,  and  danger, 
have  nearly  all  gone  out  of  fashion,  and  instead  of  reefing  the 
topsails,  and  club -hauling,  and  box-hauling  the  ship,  some 
order  is  now  sent  to  the  engineer,  about  regulating  his  fires, 
and  paying  attention  to  his  steam-gauges.  Alas !  alas  I  there 
will  be  no  more  Nelsons,  and  Collingwoods,  and  no  more  such 
venerable  "bulwarks  upon  the  deep,"  as  the  Victory,  and  the 


150  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Royal  Sovereign.  In  future  wars  upon  the  ocean,  all  combat 
ants  will  be  on  the  dead  level  of  impenetrable  iron  walls,  with 
regard  to  dash,  and  courage,  and  with  regard  to  seamanship, 
and  evolutions,  all  the  knowledge  that  will  be  required  of 
them,  will  be  to  know  how  to  steer  a  nondescript  box  toward 
their  enemy. 

Our  first  night  under  canvas,  I  find  thus  described,  in  my 
journal :  "Heavy  sea  all  night,  and  ship  rolling,  and  tumbling 
about,  though  doing  pretty  well.  The  propeller  revolves 
freely,  and  we  are  making  about  five  knots."  The  next  day 
was  Sunday,  and  the  weather  was  somewhat  ameliorated.  The 
wind  continued  nearly  as  fresh  as  before,  but  as  we  were  now 
running  a  point  free,  this  was  no  objection,  and  the  black, 
angry  clouds  had  disappeared,  leaving  a  bright,  and  cheerful 
sky.  A  sail  was  seen  on  the  distant  horizon,  but  it  was  too 
rough  to  chase.  This  was  our  usual  muster-day,  but  the  decks 
were  wet,  and  uncomfortable,  and  I  permitted  my  crew  to  rest, 
they  having  scarcely  yet  recovered  from  the  fatigue  of  the  last 
few  days. 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  part  of  the  world  where  the  weather 
is  so  uniformly  fine,  as  on  the  Spanish  Main.  .The  cyclones 
never  bend  in  that  direction,  and  even  the  ordinary  gales  are 
unknown.  We  were  already  beginning  to  feel  the  influence 
of  this  meteorological  change ;  for  on  Monday,  the  15th  of 
July,  the  weather  was  thus  described  in  my  journal:  "  Weather 
moderating,  and  the  sea  going  down,  though  still  rough. 
Nothing  seen.  In  the  afternoon,  pleasant,  with  a  moderate 
breeze,  and  the  clouds  assuming  their  usual  soft,  fleecy,  trade- 
wind  appearance."  The  next  day  was  still  clear, though  the 
wind  had  freshened,  and  the  ship  was  making  good  speed. 

At  nine  A.  M.  we  made  the  land,  on  the  starboard  bow,  which 
proved  to  be  the  island  of  Oruba,  to  leeward,  a  few  miles,  of 
Cura^oa.  For  some  hours  past,  we  had  been  within  the  influ 
ence  of  the  equatorial  current,  which  sets  westward,  along  this 
coast,  with  considerable  velocity,  and  it  had  carried  us  a  little 
out  of  our  course,  though  we  had  made  some  allowance  for  it. 
We  hauled  up,  a  point,  or  two,  and  at  eleven  A.  M.  we  made 
the  island  of  Curagoa,  on  the  port  bow.  We  doubled  the  north 
west  end  of  the  island,  at  about  four  P.  M.  and  hauling  up  on  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      151 

south  side  of  it  we  soon  brought  the  wind  ahead,  when  it  be 
came  necessary  to  put  the  ship  under  steam  again,  and  to  furl 
the  sails. 

The  afternoon  proved  beautifully  bright,  and  clear ;  the  sea 
was  of  a  deep  indigo-blue,  and  we  were  all  charmed,  even  with 
this  barren  little  island,  as  we  steamed  along  its  bold,  and 
blackened  shores,  of  limestone  rock,  alongside  of  which  the 
heaviest  ship  might  have  run,  and  throwing  out  her  bow  and 
stern  lines,  made  herself  fast  with  impunity,  so  perpendicu 
larly  deep  were  the  waters.  Our  average  distance  from  the 
land,  as  we  steamed  along,  was  not  greater  than  a  quarter  of  a 
mile.  There  were  a  few  stunted  trees,  only,  to  be  seen,  in  the 
little  ravines,  and  some  wild  shrubbery,  and  sickly  looking 
grass,  struggling  for  existence  on  the  hills'  sides.  A  few  goats 
were  browsing  about  here,  and  there,  and  the  only  evidence  of 
commerce,  or  thrift,  that  we  saw,  were  some  piles  of  salt,  that 
had  been  raked  up  from  the  lagoons,  ready  for  shipment.  And 
yet  the  Dutch  live,  and  thrive  here,  and  have  built  up  quite  a 
pretty  little  town  —  that  of  St.  Anne's,  to  which  we  were  bound. 
The  explanation  of  which  is,  that  the  island  lies  contiguous  to 
the  Venezuelan  coast,  and  is  a  free  port,  for  the  introduction 
of  European,  and  American  goods,  in  which  a  considerable 
trade  is  carried  on,  with  the  main  land. 

We  arrived  off  the  town,  with  its  imposing  battlements 
frowning  on  either  side  of  the  harbor,  about  dusk,  and  imme 
diately  hoisted  a  jack,  and  fired  a  gun,  for  a  pilot.  In  the 
course  of  half  an  hour,  or  so,  this  indispensable  individual 
appeared,  but  it  was  too  late,  he  said,  for  us  to  attempt  the 
entrance,  that  night.  He  would  come  off,  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning,  and  take  us  in.  With  this  assurance  we  rested  satis 
fied,  and  lay  off,  and  on,  during  the  night,  under  easy  steam. 
But  we  were  not  to  gain  entrance  to  this  quaint  little  Dutch 
town,  so  easily,  as  had  been  supposed.  We  were  to  have  here 
a  foretaste  of  the  trouble,  that  the  Federal  Consuls  were  to  give 
us  in  the  future.  We  have  already  commented  on  the  love  of 
office  of  the  American  people.  There  is  no  hole,  or  corner  of 
the  earth,  into  which  a  ship  can  enter,  and  where  there  is  a 
dollar  to  be  made,  that  has  not  its  American  Consul,  small  or 
large.  The  smallest  of  salaries  are  eagerly  accepted,  and,  as  a 


152  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

consequence,  the  smallest  of  men  are  sometimes  sent  to  fill 
these  places.  But  the  smaller  the  place,  the  bigger  were  the 
cocked  hats  and  epaulettes  the  officials  wore,  and  the  more 
brim-  full  were  they  of  patriotism. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  am  writing,  they  called  one  "Win.  H. 
Seward,  master,  and  they  had  taken  Billy's  measure  to  a  frac 
tion.  They  knew  his  tastes,  and  pandered  to  them,  accord 
ingly.  His  circular  letters  had  admonished'  them,  that,  in  their 
intercourse  with  foreign  nations,  they  must  speak  of  our  great 
civil  war,  as  a  mere  rebellion,  that  would  be  suppressed,  in  from 
sixty,  to  ninety  days  ;  insist  that  we  were  not  entitled  to  bel 
ligerent  rights,  and  call  our  cruisers,  "corsairs,"  or  "pirates." 
Accordingly,  soon  after  the  pilot  had  landed,  from  the  Sumter, 
carrying  with  him  to  the  shore,  the  intelligence  that  she  was  a 
Confederate  States  cruiser,  the  Federal  Consul  made  his  appear 
ance  at  the  Government-House,  and  claimed  that  the  "pirate" 
should  not  be  permitted  to  enter  the  harbor  ;  informing  his 
Excellency,  the  Governor,  that  Mr.  Seward  would  be  irate,  if 
such  a  thing  were  permitted,  and  that  he  might  expect  to  have 
the  stone,  and  rnortar  of  his  two  forts  knocked  about  his  ears, 
in  double  quick,  by  the  ships  of  war  of  the  Great  Eepublic. 

This  bold,  and  defiant  tone,  of  the  doughty  little  Consul, 
seemed  to  stagger  his  Excellency  ;  it  would  not  be  so  pleasant 
to  have  St.  Anne's  demolished,  merely  because  a  steamer  with 
•a  flag  that  nobody  had  seen  before,  wanted  some  coal  ;  and  so, 
the  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  he  sent  the  pilot  off,  to  say 
to  me,  that  "  the  Governor  could  not  permit  the  Sumter  to 
enter,  having  received  recent  orders  from  Holland  to  that 
effect."  Here  was  a  pretty  kettle  of  fish!  The  Sumter  had 
only  one  day's  fuel  left,  and  it  was  some  distance  from  Cura- 
<?oa,  to  any  other  place,  where  coal  was  to  be  had.  I  immedi 
ately  sent  for  Lieutenant  Chapman,  and  directed  him  to  pre 
pare  himself  for  a  visit  to  the  shore;  and  calling  my  clerk, 
caused  him  to  write,  after  my  dictation,  the  following  despatch 
to  his  Excellency  :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  ) 

OFF  ST.  ANNE'S,  CURASOA,  July  IT,  1861.  j 


His  EXCELLENCY  GOVERNOR  CROL:  — 

I  was  surprised  to  receive,  by  the  pilot,  this  morning,  a  message 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       153 

from  your  Excellency,  to  the  effect  that  this  ship  would  not  be  per 
mitted  to  enter  the  harbor,  unless  she  was  in  distress,  as  your  Ex 
cellency  had  received  orders  from  his  Government  not  to  admit 
vessels  of  war  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  to  the  hospi 
tality  of  the  ports,  under  your  Excellency's  command.  I  most 
respectfully  suggest  that  there  must  be  some  mistake  here ;  and  I 
have  sent  to  you  the  bearer,  Lieutenant  Chapman,  of  the  Confede 
rate  States  Navy,  for  the  purpose  of  an  explanation.  Your  Ex 
cellency  must  be  under  some  misapprehension  as  to  the  character 
of  this  vessel.  She  is  a  ship  of  war,  duly  commissioned  by  the 
government  of  the  Confederate  States,  which  States  have  "been 
recognized,  as  belligerents,  in  the  present  war,  by  all  the  leading 
Powers  of  Europe,  viz. : — Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  &c.,  as  your 
Excellency  must  be  aware. 

It  is  true,  that  these  Powers  have  prohibited  both  belligerents, 
alike,  from  bringing  prizes  into  their  several  jurisdictions  ;  but  no 
one  of  them  has  made  a  distinction,  either  between  the  respective 
prizes,  or  the  cruisers,  themselves,  of  the  two  belligerents  —  the 
cruisers  of  both  governments,  unaccompanied  by  prizes,  being  ad 
mitted  to  the  hospitalities  of  the  ports  of  all  these  great  Powers, 
on  terms  of  perfect  equality.  In  the  face  of  these  facts,  am  I  to 
understand  from  your  Excellency,  that  Holland  has  adopted  a  dif 
ferent  rule,  and  that  she  not  only  excludes  the  prizes,  but  the  ships 
of  war,  themselves,  of  the  Confederate  States?  And  this,  at  the 
same  time,  that  she  admits  the  cruisers  of  the  United  States ;  thus 
departing  from  her  neutrality,  in  this  war,  ignoring  the  Confede 
rate  States,  as  belligerents,  and  aiding  and  abetting  their  enemy? 
If  this  be  the  position  which  Holland  has  assumed,  in  this  contest, 
I  pray  your  Excellency  to  be  kind  enough  to  say  as  much  to  me  in 
writing. 

When  this  epistle  was  ready,  Chapman  shoved  off  for  the 
shore,  and  a  long  conference  ensued.  The  Governor  called 
around  him,  as  I  afterward  learned,  all  the  dignitaries  of  the 
island,  civil  and  military,  and  a  grand  council  of  State  was 
held.  These  Dutchmen  have  a  ponderous  way  of  doing  things, 
and  I  have  no  doubt,  the  gravity  of  this  council  was  equal  to 
that  held  in  New  Amsterdam  in  colonial  days,  as  described  by 
the  renowned  historian  Diederick  Knickerbocker,  at  which 
"Woutter  Van  Twiller,  the  doubter,  was  present.  Judging  by 
the  time  that  Chapman  was  waiting  for  his  answer,  during 
which  he  had  nothing  to  do  but  sip  the  most  delightful  mint 
juleps  —  for  these  islanders  seemed  to  have  robbed  old  Virginia 
of  some  of  her  famous  mint  patches  —  in  company  with  an 
admiring  crowd  of  friends,  the  councillors  must  have  "smoked 
and  talked,  and  smoked  again;"  pondered  with  true  Dutch 


154  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

gravity,  all  the  arguments,  pro  and  con,  that  were  offered,  and 
weighed  my  despatch,  along  with  the  "recent  order  from  Hol 
land,"  in  a  torsion  balance,  to  see  which  was  heaviest. 

After  the  lapse  of  an  hour,  or  two,  becoming  impatient,  I 
told  my  first  lieutenant,  that  as  our  men  had  not  been  prac 
tised  at  the  guns,  for  some  time,  I  thought  it  would  be  as  well 
to  let  them  burst  a  few  of  our  eight-inch  shells,  at  a  target. 
Accordingly  the  drum  beat  to  quarters,  a  great  stir  was  made 
about  the  deck,  as  the  guns  were  cast  loose,  and  pretty  soon, 
whiz  !  went  a  shell,  across  the  windows  of  the  council-chamber, 
which  overlooked  the  sea ;  the  shell  bursting  like  a  clap  of 
rather  sharp,  ragged  thunder,  a  little  beyond,  in  close  prox 
imity,  to  the  target.  Sundry  heads  were  seen  immediately  to 
pop  out  of  the  windows  of  the  chamber,  and  then  to  be  with 
drawn  very  suddenly,  as  though  the  owners  of  them  feared 
that  another  shell  was  coming,  and  that  my  gunners  might 
make  some  mistake  in  their  aim.  By  the  time  we  had  fired  three 
or  four  shells,  all  of  which  bursted  with  beautiful  precision, 
Chapman's  boat  was  seen  returning,  and  thinking  that  our  men 
had  had  exercise  enough,  we  ran  out  and  secured  the  guns. 

My  lieutenant  came  on  board,  smiling,  and  looking  pleasantly, 
as  men  will  do,  when  they  are  bearers  of  good  news,  and  said 
that  the  Governor  had  given  us  permission  to  enter.  We 
were  lying  close  in  with  the  entrance,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
more,  the  Sumter  was  gliding  gracefully  past  the  houses,  on 
either  side  of  her,  as  she  ran  up  the  little  canal,  or  river,  that 
split  the  town  in  two.  The  quays  were  crowded  with  a 
motley  gathering  of  the  townspeople,  men,  women,  and  children, 
to  see  us  pass,  and  sailors  waved  their  hats  to  us,  from  the 
shipping  in  the  port.  Kunning  through  the  town  into  a  land 
locked  basin,  in  its  rear,  the  Sumter  let  go  her  anchor,  hoisted 
out  her  boats,  and  spread  her  awnings,  — and  we  were  once  more 
in  port. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

THE  SUMTEE  AT  CURA^OA  -  HER  SURROUNDINGS  - 
PREPARATIONS  FOR  SEA,  AND  DEPARTURE  -  THE 
CAPTURE  OF  OTHER  PRIZES  -  PUERTO  CABELLO,  AND 
WHAT  OCCURRED  THERE. 


Sumter  had  scarcely  swung  to  her  anchors,  in  the 
J_  small  land-locked  harbor  described,  before  she  was  sur 
rounded  by  a  fleet  of  bum-boats,  laden  with  a  profusion  of 
tropical  fruits,  and  filled  with  men,  and  women,  indifferently 
—  the  women  rather  preponderating.  These  bum-boat  women 
are  an  institution  in  Curagoa;  the  profession  descends  from 
mother  to  daughter  and  time  seems  to  operate  no  change 
among  them.  It  had  been  nearly  a  generation  since  I  was  last 
at  CuraQoa.  I  was  then  a  gay,  rollicking  young  midshipman,  in 
the  "  old  "  Navy,  and  it  seemed  as  though  I  were  looking  upon 
the  same  faces,  and  listening  to  the  same  confusion  of  voices 
as  before.  The  individual  women  had  passed  away,  of  course, 
but  the  bum-boat  women  remained.  They  wore  the  same 
parti-colored  handkerchiefs  wound  gracefully  around  their 
heads,  the  same  gingham  or  muslin  dresses,  and  exposed  simi 
lar,  if  not  the  same,  bare  arms,  and  unstockinged  legs.  They 
were  admitted  freely  on  board,  with  their  stocks  in  trade,  and 
pretty  soon  Jack  was  on  capital  terms  with  them,  converting 
his  small  change  into  fragrant  bananas,  and  blood-red  oranges, 
and  replenishing  his  tobacco-pouch  for  the  next  cruise.  As 
Jack  is  a  gallant  fellow,  a  little  flirtation  was  going  on  too 
with  the  purchasing,  and  I  was  occasionally  highly  amused  at 
these  joint  efforts  at  trade  and  love-making.  No  one  but  a 
bum-boat  woman  is  ever  a  sailor's  blanchiseuse,  et  par  consequence 
a  number  of  well-filled  clothes'-bags  soon  made  their  appear 
ance,  on  deck,  from  the  different  apartments  of  the  ship,  and 
were  passed  into  the  boats  alongside. 

155 


156  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

These  people  all  speak  excellent  English,  though  with  a 
drawl,  which  is  not  unmusical,  when  the  speaker  is  a  sprightly 
young  woman.  Jack  has  a  great  fondness  for  pets,  and  no 
wonder,  poor  fellow,  debarred,  as  he  is,  from  all  family  ties, 
and  with  no  place  he  can  call  his  home,  but  his  ship ;  and 
pretty  soon  my  good-natured  first  lieutenant  had  been  seduced 
into  giving  him  leave  to  bring  sundry  monkeys,  and  parrots  on 
board,  the  former  of  which  were  now  gambolling  about  the  rig 
ging,  and  the  latter  waking  the  echoes  of  the  harbor  with  their 
squalling.  Such  was  the  crowd  upon  our  decks,  and  so  serious 
was  the  interruption  to  business,  that  we  were  soon  obliged  to 
lay  restrictions  upon  the  bum-boat  fleet,  by  prohibiting  it  from 
coming  alongside,  except  at  meal  -  hours,  which  we  always 
designated  by  hoisting  a  red  pennant,  at  the  mizzen.  It  was 
carious  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  fleet,  as  these  hours 
approached.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  boats  would  be  lying 
upon  their  oars,  a  few  yards  from  the  ship,  each  with  from  two 
to  half  a  dozen  inmates,  eagerly  watching  the  old  quarter 
master,  whose  duty  it  was  to  hoist  the  pennant ;  the  women 
chattering,  and  the  parrots  squalling,  whilst  the  oarsmen  were 
poising  their  oars,  that  they  might  get  the  first  stroke  over 
their  competitors  in  the  race.  At  length,  away  goes  the  flag ! 
and  then  what  a  rushing  and  clattering,  and  bespattering  until 
the  boats  are  alongside. 

In  an  hour  after  our  anchor  had  been  let  go,  the  business  of 
the  ship,  for  the  next  few  days,  had  all  been  arranged.  The  first 
lieutenant  had  visited  a  neighboring  ship-yard,  and  contracted 
for  a  new  foretop-mast,  to  supply  the  place  of  the  old  one  which 
had  been  sprung ;  the  paymaster  had  contracted  for  a  supply 
of  coal,  and  fresh  provisions,  daily,  for  the  crew,  and  for  having 
the  ship  watered ;  the  latter  no  unimportant  matter,  in  this 
rainless  region,  and  I  had  sent  an  officer  to  call  on  the  Gover 
nor,  with  my  card,  being  too  unwell  to  make  the  visit,  in  per 
son.  Upon  visiting  the  shore  the  next  day,  I  found  that  we  were 
in  a  quasi  enemy's  territory,  for  besides  the  Federal  Consul 
before  spoken  of,  a  Boston  man  had  intrenched  himself  in  the 
best  hotel  in  the  place,  as  proprietor,  and  was  doing  a  thriving 
business,  far  away  from  "war's  alarms,"  and  a  New  Yorker  had 
the  rnonopolj  of  taking  all  the  phizes  of  the  staid  old  Dutchmen 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       157 

—  "John  Smith,  of  New  York,  Photographer,"  hanging  high 
above  the  artist's  windows,  on  a  sign-board  that  evidently  had 
not  been  painted  by  a  Curagoan.  Mr.  Smith  had  already  taken 
an  excellent  photograph  of  the  Sumter,  which  he  naively 
enough  told  me,  was  intended  for  the  New  York  illustrated 
papers.  If  I  had  had  ever  so  much  objection,  to  having  the 
likeness  of  my  ship  hung  up  in  such  a  "rogues'  gallery,"  I  had 
no  means  of  preventing  it.  Besides,  it  could  do  us  but  little 
damage,  in  the  way  of  identification,  as  we  had  the  art  of 
disguising  the  Sumter  so  that  we  would  not  know  her,  our 
selves,  at  half  a  dozen  miles  distance. 

I  was  surprised,  one  morning,  during  our  stay  here,  whilst  I 
was  lounging,  listlessly,  in  my  cabin,  making  a  vain  attempt  to 
read,  under  the  infliction  of  the  caulkers  overhead,  who  were 
striking  their  caulking-irons  with  a  vigor,  and  rapidity,  that 
made  the  tympanum  of  my  ears  ring  again,  at  the  announce 
ment  that  Don  somebody  .or  other,  the  private  secretary  of 
President  Castro,  desired  to  see  me.  The  caulkers  were  sent 
away,  and  his  Excellency's  private  secretary  brought  below. 
President  Castro  was  one  of  those  unfortunate  South  American 
chiefs,  who  had  been  beaten  in  a  battle  of  ragamuffins,  and  com 
pelled  to  fly  his  country.  He  was  President  of  Venezuela,  and 
had  been  deprived  of  his  office,  before  the  expiration  of  his 
term,  by  some  military  aspirant,  who  had  seated  himself  in  the 
presidential  chair,  instead,  and  was  now  in  exile  in  Curagoa, 
with  four  of  the  members  of  his  cabinet.  The  object  of  the 
visit  of  his  secretary  was  to  propose  to  me  to  reinstate  the 
exiled  President,  in  his  lost  position,  by  engaging  in  a  military 
expedition,  with  him,  to  the  mainland. 

Here  was  a  chance,  now,  for  an  ambitious  man !  I  might 
become  the  Warwick  of  Venezuela,  and  put  the  crown  on 
another's  head,  if  I  might  not  wear  it  myself.  I  might  hoist 
my  admiral's  flag,  on  board  the  Sumter,  and  take  charge  of  all 
the  piraguas,  and  canoes,  that  composed  the  Venezuelan  navy, 
whilst  my  colleague  mustered  those  men  in  buckram,  so  graphi 
cally  described  by  Sir  John  Falstaff;  and  made  an  onslaught 
upon  his  despoiler.  But  unfortunately  for  friend  Castro,  I  was 
like  one  of  those  damsels  who  had  already  plighted  her  faith 
to  another,  before  the  new  wooer  appeared  —  I  was  not  in  the 


158  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

market.  I  listened  courteously,  however,  to  what  the  secretary 
had  to  say ;  told  him,  that  I  felt  flattered  by  the  offer  of  his 
chief,  but  that  I  was  unable  to  accept  it.  "  I  cannot,"  I  con 
tinued,  "consistently  with  my  obligations  to  my  own  country, 
engage  in  any  of  the  revolutionary  movements  of  other  coun 
tries."  "  But,"  said  he,  "  Sefior  Castro  is  the  de  jure  President 
of  Venezuela,  and  you  would  be  upholding  the  right  in  assist 
ing  him;  — can  you  not,  at  least,  land  us,  with  some  arms  and 
ammunition,  on  the  main  land?"  I  replied  that,  "as  a  Confed 
erate  States  officer,  I  could  not  look  into  de  jure  claims.  These 
questions  were  for  the  Venezuelans,  themselves,  to  decide.  The 
only  government  I  could  know  in  Venezuela  was  the  de  facto 
government,  for  the  time  being,  and  that,  by  his  own  showing, 
was  in  the  hands  of  his  antagonists."  Here  the  conversation 
closed,  and  my  visitor,  who  had  the  bearing  and  speech  of  a 
cultivated  gentleman,  departed.  The  jottings  of  my  diary  for 
the  next  few  days,  will  perhaps  now  inform  the  reader,  of  our 
movements,  better  than  any  other  form  of  narrative. 

July  Vdth. — Wind  unusually  blustering  this  morning,  with 
partial  obscuration  of  the  heavens.  The  engineers  are  busy, 
overhauling  and  repairing  damages  to  their  engine  and  boil 
ers  ;  the  gunner  is  at  work,  polishing  up  his  battery  and  ven 
tilating  his  magazine,  and  the  sailors  are  busy  renewing  rat 
lines  and  tarring  down  their  rigging.  An  English  bark 
entered  the  harbor  to-day  from  Liverpool. 

July  20th. —  Painting  and  refitting  ship  ;  got  off  the  new  fore- 
topmast  from  the  shore.  It  is  a  good  pine  stick,  evidently 
from  our  Southern  States,  and  has  been  well  fashioned.  The 
monthly  packet  from  the  island  of  St.  Thomas  arrived,  to-day, 
bringing  newspapers  from  the  enemy's  country  as  late  as  the 
26th  of  June.  We  get  nothing  new  from  these  papers,  except 
that  the  Northern  bee-hive  is  all  agog,  with  the  marching  and 
countermarching  of  troops. 

July  2lst. —  Fresh  trade-winds,  with  flying  clouds  —  atmos 
phere  highly  charged  with  moisture,  but  no  rain.  This  being 
Sunday,  we  mustered  and  inspected  the  crew.  The  washer 
women  have  decidedly  improved  the  appearance  of  the  young 
officers,  the  glistening  of  white  shirt-bosoms  and  collars  hav 
ing  been  somewhat  unusual  on  board  of  the  Sumter,  of  late. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        159 

The  crew  look  improved  too,  by  their  change  of  diet,  and  the 
use  of  antiscorbutics,  which  have  been  supplied  to  them,  at 
the  request  of  the  surgeon ;  though  some  of  them,  having  been 
on  shore,  "on  liberty,"  have  brought  off  a  blackened  eye.  No 
matter  —  the  more  frequently  Jack  settles  his  accounts,  on  shore, 
the  fewer  he  will  have  to  settle  on  board  ship,  in  breach  of 
discipline.  We  read,  at  the  muster,  to-day,  the  finding  and 
sentence  of  the  first  court-martial,  that  has  sat  on  board  the 
Sumter,  since  she  reached  the  high  seas. 

July  22d. —  Warped  alongside  a  wharf,  in  the  edge  of  the 
town,  and  commenced  receiving  coal  on  board.  Befitting,  and 
repainting  ship.  In  the  afternoon,  I  took  a  lonely  stroll 
through  the  town,  mainly  in  the  suburbs.  It  is  a  quaint,  pic 
turesque  old  place,  with  some  few  modern  houses,  but  the 
general  air  is  that  of  dilapidation,  and  a  decay  of  trade.  The 
lower  classes  are  simple,  and  primitive  in  their  habits,  and  but 
little  suffices  to  supply  their  wants.  The  St.  Thomas  packet 
sailed,  to-day,  and,  as  a  consequence,  the  Federal  cruisers,  in 
and  about  that  island,  will  have  intelligence  of  our  where 
abouts,  in  four  or  five  days.  To  mislead  them,  I  have  told  the 
pilot,  and  several  gentlemen  from  the  shore,  in  great  confidence,' 
that  I  am  going  back  to  cruise  on  the  coast  of  Cuba.  The 
packet  will  of  course  take  that  intelligence  to  St.  Thomas. 

July  23c?. —  Still  coaling,  refitting  and  painting.  Weather 
more  cloudy,  and  wind  not  so  constantly  fresh,  within  the  last 
few  days.  Having  taken  sights  for  our  chronometers,  on  the 
morning  after  our  arrival,  and  again  to-day,  I  have  been  ena 
bled  to  verify  their  rates.  They  are  running  very  well.  The 
chronometer  of  the  Golden  Rocket  proves  to  be  a  good  instru 
ment.  We  fix  the  longitude  of  CuraQoa  to  be  68°  58'  30", 
west  of  Greenwich. 

July  24th.  —  Sky  occasionally  obscured,  with  a  moderate 
trade-wind.  Our  men  have  all  returned  from  their  visits  to 
the  shore,  except  one,  a  simple  lad  named  Orr,  who,  as  I 
learn,  has  been  seduced  away,  by  a  Yankee  skipper,  in  port, 
aided  by  the  Boston  hotel-keeper,  and  our  particular  friend, 
the  consul.  As  these  persons  have  tampered  with  my  whole 
crew,  I  ain  gratified  to  know,  that  there  has  been  but  one  trai 
tor  found  among  them. 
11 


160  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT. 

We  had  now  been  a  week  in  Curagoa,  during  which  time, 
besides  recruiting,  and  refreshing  my  crew,  I  had  made  all  the 
necessary  preparations  for  another  cruise.  The  ship  had  been 
thoroughly  overhauled,  inside  and  out,  and  her  coal-bunkers 
were  full  of  good  English  coal.  It  only  remained  for  us  to 
put  to  sea.  Accordingly,  at  twelve  o'clock  precisely,  on  the 
day  last  above  mentioned,  as  had  been  previouslv  appointed, 
the  Sumter,  bidding  farewell  to  her  new-made  friends,  moved 
gracefully  out  of  the  harbor  —  this  time,  amid  the  waving  of 
handkerchiefs,  in  female  hands,  as  well  as  of  hats  in  the  hands 
of  the  males ;  the  quay  being  lined,  as  before,  to  see  us  depart. 
The  photographer  took  a  last  shot  at  the  ship,  as  she  glided 
past  his  sanctum,  and  we  looked  with  some  little  interest  to 
the  future  numbers  of  that  "  Journal  of  Civilization,"  vulgarly 
yclept  "  Harper's  Weekly,"  for  the  interesting  portrait ;  which 
came  along  in  due  time,  accompanied  by  a  lengthy  description, 
veracious,  of  course,  of  the  "Pirate." 

Curagoa  lies  a  short  distance  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  be 
tween  Laguayra,  and  Puerto  Cabello,  and  as  both  of  these 
places  had  some  commerce  with  the  United  States,  I  resolved 
to  look  into  them.  The  morning  after  our  departure  found  us 
on  a  smooth  sea,  with  a  light  breeze  off  the  land.  The  moun 
tains,  back  of  Laguayra,  loomed  up  blue,  mystic,  and  majestic, 
at  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles,  and  the  lookout,  at  the 
mast-head,  was  on  the  qui  vive  for  strange  sails.  He  had  not 
to  wait  long.  In  the  tropics,  there  is  'very  little  of  that  be 
witching  portion  of  the  twenty-four  hours,  which,  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  is  called  twilight.  Day  passes  into  night, 
and  night  into  day,  almost  at  a  single  bound.  The  rapidly 
approaching  dawn  had  scarcely  revealed  to  us  the  bold  out 
line  of  the  coast,  above  mentioned,  when  sail  ho !  resounded 
from  the  mast-head.  The  sail  bore  on  our  port-bow,  and 
was  standing  obliquely  toward  us.  We  at  once  gave  chase, 
and  at  half-past  six  A.  M.,  came  up  with,  and  captured  the 
schooner  Abby  Bradford,  from  New  York,  bound  for  Puerto 
Cabello. 

We  knew  our  prize  to  be  American,  long  before  she  showed 
us  her  colors.  She  was  a  "  down-East,"  fore-and-aft  schooner, 
and  there  are  no  other  such  vessels  in  the  world.  They  are 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       161 

as  thoroughly  marked,  as  the  Puritans  who  build  them,  and 
there  is  no  more  mistaking  the  "  cut  of  their  jib."  The  little 
schooner  was  provision  laden,  and  there  was  no  attempt  to 
cover  her  cargo.  The  news  of  the  escape  of  the  Sumter  had 
not  reached  New  York,  at  the  date  of  her  sailing,  and  the  few 
privateers  that  we  had  put  afloat,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
had  confined  their  operations  to  our  own,  and  the  enemy's 
coasts.  Hence  the  neglect  of  the  owners  of  the  Bradford,  in 
not  providing  her  with  some  good  English,  or  Spanish  certifi 
cates,  protesting  that  her  cargo  was  neutral.  The  "old  flag" 
was  treated  very  tenderly  on  the  present  occasion.  The 
"flaunting  lie,"  which  Mr.  Horace  Greeley  had  told  us,  should 
"insult  no  sunny  sky,"  was  hauled  down,  and  stowed  away  in 
the  quartermaster's  bag  described  a  few  pages  back. 

The  Bradford  being  bound  for  Puerto  Cabello,  and  that 
port  being  but  a  short  distance,  under  my  lee,  I  resolved  to 
run  down,  with  the  prize,  and  try  my  hand  with  my  friend 
Castro's  opponent,  the  de  facto  President  of  Venezuela,  to  see 
whether  I  could  not  prevail  upon  him,  to  admit  my  prizes  into 
his  ports.  I  thought,  surely,  an  arrangement  could  be  made 
with  some  of  these  beggarly  South  American  republics,  the  rev 
enue  of  which  did  not  amount  to  a  cargo  of  provisions,  annu 
ally,  and  which  were  too  weak,  besides,  to  be  worth  kicking  by 
the  stronger  powers.  What  right  had  they,  thought  I,  to  be 
putting  on  the  airs  of  nations,  and  talking  about  acknowledg 
ing  other  people,  when  they  had  lived  a  whole  generation, 
themselves,  without  the  acknowledgment  of  Spain. 

But,  as  the  reader  will  see,  I  reckoned  without  my  host.  I 
found  that  they  had  a  wholesome  fear  of  the  Federal  gun 
boats,  and  that  even  their  cupidity  could  not  tempt  them  to  be 
just,  or  generous.  If  they  had  admitted  my  prizes  into  their 
ports,  I  could,  in  the  course  of  a  few  months,  have  made  those 
same  ports  more  busy  with  the  hum  and  thrift  of  commerce, 
than  they  had  ever  been  before ;  I  could  have  given  a  new 
impulse  to  their  revolutions,  and  made  them  rich  enough  to 
indulge  in  the  luxury  of  a  pronunciamiento,  once  a  week.  The 
bait  was  tempting,  but  there  stood  the  great  lion  in  their 
path  —  the  model  Republic.  The  fact  is,  I  must  do  this  model 
Republic  the  justice  to  say,  that  it  not  only  bullied  the  little 


162  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

South  American  republics,  but  all  the  world  besides.  Even 
old  John  Bull,  grown  rich,  and  plethoric,  and  asthmatic  and 
gouty,  trembled  when  he  thought  of  his  rich  argosies,  and  of 
the  possibility  of  Yankee  privateers  chasing  them. 

Taking  the  Bradford  in  tow,  then,  we  squared  away  for 
Puerto  Cabello,  but  darkness  came  on  before  we  could  reach 
the  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  we  were  compelled  to  stand 
off'  and  on,  during  the  night — the  schooner  being  cast  off,  and 
taking  care  of  herself,  under  sail.  The  Sumter  lay  on  the  still 
waters,  all  night,  like  a  huge  monster  asleep,  with  the  light 
from  the  light-house,  on  the  battlements  of  the  fort,  glaring 
full  upon  her,  and  in  plain  hearing  of  the  shrill  cry  of 
"Alertaf"  from  the  sentinels.  So  quietly  did  she  repose, 
with  banked  fires,  being  fanned,  but  not  moved,  by  the  gentle 
land-breeze  that  was  blowing,  that  she  scarcely  needed  to  turn 
over  her  propeller  during  the  night,  to  preserve  her  relative 
position  with  the  light.  There  was  no  occasion  to  be  in  a 
hurry  to  run  in,  the  next  morning,  as  no  business  could  be 
transacted  before  ten,  or  eleven  o'clock,  and  so  I  waited  until 
the  sun,  with  his  broad  disk  glaring  upon  us,  like  an  angry 
furnace,  had  rolled  away  the  mists  of  the  morning,  and  the 
first  lieutenant  had  holy-stoned  his  decks,  and  arranged  his 
hammock-nettings,  with  his  neat,  white  hammocks  stowed  in 
them,  before  we  put  the  ship  in  motion. 

We  had,  some  time  before,  hoisted  the  Confederate  States 
flag,  and  the  Venezuelan  colors  were  flying  from  the  fort  in 
response.  The  prize  accompanied  us  in,  and  we  both  anchored, 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  town,  the  latter  looking  like 
some  old  Moorish  city,  that  had  been  transported  by  magic  to 
the  new  world,  gallinazos,  and  all.  Whilst  my  clerk  was  copy 
ing  my  despatch  to  the  Governor,  and  the  lieutenant  was  pre 
paring  himself,  and  his  boat's  crew,  to  take  it  on  shore,  I  made 
a  hasty  reconnaissance  of  the  fort,  which  had  a  few  iron  pieces, 
of  small  calibre  mounted  on  it,  well  eaten  by  rust,  and 
whose  carriages  had  rotted  from  under  them.  The  following 
is  a  copy  of  my  letter  to  his  Excellency. 


DUKING  THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  STATES.    163 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,) 
PUERTO  CABELLO,  July  26,  1861.         ]" 
His  EXCELLENCY,  THE  GOVERNOR:  — 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  your  Excellency  of  my  arrival  at  this 
place,  in  this  ship,  under  my  command,  with  the  prize  schooner, 
Abby  Bradford,  in  company,  captured  by  me  about  seventy  miles 
to  the  northward  and  eastward.  The  Abby  Bradford  is  the  prop 
erty  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  with  which  States,  as  your 
Excellency  is  aware,  the  Confederate  States,  which  I  have  the 
honor  to  represent,  are  at  war,  and  the  cargo  would  appear  to 
belong,  also,  to  citizens  of  the  United  States,  who  have  shipped  it, 
on  consignment,  to  a  house  in  Puerto  Cabello.  Should  any  claim, 
however,  be  given  for  the  cargo,  or  any  part  of  it,  the  question  of 
ownership  can  only  be  decided  by  the  Prize  Courts  of  the  Con 
federate  States.  In  the  meantime,  I  have  the  honor  to  request, 
that  your  Excellency  will  permit  me  to  leave  this  prize  vessel,  with 
her  cargo,  in  the  port  of  Puerto  Cabello,  until  the  question  of  prize 
can  be  adjudicated  by  the  proper  tribunals  of  my  country.  This 
will  be  a  convenience  to  all  parties  ;  as  well  to  any  citizens  of 
Yenezuela,  who  may  have  an  interest  in  the  cargo,  as  to  the 
captors,  who  .have  also  valuable  interests  to  protect. 

In  making  this  request,  I  do  not  propose  that  the  Venezuelan 
government  shall  depart  from  a  strict  neutrality  between  the  bel 
ligerents,  as  the  same  rule  it  applies  to  us,  it  can  give  the  other 
party  the  benefit  of,  also.  In  other  words,  with  the  most  scrupu 
lous  regard  for  her  neutrality,  she  may  permit  both  belligerents  to 
bring  their  prizes  into  her  waters ;  and,  of  this,  neither  belligerent 
could  complain,  since  whatever  justice  is  extended  to  its  enemy,  is 
extended  also  to  itself.  *  *  *  [Here  follows  a  repetition  of  the 
facts  with  regard  to  the  seizure  of  the  Navy  by  the  Federal  authori 
ties,  and  the  establishment  of  the  blockade  of  the  Southern  ports, 
already  stated  in  my  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Cienfuegos.]  *  *  * 
Thus,  your  Excellency  sees,  that  under  the  rule  of  exclusion,  the 
enemy  could  enjoy  his  right  of  capture,  to  its  full  extent  —  all  his 
'own  ports  being  open  to  him  —  whilst  the  cruisers  of  the  Confed 
erate  States  could  enjoy  it,  sub  modo,  only  ;  that  is,  for  the  purpose 
of  destroying  their  prizes.  A  rule  which  would  produce  such 
unequal  results  as  this,  is  not  a  just  rule  (although  it  might,  in  terms, 
be  extended  to  both  parties),  and  as  equality  and  justice,  are  of  the 
essence  of  neutrality,  I  take  it  for  granted,  that  Venezuela  will  not 
adopt  it. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  rule  admitting  both  parties,  alike,  with 
their  prizes  into  your  ports,  until  the  prize  courts  of  the  respective 
countries  could  have  time  to  adjudicate  the  cases,  would  work  equal 
and  exact  justice  to  both  ;  and  this  is  all  that  the  Confederate  States 
demand. 

With  reference  to  the  present  case,  as  the  cargo  consists  chiefly 
of  provisions,  which  are  perishable,  I  would  ask  leave  to  sell  them, 
at  public  auction,  for  the  benefit  of  "  whom  it  may  concern,"  deposit- 


164  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ing  the  proceeds  with  a  suitable  prize  agent,  until  the  decision  of 
the  court  can  be  known.  With  regard  to  the  vessel,  I  request  that 
she  may  remain  in  the  custody  of  the  same  agent,  until  condemned 
and  sold. 

When  the  Sumter  entered  Puerto  Cdbello,  with,  her  prize,  she 
found  an  empty  harbor,  there  being  only  two  or  three  coasting 
schooners  anchored  along  the  coast ;  there  was  a  general  dearth 
of  business,  and  the  quiet  little  city  was  panting  for  an  excite 
ment.  A  bomb-shell,  thrown  into  the  midst  of  the  stagnant 
commercial  community,  could  not  have  startled  them  more, 
than  the  rattling  of  the  chain  cable  of  the  Sumter  through  her 
hawse-hole,  as  she  let  go  her  anchor ;  and  when  my  missive 
was  handed  to  the  Governor,  there  was  a  racing,  and  chasing 
of  bare-footed  orderlies,  that  indicated  a  prospective  gathering 
of  the  clans,  similar  to  the  one  which  had  occurred  at  CuraQoa. 
A  grand  council  was  held,  at  which  the  Confederate  States  had 
not  the  honor  to  be  represented. 

That  the  reader  may  understand  the  odds  against  which  we 
now  had  to  struggle,  he  must  recollect,  that  all  these  small 
South  American  towns  are,  more  or  less,  dependent  upon 
American  trade.  The  New  England  States,  and  New  York 
supply  them  with  their  domestic  cottons,  flour,  bacon,  and 
notions ;  sell  them  all  their  worthless  old  muskets,  and  dam 
aged  ammunition,  and  now  and  then,  smuggle  out  a  small  craft 
to  them,  for  naval  purposes.  The  American  Consul,  who  is 
also  a  merchant,  represents  not  only  those  "  grand  moral  ideas," 
that  characterize  our  Northern  people,  but  Sand's  sarsaparilla, 
and  Smith's  wooden  clocks.  He  is,  par  excellence,  the  big  dog 
of  the  village.  The  big  dog  was  present  on  the  present  occa 
sion,  looking  portentous,  and  savage,  and  when  he  ope'd  his 
mouth,  all  the  little  dogs  were  silent.  Of  course,  the  poor 
Sumter,  anchored  away  off  in  the  bay,  could  have  no  chance 
before  so  august  an  assemblage,  and,  pretty  soon,  an  orderly 
came  down  to  the  boat,  where  my  patient  lieutenant  was  wait 
ing,  bearing  a  most  ominous-looking  letter,  put  up  in  true 
South  American  style,  about  a  foot  square,  and  bearing  on  it, 
"Dios  y  Libertad." 

When  I  came  to  break  the  seal  of  this  letter,  I  found  it  to 
purport,  that  the  Governor  had  not  the  necessary  funciones,  to 
reply  to  me,  diplomatically,  but  that  he  would  elevate  my  de- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       165 

spatch,  to  the  Supreme  Government ;  and  that,  in  the  mean  time, 
I  had  better  take  the  Abby  Bradford  and  get  out  of  Puerto  Ca- 
bello,  as  soon  as  possible !  This  was  all  said,  very  politely,  for 
your  petty  South  American  chieftain  is 

"As  mild  a  mannered  man,  as  ever  cut  a  throat," 

but  it  was  none  the  less  strong  for  all  that.  The  missive  of 
the  Governor  reached  me  early,  in  the  afternoon,  but  I  paid  not 
the  least  attention  to  it.  I  sent  the  paymaster  on  shore,  to 
purchase  some  fresh  provisions,  and  fruits,  for  the  crew,  and 
gave  such  of  the  officers  "  liberty,"  as  desired  it.  The  next 
morning  I  sent  a  prize  crew  on  board  the  Bradford,  and  deter 
mined  to  send  her  to  New  Orleans.  Being  loth  to  part  with 
any  more  of  my  officers,  after  the  experience  I  had  had,  with 
the  prize  brig  Cuba,  I  selected  an  intelligent  quartermaster,  who 
had  been  mate  of  a  merchantman,  as  prize-master.  My  men  I 
could  replace  —  my  officers  I  could  not.  The  following  letter 
of  instructions  was  prepared  for  the  guidance  of  the  prize- 
master  : 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,") 
OFF  PUERTO  CABELLO,  July  26,  1861.    j 
QUARTERMASTER  AND  PRIZE-MASTER,  EUGENE  RUHL  : 

You  will  take  charge  of  the  prize  schooner,  Abby  Bradford,  and 
proceed  with  her,  to  New  Orleans  —  making  the  land  to  the  west 
ward  of  the  passes  of  the  Mississippi,  and  endeavoring  to  run  into 
Barrataria  Bay,  Berwick's  Bay,  or  some  of  the  other  small  inlets. 
Upon  your  arrival,  you  will  proceed  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  in 
person,  and  report  yourself  to  Commodore  Rousseau,  for  orders. 
You  will  take  especial  care  of  the  accompanying  package  of  papers, 
as  they  are  the  papers  of  the  captured  schooner,  and  you  will  deliver 
them,  with  the  seals  unbroken,  to  the  judge  of  the  Prize  Court,  Judge 
Moise.  You  will  batten  down  your  hatches,  and  see  that  no  part 
of  the  cargo  is  touched,  during  the  voyage,  and  you  will  deliver  both 
vessel,  and  cargo,  to  the  proper  law  officers,  in  the  condition  in 
which  you  find  them,  as  nearly  as  possible. 

I  availed  myself  of  this  opportunity,  to  address  the  follow 
ing  letter  to  Mr.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  having 
nothing  very  important  to  communicate,  I  did  not  resort  to  the 
use  of  the  cipher,  that  had  been  established  between  us. 


166  MEMOIRS   OF  SERVICE  AFLOAT 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  "> 
PUERTO  CABELLO,  July  26,  1861.       ) 

SIR:  —  Having  captured  a  schooner  of  light  draught,  which,  with 
her  cargo,  I  estimate  to  be  worth  some  twenty-five  thousand  dollars, 
and  being  denied  the  privilege  of  leaving  her  at  this  port,  until  she 
could  be  adjudicated,  I  have  resolved  to  dispatch  her  for  New 
Orleans,  in  charge  of  a  prize  crew,  with  the  hope  that  she  may  be 
able  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  blockading  squadron,  of 'the 
enemy,  and  run  into  some  one  of  the  shoal  passes,  to  the  westward 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  as  Barrataria,  or  Berwick's  Bay. 
In  great  haste,  I  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  send  you  my 
first  despatch,  since  leaving  New  Orleans.  I  can  do  no  more,  for 
want  of  time,  than  barely  enumerate,  without  describing  events. 

We  ran  the  blockade  of  Pass  a  L 'Outre,  by  the  Brooklyn,  on  the 
30th  of  June,  that  ship  giving  us  chase.  On  the  morning  of  the 
3d  of  July,  I  doubled  Cape  Antonio,  the  western  extremity  of  Cuba, 
and,  on  the  same  day,  captured,  off  the  Isle  of  Pines,  the  American 
ship,  Golden  Rocket,  belonging  to  parties  in  Bangor,  in  Maine.  She 
was  a  fine  ship  of  600  tons,  and  worth  between  thirty  and  forty 
thousand  dollars.  I  burned  her.  On  the  next  day,  the  4th,  I  cap 
tured  the  brigantines  Cuba  and  Marinas,  both  of  Maine,  also. 
They  were  laden  with  sugars.  I  sent  them  to  Cienfuegos,  Cuba. 
On  the  5th  of  July,  I  captured  the  brigs  Ben.  Dunning,  and  Albert 
Adams,  owned  in  New  York,  and  Massachusetts.  They  were  laden, 
also,  with  sugars.  I  sent  them  to  Cienfuegos.  On  the  next  day, 
the  6th,  I  captured  the  barks  West  Wind,  and  Louisa  Kilham, 
and  the  brig  Naiad,  all  owned  in  New  York,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Massachusetts.  I  sent  them,  also,  to  Cienfuegos. 

On  the  same  day,  I  ran  into  that  port,  myself,  reported  my  cap 
tures  to  the  authorities,  and  asked  leave  for  them  to  remain,  until 
they  could  be  adjudicated.  The  Government  took  them  in  charge, 
until  the  Home  Government  should  give  directions  concerning  them. 
I  coaled  ship,  and  sailed,  again,  on  the  7th.  On  the  17th  I  arrived 
at  the  Island  of  Curagoa,  without  having  fallen  in  with  any  of  the 
enemy's  ships.  I  coaled  again,  here  —  having  had  some  little  diffi 
culty  with  the  Governor,  about  entering — and  sailed  on  the  24th. 
On  the  morning  of  the  25th,  I  captured,  off  Laguayra,  the  schooner 
Abby  Bradford,  which  is  the  vessel,  by  which  I  send  this  despatch. 
I  do  not  deem  it  prudent  to  speak,  here,  of  my  future  movements, 
lest  my  despatch  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  We  are 
all  well,  and  "doing  a  pretty  fair  business,"  in  mercantile  parlance, 
having  made  nine  captures  in  twenty-six  days. 

The  Bradford  reached  the  coast  of  Louisiana,  in  due  time, 
but  approaching  too  near  to  the  principal  passes  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  against  which  I  had  warned  her,  she  was  re-captured,  by 
one  of  the  enemy's  steamers,  and  my  prize  crew  were  made 
prisoners,  but  soon  afterward  released,  though  they  did  not 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      167 

rejoin  me.  I  am  thus  particular,  in  giving  the  reader  an  ac 
count  of  these,  my  first  transactions,  for  the  purpose  of  show 
ing  him,  that  I  made  every  effort  to  avoid  the  necessity  of 
destroying  my  prizes,  at  sea ;  and  that  I  only  resorted  to  this 
practice,  when  it  became  evident  that  there  was  nothing  else  to 
be  done.  Not  that  I  had  not  the  right  to  burn  them,  under  the 
laws  of  war,  when  there  was  no  dispute  about  the  property  — 
as  was  the  case  with  the  Golden  Rocket,  she  having  had  no  cargo 
on  board — but  because  I  desired  to  avoid  all  possible  compli 
cation  with  neutrals. 

Having  dispatched  the  Bradford,  we  got  under  way,  in  the 
Sumter,  to  continue  our  cruise.  We  had  scarcely  gotten  clear 
of  the  harbor,  before  a  sail  was  discovered,  in  plain  sight,  from 
the  deck.  The  breeze  was  light,  and  she  was  running  down 
the  coast,  with  all  her  studding  sails  set.  Her  taunt  and  grace 
ful  spars,  and  her  whitest  of  cotton  sails,  glistening  in  the 
morning's  sun,  revealed  at  once  the  secret  of  her  nationality. 
We  chased,  and,  at  the  distance  of  full  seven  miles  from  the 
land,  came  up  with,  and  captured  her.  She  proved  to  be  the 
bark  Joseph  Maxwell,  of  Philadelphia,  last  from  Lagu ay ra,  where 
she  had  touched,  to  land  a  part  of  her  cargo.  The  remainder 
she  was  bringing  to  Puerto  Cabello.  Upon  inspection  of  her 
papers,  I  ascertained  that  one-half  of  the  cargo,  remaining  on 
board  of  her,  belonged  to  a  neutral  owner,  doing  business  in 
Puerto  Cabello. 

Heaving  the  bark  to,  in  charge  of  a  prize  crew,  beyond 
the  marine  league,  I  took  her  master  on  board  the  Sumter, 
and  steaming  back  into  the  harbor,  sent  Paymaster  Myers  on 
shore  with  him,  to  see  if  some  arrangement  could  not  be  made, 
by  which  the  interests  of  the  neutral  half-owner  of  the  cargo 
could  be  protected ;  to  see,  in  other  words,  whether  this  prize, 
in  which  a  Venezuelan  citizen  was  interested,  would  not  be 
permitted  to  enter,  and  remain  until  she  could  be  adjudicated. 
Much  to  my  surprise,  upon  the  return  of  my  boat,  the  pay 
master  handed  me  a  written  command  from  the  Governor,  to 
bring  the  Maxwell  in,  and  deliver  her  to  him,  until  the  Vene 
zuelan  courts  could  determine  whether  she  had  been  captured 
within  the  marine  league,  or  not!  This  insolence  was  refresh 
ing.  I  scarcely  knew  whether  to  laugh,  or  be  angry  at  it.  1 


168  MEMOIRS    OF    SEBVICE    AFLOAT 

believe  I  indulged  in  both  emotions.  The  Sumter  had  not  let  go 
her  anchor,  but  had  been  waiting  for  the  return  of  her  boat;  under 
steam.  She  was  lying  close  under  the  guns  of  the  fort,  and  we 
could  see  that  the  tompions  had  been  taken  out  of  the  guns, 
and  that  they  were  manned  by  some  half-naked  soldiers.  Not 
knowing  but  the  foolish  Governor  might  order  his  command 
ant  to  fire  upon  me,  in  case  I  should  attempt  to  proceed  to  sea, 
in  my  ship,  before  I  had  sent  a  boat  out  to  bring  in  the  Max 
well,  I  beat  to  quarters,  and  with  my  crew  standing  by  my 
guns,  steamed  out  to  rejoin  my  prize.  When  I  had  a  little 
leisure  to  converse  with  my  paymaster,  he  told  me,  that  the 
Federal  consul  had  been  consulted,  on  the  occasion,  and  that 
the  nice  little  ruse  of  the  Governor's  order  had  been  resorted 
to  in  the  hope  of  intimidating  me.  I  would  have  burned  the 
Maxwell,  on  the  spot,  but,  unfortunately,  as  the  reader  has  seen, 
she  had  some  neutral  cargo  on  board,  and  this  I  had  no  right  to 
destroy.  I  resolved,  therefore,  to  send  her  in ;  not  to  the  Con 
federate  States,  for  she  drew  too  much  water  to  enter  any, 
except  the  principal  ports,  and  these  being  all  blockaded,  by 
steamers,  it  was  useless  for  her  to  make  the  attempt.  The 
following  letter  of  instructions  to  her  prize-master,  will  show 
what  disposition  was  made  of  her. 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,") 
AT  SEA,  July  2T,  1861.  j 

MIDSHIPMAN  AND  PRIZE-MASTER  WM.  A.  HICKS  :  — 

You  will  take  charge  of  the  prize  bark,  Joseph  Maxwell,  and 
proceed,  with  her,  to  some  port  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of 
Cuba,  say  St.  Jago,  Trinidad,  or  Cienfuegos.  I  think  it  would  be 
safest  for  you  to  go  into  Cienfuegos,  as  the  enemy,  from  the  very 
fact  of  our  having  been  there,  recently,  will  scarcely  be  on  the  look 
for  us  a  second  time.  The  steamers  which  were  probably  sent 
thither  from  Havana  in  pursuit  of  the  Sumter  must,  long  since, 
have  departed,  to  hunt  her  in  some  other  quarter. 

Upon  your  arrival,  you  will  inform  the  Governor,  or  Command 
ant  of  the  Port,  of  the  fact,  state  to  him  that  your  vessel  is  the 
prize  of  a  ship  of  war,  and  not  of  a  privateer,  and  ask  leave  for 
her  to  remain  in  port,  in  charge  of  a  prize  agent,  until  she  can  be 
adjudicated  by  a  prize  court  of  the  Confederate  States.  Should  he 
grant  you  this  request,  you  will,  if  you  go  into  Cienfuegos,  put  the 
vessel  in  charge  of  Don  Mariano  Dias,  our  agent  for  the  other 
prizes;  but  should  you  go  into  either  of  the  other  ports,  you  will 
appoint  some  reliable  person  to  take  charge  of  the  prize,  but 
without  power  to  sell,  until  further  orders  —  taking  from  him  a 


DTJKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      169 

bond,  with  sufficient  sureties  for  the  faithful  performance  of   his 
duties. 

Should  the  Governor  decline  to  permit  the  prize  to  remain,  you 
will  store  the  cargo,  with  some  responsible  person,  if  permitted  to 
land  it,  taking  his  receipt  therefor,  and  then  take  the  ship  outside 
the  port,  beyond  the  marine  league,  and  burn  her.  Should  you 
need  funds  for  the  unlading  and  storage  of  the  cargo,  you  are  au 
thorized  to  sell  so  much  of  it  as  maybe  necessary  for  this  purpose. 
You  will  then  make  the  best  of  your  way  to  the  Confederate 
States,  and  report  yourself  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  You  will 
keep  in  close  custody  the  accompanying  sealed  package  of  papers, 
being  the  papers  of  the  captured  vessel,  and  deliver  it,  in  person, 
to  the  Judge  of  the  Admiralty  Court,  in  New  Orleans.  The  pay 
master  will  hand  you  the  sum  of  one  hundred  dollars,  and  you  are 
authorized  to  draw  on  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  such  further 
sum  as  you  may  need,  to  defray  the  expenses  of  yourself,  and  crew, 
to  the  Confederate  States. 

I  had  not  yet  seen  the  proclamation  of  neutrality  by  Spain, 
and  the  reader  will  perceive,  from  the  above  letter,  that  I  still 
clung  to  the  hope  that  that  Power  would  dare  to  be  just,  even 
in  the  face  of  the  truckling  of  England  and  France.  The 
master  of  the  Maxwell  had  his  wife  on  board,  and  the  sea  being 
smooth,  I  made  him  a  present  of  one  of  the  best  of  his  boats, 
and  sent  him  and  his  wife  on  shore  in  her.  He  repaid  my 
kindness  by  stealing  the  ship's  chronometer,  which  he  falsely 
told  the  midshipman  in  charge  of  the  prize  I  had  given  him 
leave  to  take  with  him.  At  three  p.  M.,  taking  a  final  leave 
of  Puerto  Cabetto,  there  being  neither  waving  of  hats  or  hand 
kerchiefs,  or  regrets  on  either  side,  we  shaped  our  course  to 
the  eastward,  and  put  our  ship  under  a  full  head  of  steam. 


CHAPTEE    XYI. 

STEAMING  ALONG  THE  COAST  OF  VENEZUELA THE  CORAL 

INSECT,  AND  THE  WONDERS  OF  THE  DEEP THE  ANDES 

AND    THE   RAINY    SEASON THE    SUMTER   ENTERS    THE 

PORT   OF  SPAIN,  IN   THE   BRITISH  ISLAND  OF  TRINIDAD, 
AND  COALS,  AND  SAILS  AGAIN. 

THERE  was  a  fresh  trade-wind  blowing,  and  some  sea  on, 
as  the  Sumter  brought  her  head  around  to  the  eastward, 
and  commenced  buffeting  her  way,  again,  to  windward.  She 
had,  in  addition,  a  current  to  contend  with,  which  sets  along 
this  coast  in  the  direction  of  the  trade-wind,  at  the  rate  of 
about  a  knot  an  hour.  We  were  steaming  at  a  distance  of 
seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  land,  and,  as  the  shades  of  even 
ing  closed  in,  we  descried  a  Federal  brigantine,  running  down 
the  coast — probably  for  the  port  we  had  just  left — hugging 
the  bold  shore  very  affectionately,  to  keep  within  the  charmed 
marine  league,  within  which  she  knew  she  was  safe  from  cap 
ture.  We  did  not,  of  course,  molest  her,  as  I  made  it  a  point 
always  to  respect  the  jurisdiction  of  neutrals,  though  never  so 
weak.  I  might  have  offended  against  the  sovereignty  of  Ven 
ezuela,  by  capturing  this  vessel,  with  impunity,  so  far  as  Ven 
ezuela  was  herself  concerned,  but  then  I  should  have  com 
mitted  an  offence  against  the  laws  of  nations,  and  it  was  these 
laws  that  I  was,  myself,  looking  to,  for  protection.  Besides, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  preparing  my  instructions,  had 
been  particular  to  enjoin  upon  me,  not  only  to  respect  the 
rights  of  neutrals,  but  to  conciliate  their  good  will. 

As  we  were  running  along  the  land,  sufficiently  near  for  its 
influence  to  be  felt  upon  the  trade-winds,  it  became  nearly  calm 
during  the  night,  the  land  and  sea  breezes,  each  struggling  for 
the  mastery,  and  thus  neutralizing  each  other's  forces.  The 

170 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  171 

steamer  sprang  forward  with  renewed  speed,  and  when  the  day 
dawned  the  next  morning,  we  were  far  to  windward  of  La- 
guayra.  The  sun  rose  in  a  sky,  without  a  cloud,  and  the  wind 
did  not  freshen,  as  the  day  advanced,  so  much  as  it  had  done 
the  day  before.  The  mountains  of  Venezuela  lay  sleeping  in 
the  distance,  robed  in  a  mantle  of  heavenly  blue,  numerous 
sea-birds  were  on  the  wing,  and  the  sail  of  a  fishing-boat,  here 
and  there,  added  picturesqueness  to  the  scene.  At  half-past 
nine,  we  gave  chase  to  a  fore-and-aft  schooner,  which  proved 
to  be  a  Venezuela  coaster. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  passed  sufficiently  near  the  island  of 
Tortuga,  to  run  over  some  of  its  coral  banks.  The  sun  was 
declining  behind  the  yet  visible  mountains,  and  the  sea  breeze 
had  died  away  to  nearly  a  calm,  leaving  the  bright,  and  spark 
ling  waters,  with  a  mirrored  surface.  We  now  entered  upon 
a  scene  of  transcendent  beauty,  but  the  beauty  was  that  of  the 
deep,  and  not  of  the  surface  landscape.  The  reader  is  familiar  with 
the  history  of  the  coral  insect,  that  patient  little  stone-mason 
of  the  deep,  which,  though  scarcely  visible  through  the  micro 
scope,  lays  the  foundations  of  islands,  and  of  continents.  The 
little  coralline  sometimes  commences  its  work,  hundreds  of 
fathoms  down  in  the  deep  sea,  and  working  patiently,  and 
laboriously,  day  and  night,  night  and  day,  week  after  week, 
mouth  after  month,  year  after  year,  and  century  after  century, 
finally  brings  its  structure  to  the  surface. 

When  its  tiny  blocks  of  lime-stone,  which  it  has  secreted 
from  the  salts  of  the  sea,  have  been  piled  so  high,  that  the 
tides  now  cover  the  structure,  and  now  leave  it  dry,  the  little 
toiler  of  the  sea,  having  performed  the  functions  prescribed 
to  it  by  its  Creator,  dies,  and  is  entombed  in  a  mausoleum  more 
proud  than  any  that  could  be  reared  by  human  hands.  The 
winds,  and  the  clouds  now  take  charge  of  the  new  island,  or 
continent,  and  begin  to  prepare  it  for  vegetation,  and  the  habita 
tion  of  man,  and  animals.  The  Pacific  Ocean,  within  the  tropics 
is,  par  excellence,  the  coral  sea,  and  the  navigator  of  that  ocean 
is  familiar  with  the  phenomenon,  which  I  am  about  to  describe. 
In  the  midst  of  a  clear  sky,  the  mariner  sometimes  discovers 
on  the  verge  of  the  horizon,  a  light,  fleecy  cloud,  and  as  he 
sails  toward  it;  he  is  surprised  to  find  that  it  scarcely  alters  its 


172  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

position.  It  rises  a  little,  and  a  little  higher,  as  he  approaches 
it,  pretty  much  as  the  land  would  appear  to  rise,  if  he  were 
sailing  toward  it,  but  that  is  all.  He  sails  on,  and  on;  and 
when  he  has  come  near  the  cloud,  he  is  surprised  to  see  under 
it,  a  white  line  of  foam,  or,  maybe  a  breaker,  if  there  is  any 
undulation  in  the  sea,  in  a  spot  where  all  is  represented  as 
deep  water  on  his  chart.  Examining  with  his  telescope,  he 
now  discovers,  in  the  intervals  of  the  foam,  caused  by  the 
rising  and  falling  of  the  long,  lazy  swell,  a  coral  bank,  so 
white  as  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  the  seething  and 
boiling  foam.  He  has  discovered  the  germ  of  a  new  island, 
which  in  the  course  of  time,  and  the  decrees  of  Providence, 
will  be  covered  with  forests,  and  inhabited  by  men,  and  ani 
mals. 

The  cloud,  as  a  sort  of  "pillar  by  day,"  has  conducted  him 
to  the  spot,  whilst  it  has,  at  the  same  time,  warned  him  of  his 
danger.  But  the  cloud — how  came  it  there,  why  does  it  remain 
so  faithfully  at  its  post,  and  what  are  its  functions  ?  One  of 
the  mbst  beautiful  of  the  phenomena  of  tropical  countries  is 
the  alternation,  with  the  regularity  of  clock-work,  of  the  land 
and  sea  breezes ;  by  day,  the  sea  breeze  blowing  toward  the 
land,  and  by  night  the  land  breeze  blowing  toward  the  sea. 
The  reason  of  this  is  as  follows.  The  land  absorbs  heat,  and 
radiates  it,  more  rapidly  than  the  sea.  The  consequence  is, 
that  when  the  sun  has  risen,  an  hour  or  two,  the  land  becomes 
warmer  than  the  surrounding  sea,  and  there  is  an  in-draught 
toward  it;  in  other  words,  the  sea  breeze  begins  to  blow. 
When,  on  the  contrary,  the  sun  has  set,  and  withdrawn  his 
rays  from  both  land  and  sea,  and  radiation  begins,  the  land, 
parting  with  its  absorbed  heat,  more  rapidly  than  the  sea,  soon 
becomes  cooler  than  the  sea.  As  a  consequence,  there  is  an 
out-draught  from  the  land ;  in  other  words,  the  land  breeze  has 
commenced  to  blow.  The  reader  now  sees  how  it  is,  that  the 
"  pillar  by  day "  hangs  over  the  little  coral  island ;  the  bank 
of  coral  absorbing  heat  by  day  more  rapidly  than  the  sur 
rounding  sea,  there  is  an  in-draught  setting  toward  it,  and  as 
the  lazy  trade-winds  approach  it,  they  themselves  become 
heated,  and  ascend  into  the  upper  air.  There  is  thus  a  con 
stantly  ascending  column  of  heated  atmosphere  over  these 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      173 

banks.  This  ascending  column  of  atmosphere,  when  it  reaches 
a  certain  point,  is  condensed  into  cumuli  of  beautiful,  fleecy 
clouds,  often  piled  up  in  the  most  fantastic  and  gorgeous  shapes. 
It  is  thus  that  the  cloud  becomes  stationary.  It  is  ever  form 
ing,  and  ever  passing  off;  retaining,  it  may  be,  its  original 
form,  but  its  nebulae  constantly  changing. 

When  a  cooler  blast  of  trade-wind  than  usual  comes  along, 
the  condensation  is  more  rapid,  and  perfect,  and  showers  of 
rain  fall.  The  sea-birds  are  already  hovering,  in  clouds,  over 
the  inchoate  little  island,  fishing,  and  wading  in  its  shallow 
waters,  and  roosting  on  it,  when  they  can  get  a  sufficient  foot 
hold.  Vegetation  soon  ensues,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
more  ages,  nature  completes  her  work. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression,  into  which  we  were  led 
by  a  view  of  the  coral  bank  over  which  we  were  passing. 
The  little  insect,  which  is  at  work  under  our  feet,  has  not  yet 
brought  its  structure  sufficiently  near  the  surface,  to  obstruct 
our  passage  over  it.  We  are  in  five  or  six  fathoms  of  water, 
but  this  water  is  so  clear,  that  we  are  enabled  to  see  the  most 
minute  object,  quite  distinctly.  We  have  "  slowed"  the  engine 
the  better  to  enjoy  the  beautiful  sub-marine  landscape;  and 
look !  we  are  passing  over  a  miniature  forest,  instinct  with 
life.  There  are  beautifully  branching  trees  of  madrepores, 
whose  prongs  are  from  one  to  two  feet  in  length,  and  some 
times  curiously  interlaced.  Each  one  of  the  branches,  as  well 
as  the  trunk,  has  a  number  of  little  notches  in  it.  These  are  the 
cells  in  which  the  little  stone-mason  is  at  work.  Adhering  to 
the  branches  of  these  miniature  trees,  like  mosses,  and  lichens, 
you  see  sundry  formations  that  you  might  mistake  for  leaves. 
These  are  also  cellular,  and  are  the  workshops  of  the  little 
masons.  Scattered  around,  among  the  trees,  are  waving  the 
most  gorgeous  of  fans,  and,  what  we  might  call  sea-ferns,  and 
palms.  These  are  of  a  variety  of  brilliant  colors,  purple  pre 
dominating. 

Lying  on  the  smooth,  white  sand,  are  boulders  of  coral  in  a 
variety  of  shapes  —  some,  like  the  domes  of  miniature  cathe 
drals  ;  some,  perfectly  spherical ;  some,  cylindrical.  These, 
and  the  trees,  are  mostly  of  a  creamy  white,  though  occasion 
ally,  pink,  violet,  and  green  are  discovered.  As  the  passage 


174  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

of  the  steamer  gives  motion  to  the  otherwise  smooth  sea,  the 
fans,  ferns,  and  palms  wave,  gracefully,  changing  their  tints 
as  the  light  flashes  upon  them,  through  the  pellucid  waters. 
The  beholder  looks  entranced,  as  though  he  were  gazing  upon 
a  fairy  scene,  by  moonlight ;  and  to  add  to  the  illusion,  there 
is  a  movement  of  life,  all  new  to  the  eye,  in  every  direction. 
The  beautiful  star-fish,  with  its  five  points,  as  equally,  and 
regularly  arranged,  as  though  it  had  been  done  by  the  rule  of 
the  mathematician,  with  great  worm-like  molluscs,  lie  torpid 
on  the  white  sand.  Jelly-fish,  polypi,  and  other  nondescript 
shapes,  float  about  in  the  miniature  forest ;  and  darting  hither 
and  thither,  among  the  many-tinted  ferns,  some  apparently  in 
sport,  and  some  in  pursuit  of  their  prey,  are  hundreds  of  little 
fishes,  sparkling,  and  gleaming  in  silver,  and  gold,  and  green, 
and  scarlet. 

The  most  curious  of  these  is  the  parrot-fish,  whose  head  is 
shaped  like  the  beak  of  the  parrot,  and  whose  color  is  light 
green.  How  wonderfully  full  is  the  sea  of  animal  life !  All 
this  picture  is  animal  life ;  for  what  appears  to  be  the  vegetable 
portion  of  this  sub-marine  landscape,  is  scarcely  vegetable  at 
all.  The  waving  ferns,  fans,  and  palms  are  all  instinct  with 
animal  life.  The  patient  little  toiler  of  the  sea,  the  coralline 
insect,  is  busy  with  them,  as  he  is  with  his  limestone  trees. 
He  is  helping  on  their  formation  by  his  secretions,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  say  what  portion  of  them  is  vegetable,  what,  min 
eral,  and  what,  animal. 

I  had  been  an  hour,  and  more,  entranced  by  the  fairy  sub 
marine  forest,  and  its  denizens,  which  I  have  so  imperfectly 
described,  when  the  sun  sank  behind  the  Andes,  and  night 
threw  her  mantle  upon  the  waters,  changing  all  the  sparkling 
colors  of  forest,  and  fish,  to  sombre  gray,  and  admonishing  me, 
that  it  was  time  to  return  to  every-day  life,  and  the  duties  of 
the  ship.  "  Let  her  have  the  steam,"  said  I  to  the  officer  of  the 
deck,  as  I  arose  from  my  bent  posture  over  the  ship's  rail ; 
and,  in  a  moment  more,  the  propeller  was  thundering  us  along 
at  our  usual  speed. 

At  eleven  p.  M.,  we  were  up  with  the  island  of  Margarita, 
and  as  I  designed  to  run  the  passage  between  it,  and  the  main 
land,  I  preferred  daylight  for  the  operation ;  and  so,  sounding 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        175 

in  thirty-two  fathoms  of  water,  I  hove  the  ship  to,  under  her 
trysails  for  the  night,  permitting  her  steam  to  go  down.  The 
next  day,  the  weather  still  continued  clear  and  pleasant,  the 
trade-wind  being  sufficiently  light  not  to  impede  our  head 
way,  for  we  were  steaming,  as  the  reader  will  recollect,  nearly 
head  to  wind.  We  had  experienced  but  little  adverse  current 
during  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  and  were  making  very 
satisfactory  progress.  I  was  now  making  a  passage,  rather 
than  cruising,  as  a  sail  is  a  rare  sight,  in  the  part  of  the  ocean 
I  was  traversing. 

At  meridian  we  passed  that  singular  group  of  islands  called 
the  Frayles — Anglice,  friars — jutting  up  from  the  sea  in 
cones  of  different  shapes,  and  looking,  at  a  distance,  not  unlike 
so  many  hooded  monks.  With  the  exception  of  a  transient 
fisherman,  who  now  and  then  hauls  up  his  boat  out  of  the 
reach  of  the  surf,  on  these  harborless  islands,  and  pitches  his 
tent,  made  of  his  boat's  sail,  for  a  few  days  of  rest  and  refresh 
ment,  they  have  no  inhabitants. 

July  30th.  —  "Thick,  cloudy  weather,  with  incessant,  and 
heavy  rains ;  hauling  in  for  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  near  the 
entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Paria.  So  thick  is  the  weather,  that  to 
'hold  on  to  the  land,'  I  am  obliged  to  run  the  coast  within  a 
mile,  and  this  is  close  running  on  a  coast  not  minutely  sur 
veyed."  So  said  my  journal.  Indeed  the  day  in  question  was  a 
memorable  one,  from  its  scenery,  and  surroundings.  Few 
landscapes  present  so  bold,  and  imposing  a  picture  as  this  part 
of  the  South  American  coast.  The  Andes  here  rise  abruptly 
out  of  the  sea,  to  a  great  height.  Our  little  craft  running 
along  their  base,  in  the  bluest  and  deepest  of  water,  looked 
like  a  mere  cockle-shell,  or  nautilus.  Besides  the  torrents  of 
rain,  that  were  coming  down  upon  our  decks,  and  through 
which,  at  times,  we  could  barely  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  majestic, 
and  sombre-looking  mountains,  we  were  blinded  by  the  most 
vivid  flashes  of  lightning,  simultaneously  with  which,  the  roll 
ing  and  crashing  of  the  thunder  deafened  our  ears.  I  had 
stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  and  witnessed  a 
storm  in  the  Alps,  during  which  Byron's  celebrated  lines 
occurred  to  me.  They  occurred  to  me  more  forcibly  here,  for 
literally  — 

12 


176  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"Far  along 
From  peak  to  peak,  the  rattling  crags  among, 

Leaps  the  live  thunder !    Not  from  one  cloud, 
But  every  mountain  now  had  found  a  tongue, 

And  Jura  answers,  through  her  misty  shroud, 
Back  to  the  joyous  Alps,  who  call  to  her  aloud !  " 

That  word  "joyous"  was  well  chosen  by  the  poet,  for  the 
mountains  did  indeed  seem  to  rejoice  in  this  grand  display  of 
nature.  Of  wind  there  was  scarcely  any — what  little  there 
was,  was  frequently  off  the  land;  and  even  blew  in  the  direc 
tion  opposite  to  that  of  the  trade- wind.  "We  were  in  the  rainy 
season,  along  this  coast,  and  all  the  vegetable  kingdom  was  in 
full  luxuriance.  The  cocoanut,  and  other  palms,  giving  an 
Eastern  aspect  to  the  scenery,  waved  the  greenest  of  feathery 
branches,  and  every  shrub,  and  almost  every  tree  rejoiced  in 
its  flower.  It  was  delightful  to  inhale  the  fragrance,  as  the 
whirling  aerial  current  brought  us  an  occasional  puff  from  the 
land. 

On  board  the  ship,  we  looked  like  so  many  half-drowned  rats. 
The  officer  of  the  deck,  trumpet  in  hand,  was  ensconced,  to  his 
ears,  in  his  india-rubber  p^a-jacket,  his  long  beard  looking  like 
a  wet  mop,  and  little  rills  of  rain  trickling  down  his  neck,  and 
shoulders,  from  his  slouched  "Sou'wester."  The  midshipman 
of  the  watch  had  taken  off  his  shoes,  and  rolled  up  his  trousers, 
and  was  paddling  about  in  the  pools  on  deck,  as  well  pleased 
as  a  young  duck.  And  as  for  the  old  salt,  he  was  in  his  ele 
ment.  There  was  plenty  of  fresh  water  to  wash  his  clothes  in, 
and  accordingly  the  decks  were  filled  with  industrious  washers, 
or  rather  scrubbers,  each  with  his  scrubbing-brush,  and  bit  of 
soap,  and  a  little  pile  of  soiled  duck  frocks  and  trousers  by 
his  side. 

The  reader  has  been  informed,  that  we  were  running  along 
the  coast,  within  a  mile  of  it,  to  enable  us  to  keep  sight  of  the 
land.  The  object  of  this  was  to  make  the  proper  landfall  for 
running  into  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  on  which  is  situated  the  Port 
of  Spain,  in  the  island  of  Trinidad,  to  which  we  were  bound. 
We  opened  the  gulf  as  early  as  nine  A.  M.,  and  soon  afterward 
identified  the  three  islands  that  form  the  Bocas  del  Drago,  or 
dragon's  mouth.  The  scenery  is  remarkably  bold  and  striking 
at  the  entrance  of  this  gulf  or  bay.  The  islands  rise  to  the 


DUKING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       177 

height  of  mountains,  in  abrupt  and  sheer  precipices,  out  of 
the  now  muddy  waters  —  for  the  great  Orinoco,  traversing  its 
thousands  of  miles  of  alluvial  soil,  disembogues  near  by. 
Indeed,  we  may  be  said  to  have  been  already  within  the  delta 
of  that  great  stream. 

Memory  was  busy  with  me,  as  the  Sumter  passed  through 
the  Dragon's  Mouth.  I  had  made  my  first  cruise  to  this  iden 
tical  island  of  Trinidad,  when  a  green  midshipman  in  the 
Federal  Navy.  A  few  years  before,  the  elder  Commodore 
Perry  —  he  of  Lake  Erie  memory  —  had  died  of  yellow  fever, 
when  on  a  visit,  in  one  of  the  small  schooners  of  his  squadron, 
up  the  Orinoco.  The  old  sloop-of-war  Lexington,  under  the 
command  of  Commander,  now  Bear- Admiral  Shubrick,  was 
sent  to  the  Port  of  Spain  to  bring  home  his  remains.  I  was 
one  of  the  midshipmen  of  that  ship.  A  generation  had  since 
elapsed.  An  infant  people  had,  in  that  short  space  of  time, 
grown  old  and  decrepid,  and  its  government  had  broken  in 
twain.  But  there  stood  the  everlasting  mountains,  as  I  remem 
bered  them,  unchanged!  I  could  not  help  again  recurring  to 
the  poet :  — 

"  Man  has  another  day  to  swell  the  past, 
And  lead  him  near  to  little  but  his  last; 
But  mighty  Nature  bounds  as  from  her  birth. 
The  sun  is  in  the  heavens,  and  life  on  earth ; 
Flowers  in  the  valley,  splendor  in  the  beam, 
Health  on  the  gale,  and  freshness  in  the  stream. 
Immortal  man  !  behold  her  glories  shine, 
And  cry,  exulting  inly,  'they  are  thine!  ' 
Gaze  on,  while  yet  thy  gladdened  eye  may  see; 
A  morrow  comes  when  they  are  not  for  thee : 
And  grieve  what  may  above  thy  senseless  bier, 
Nor  earth,  nor  sky  shall  yield  a  single  tear; 
Nor  cloud  shall  gather  more,  nor  leaf  shall  fall, 
Nor  gale  breathe  forth  one  sigh  for  thee,  for  all ; 
But  creeping  things  shall  revel  in  their  spoil, 
And  fit  thy  clay  to  fertilize  the  soil." 

We  entered  through  the  Huevo  passage — named  from  its 
egg-shaped  island  —  and  striking  soundings,  pretty  soon  after 
ward,  ran  up  by  our  chart  and  lead-line,  there  being  no  pilot- 
boat  in  sight.  We  anchored  off  the  Port  of  Spain  a  little  after 


178  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

mid-day  —  an  English  merchant  brig  paying  us  the  compli* 
ment  of  a  sal  ate. 

I  dispatched  a  lieutenant  to  call  on  the  Governor.  The 
orders  of  neutrality  of  the  English  government  had  already 
been  received,  and  his  Excellency  informed  me  that,  in  accord 
ance  therewith,  he  would  extend  to  me  the  same  hospitality 
that  he  would  show,  in  similar  circumstances,  to  the  enemy ; 
which  was  nothing  more,  of  course,  than  I  had  a  right  to  ex 
pect.  The  Paymaster  was  dispatched  to  the  shore,  to  see  about 
getting  a  supply  of  coal,  and  send  off  some  fresh  provisions 
and  fruit  for  the  crew  ;  and  such  of  the  officers  as  desired  went 
on  liberty. 

The  first  thing  to  be  thought  of  was  the  discharge  of  our 
prisoners,  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  Captain,  whom  I  had 
permitted  to  land  in  Puerto  Cabello,  with  his  wife,  I  had  the 
crew  of  the  Joseph  Maxwell,  prize-ship,  still  on  board.  I  had 
given  these  men,  eight  in  number,  to  understand  that  they 
were  hostages,  and  that  their  discharge,  their  close  confine 
ment,  or  their  execution,  as  the  case  might  be,  depended  upon 
the  action  of  their  own  Government,  in  the  case  of  the  Savan 
nah  prisoners.  The  reader  will  probably  recollect  the  case  to 
which  I  allude.  President  Lincoln,  of  the  Federal  States,  in 
issuing  his  proclamation  of  the  15th  of  April,  1861,  calling 
out  75,000  troops  to  revenge  the  disaster  of  Fort  Sumter, 
inserted  the  following  paragraph :  — 

"  And  I  hereby  proclaim,  and  declare,  that,  if  any  person,  under 
the  pretended  authority  of  said  States,  or  under  any  other  pretence, 
shall  molest  a  vessel  of  the  United  States,  or  the  persons,  or  cargo 
on  board  of  her,  such  persons  will  be  held  amenable  to  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  for  the  prevention,  and  punishment  of  piracy." 

On  the  6th  of  May  following,  the  Congress  of  the  Confeder 
ate  States,  passed  the  following  act,  in  reply,  as  it  were,  to  this 
manifesto  of  Mr.  Lincoln :  — 

"  Whereas,  The  earnest  efforts  made  by  this  Government,  to  estab 
lish  friendly  relations  between  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  Confederate  States,  and  to  settle  all  questions  of  disagree 
ment  between  the  two  Governments,  upon  principles  of  right,  equity, 
justice,  and  good  faith,  have  proved  unavailing,  by  reason  of  the 
refusal  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  hold  any  inter- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        179 

course  with  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  this  Government,  for 
the  purposes  aforesaid,  or  to  listen  to  any  proposal  they  had  to 
make,  for  the  peaceful  solution  of  all  causes  of  difficulty  between 
the  two  Governments ;  and  whereas,  the  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America  has  issued  his  proclamation,  making  requisition 
upon  the  States  of  the  American  Union,  for  75,000  men,  for  the 
purpose,  as  therein  indicated,  of  capturing  forts,  and  other  strong 
holds  within  the  jurisdiction  of,  and  belonging  to  the  Confederate 
States  of  America,  and  raised,  organized,  and  equippe-d  a  large 
military  force,  to  execute  the  purpose  aforesaid,  and  has  issued  his 
other  proclamation,  announcing  his  purpose  to  set  on  foot  a  block 
ade  of  the  ports  of  the  Confederate  States  ;  and  whereas,  the  State 
of  Virginia  has  seceded  from  the  Federal  Union,  and  entered  into  a 
convention  of  alliance,  offensive  and  defensive,  with  the  Confederate 
States,  and  has  adopted  the  Provisional  Constitution  of  said  States, 
and  the  States  of  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Kentucky, 
Arkansas  and  Missouri  have  refused,  and  it  is  believed,  that  the  State 
of  Delaware,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Territories  of  Arizona,  and 
New  Mexico,  and  the  Indian  Territory,  south  of  Kansas  will  refuse 
to  co-operate  with  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  in  these 
acts  of  hostility,  and  wanton  aggression,  which  are  plainly  intended 
to  overawe,  oppress,  and  finally  subjugate  the  people  of  the  Con 
federate  States;  and  whereas,  by  the  acts,  and  means  aforesaid,  war 
exists  between  the  Confederate  States,  and  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  States  and  Territories  thereof,  excepting  the 
States  of  Maryland,  North  Carolina,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Arkan 
sas,  Missouri,  and  Delaware,  and  the  Territories  of  Arizona,  and 
New  Mexico,  and  the  Indian  Territory  south  of  Kansas:  THEREFORE, 
"SEC.  1.  The  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  do 
enact,  That  the  President  of  the  Confederate  States  is  hereby  au 
thorized  to  use  the  whole  land,  and  naval  force  of  the  Confederate 
States,  to  meet  the  war  thus  commenced,  and  to  issue  to  private 
armed  vessels,  commissions,  or  letters-of-marque,  and  general  repri 
sal,  in  such  form,  as  he  shall  think  proper,  under  the  seal  of  the  Con 
federate  States,  against  the  vessels,  goods,  and  effects  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  citizens,  or  inhabitants  of  the 
States,  and  Territories  thereof,  except  the  States  and  Territories 
hereinbefore  named.  Provided,  however,  that  the  property  of  the 
enemy,  (unless  it  be  contraband  of  war,)  laden  on  board  a  neutral 
vessel,  shall  not  be  subject  to  seizure,  under  this  Act ;  and  pro 
vided  further,  that  the  vessels  of  the  citizens,  or  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  now  in  the  ports  of  the  Confederate  States,  except 
such  as  have  been  since  the  15th  of  April  last,  or  may  hereafter  be, 
in  the  service  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  shall  be 
allowed  thirty  days,  after  the  publication  of  this  Act,  to  leave  said 
ports,  and  reach  their  destination ;  and  such  vessels,  and  their  car 
goes,  excepting  articles  contraband  of  war,  shall  not  be  subject  to 
capture,  under  this  Act,  during  said  period,  unless  they  shall  pre 
viously  have  reached  the  destination  for  which  they  were  bound,  on 
leaving  said  ports." 


180  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Among  the  private  armed  vessels  which  took  out  commis 
sions  under  this  Act,  was  the  schooner  Savannah,  formerly  a 
pilot-boat  out  of  Charleston.  She  carried  one  small  gun,  and 
about  twenty  men.  During  the  month  of  June,  this  adventu 
rous  little  cruiser  was  captured  by  the  U.  S.  brig  JSainbridge, 
and  her  crew  were  hurried  off  to  New  York,  confined  in  cells, 
like  convicted  felons,  and  afterward  brought  to  trial,  and  con 
victed  of  piracy,  under  Mr.  Lincoln's  proclamation.  I  had  in 
formed  myself  of  these  proceedings  from  newspapers  captured 
on  board  the  enemy's  ships,  and  hence  the  announcement  I  had 
made  to  the  prisoners  of  the  Joseph  Maxwell  The  reader  may 
imagine  the  delight  of  those  men,  and  my  own  satisfaction,  as 
well,  when  my  lieutenant  brought  back  with  him,  from  the 
shore,  after  his  visit  to  the  Governor,  an  American  newspaper, 
of  late  date,  stating  that  the  Savannah  prisoners  had  been 
released  from  close  confinement,  and  were  to  be  treated  as 
prisoners  of  war.  I  was  stretching  a  point,  in  undertaking 
retaliation  of  this  serious  character  without  instructions  from 
my  Government,  but  the  case  was  pressing,  and  we  of  the  Sum- 
ter  were  vitally  interested  in  the  issue.  The  commission  of  the 
Savannah,  though  she  was  only  a  privateer,  was  as  lawful  as 
our  own,  and,  judging  by  the  abuse  that  had  already  been 
heaped  upon  us,  by  the  Northern  newspapers,  we  had  no  reason 
to  expect  any  better  treatment,  at  the  hands  of  well-paid  New 
York  District- Attorneys,  and  well-packed  New  York  juries. 

I  was  gratified  to  learn,  as  I  did  soon  afterward,  that  my 
Government  had  taken  a  proper  stand  on  this  question.  Presi 
dent  Davis,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  treatment  to  which  the 
Savannah  prisoners  had  been  subjected,  wrote  a  letter  of  remon 
strance  to  President  Lincoln,  threatening  retaliation,  if  he  dared 
execute  his  threat  of  treating  them  as  pirates.  In  that  letter 
so  worthy  of  the  Christian  statesman,  and  so  opposite  to  the 
coarse  fulminations  of  the  enemy,  Mr.  Davis  used  the  follow 
ing  expressions:  "It  is  the  desire  of  this  Government  so  to 
conduct  the  war,  now  existing,  as  to  mitigate  its  horrors,  as  far 
as  may  be  possible;  and  with  this  intent,  its  treatment  of  the 
prisoners  captured  by  its  forces  has  been  marked,  by  the  great 
est  humanity,  and  leniency,  consistent  with  public  obligation. 
Some  have  been  permitted  to  return  home,  on  parole,  others  to 


DUBING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      181 

remain  at  large,  under  similar  conditions,  within  the  Confed 
eracy,  and  all  have  been  furnished  with  rations  for  their  subsist 
ence,  such  as  are  allowed  to  our  own  troops.  It  is  only  since 
the  news  has  been  received,  of  the  treatment  of  the  prisoners 
taken  on  the  Savannah,  that  I  have  been  compelled  to  with 
draw  those  indulgences,  and  to  hold  the  prisoners  taken  by  us, 
in  strict  confinement.  A  just  regard  to  humanity,  and  to  the 
honor  of  this  Government,  now  requires  me  to  state,  explicitly, 
that,  painful  as  will  be  the  necessity,  this  Government  will  deal 
oat  to  the  prisoners  held  by  it,  the  same  treatment,  and  the 
same  fate,  as  shall  be  experienced  by  those  captured  on  the 
Savannah;  and  if  driven  to  the  terrible  necessity  of  retaliation, 
by  your  execution  of  any  of  the  officers,  or  crew  of  the  /Savan 
nah,  that  retaliation  will  be  extended  so  far,  as  shall  be  requi 
site  to  secure  the  abandonment  of  a  practice,  unknown  to  the 
warfare  of  civilized  men,  and  so  barbarous,  as  to  disgrace  the 
nation  which  shall  be  guilty  of  inaugurating  it." 

Shortly  before  the  conviction  of  the  Savannah  prisoners,  a 
seaman  named  Smith,  captured  on  board  the  privateer  Jeffer 
son  Davis,  was  tried,  and  convicted  of  piracy,  in  Philadelphia. 
There  were  fourteen  of  these  men,  in  all,  and  the  following 
order  from  Mr.  Benjamin,  the  Acting  Secretary  of  War  of 
the  Confederate  States,  to  General  Winder,  in  charge  of  Federal 
prisoners,  in  Richmond,  will  show  how  much  in  earnest  Presi 
dent  Davis  was,  when  he  wrote  the  above  letter  to  President 
Lincoln : — 

"Sin:  —  You  are  hereby  instructed  to  choose,  by  lot,  from  among 
the  prisoners  of  war,  of  highest  rank,  one  who  is  to  be  confined  in  a 
cell  appropriated  to  convicted  felons,  and  who  is  to  be  treated,  in  all 
respects,  as  if  such  convict,  and  to  be  held  for  execution,  in  the  same 
manner  as  may  be  adopted  by  the  enemy  for  the  execution  of  the 
prisoner  of  war,  Smith,  recently  condemned  to  death  in  Phila 
delphia. 

"  You  will,  also,  select  thirteen  other  prisoners  of  war,  the  high 
est  in  rank  of  those  captured  by  our  forces,  to  be  confined  in  cells, 
reserved  for  prisoners  accused  of  infamous  crimes,  and  will  treat 
them  as  such,  so  long  as  the  enemy  shall  continue  so  to  treat  the 
like  number  of  prisoners  of  war,  captured  by  them  at  sea,  and  now 
held  for- trial  in  New  York  as  pirates. 

"  As  these  measures  are  intended  to  repress  the  infamous  attempt 
now  made  by  the  enemy,  to  commit  judicial  murder  on  prisoners  of 
war,  you  will  execute  them,  strictly,  as  the  mode  best  calculated  to 
prevent  the  commission  of  so  heinous  a  crime." 


182  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  list  of  hostages,  as  returned  by  General  Winder,  was  as  fol 
lows:  Colonels  Corcoran,  Lee,  Cogswell,  Wilcox,  Woodruff,  and 
Wood;  Lieutenant-Colonels  Bowman,  and  Neff;  Majors  Potter, 
Revere,  and  Vogdes,  and  Captains  Kicketts,  McQuade,  and 
Rockwood.  These  measures  had  the  desired  effect ;  the  neces 
sity,  that  the  Federal  Government  was  under  of  conciliating  the 
Irish  interest,  contributing  powerfully  thereto  —  Colonel  Cor 
coran,  the  first  hostage  named,  being  an  Irishman  of  some 
note  and  influence,  in  New  York.  President  Lincoln  was 
accordingly  obliged  to  take  back  his  proclamation,  and  the 
Savannah  prisoners,  and  Smith,  were  put  on  the  footing  of 
prisoners  of  war.  But  this  recantation  of  an  attempted  bar 
barism  had  not  been  honestly  made.  It  was  not  the  generous 
taking  back  of  a  wrong  principle,  by  a  high-minded  people. 
The  tiger,  which  had  come  out  of  his  jungle,  in  quest  of  blood, 
had  only  been  driven  back  by  fear;  his  feline,  and  blood 
thirsty  disposition  would,  of  course,  crop  out  again,  as  soon  as 
he  ceased  to  dread  the  huntsman's  rifle.  Whilst  we  were 
strong,  but  little  more  was  heard  of  "pirates,"  and  "piracy," 
except  through  Mr.  Seward's  long-winded  and  frantic  de 
spatches  to  the  British  Government,  on  the  subject  of  the  Ala 
bama,  but  when  we  became  weak,  the  slogan  was  taken  up 
again,  and  rung,  in  all  its  changes,  by  an  infuriated  people. 

To  return  now  to  the  Sumter.  Our  decks  were  crowded 
with  visitors,  on  the  afternoon  of  our  arrival ;  some  of  these 
coming  off  to  shake  us  warmly  by  the  hand,  out  of  genuine 
sympathy,  whilst  others  had  no  higher  motive  than  that  of 
mere  curiosity.  The  officers  of  the  garrison  were  very  civil  to 
us,  but  we  were  amused  at  their  diplomatic  precaution,  in  com 
ing  to  visit  us  in  citizens'  dress.  There  are  no  people  in  the 
world,  perhaps,  who  attach  so  much  importance  to  matters  of 
mere  form  and  ceremony,  bluff  and  hearty  as  John  Bull  is,  as 
the  English  people.  Lord  Kussell  had  dubbed  us  a  "so-called" 
government,  and  this  expression  had  become  a  law  to  all  his 
subordinates ;  no  official  visits  could  be  exchanged,  no  salutes 
reciprocated,  and  none  other  of  the  thousand  and  one  courte 
sies  of  red-tapedom  observed  toward  us ;  and,  strange  to  say, 
whilst  all  this  nonsense  of  form  was  being  practised,  the 
substance  of  nationality,  that  is  to  say,  the  acknowledgment 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      183 

that  we  possessed  belligerent  rights,  had  been  frankly  and 
freely  accorded  to  us.  It  was  like  saying  to  a  man,  "  I  should 
like,  above  all  things,  to  have  you  come  and  dine  with  me, 
but  as  you  hav  n't  got  the  right  sort  of  a  dining-dress,  you 
can't  come,  you  know ! "  Some  ridiculous  consequences  resulted 
from  this  etiquette  of  nations.  Important  matters  of  business 
frequently  remained  unattended  to,  because  the  parties  could 
not  address  each  other  officially.  An  informal  note  would  take 
the  place  of  an  official  despatch. 

The  advent  of  the  Samter  invariably  caused  more,  or  less 
commotion,  in  official  circles ;  the  small  colonial  officials  fear 
ing  lest  she  might  complicate  them  with  their  governments. 
There  was  now  another  important  council  to  be  held.  The 
opinion  of  the  "  law-officers  of  the  crown  "  was  to  be  taken  by 
his  Excellency,  upon  the  question,  whether  the  Sumter  was 
entitled  to  be  coaled  in  her  Majesty's  dominions.  •  The  pay 
master  had  found  a  lot  of  indifferent  coal,  on  shore,  which 
could  be  purchased  at  about  double  its  value,  but  nothing 
could  be  done  until  the  "council"  moved ;  and  it  is  proverbial 
that  large  bodies  like  provincial  councils,  move  slowly.  The 
Attorney-General  of  the  Colony,  and  other  big  wigs  got 
together,  however,  after  due  ceremony,  and,  thanks  to  the  fact, 
that  the  steamer  is  an  infernal  machine  of  modern  invention, 
they  were  not  very  long  in  coming  to  a  decision.  If  there  had 
been  anything  about  a  steamer,  in  Coke  upon  Littleton,  Bacon, 
or  Bracton,  or  any  other  of  those  old  fellows  who  deal  in  black 
letter,  I  am  afraid  the  Sumter  would  have  been  blockaded  by 
the  enemy,  before  she  could  have  gotten  to  sea.  The  pros  and 
cons  being  discussed — I  had  too  much  respect  for  the  calibre 
of  certain  guns  on  shore,  to  throw  any  shells  across  the  windows 
of  the  council-chamber  —  it  was  decided  that  coal  was  not  con 
traband  of  war,  and  that  the  Sumter  might  purchase  the  neces 
sary  article  in  the  market. 

But  though  she  might  purchase  it,  it  was  not  so  easy  to  get 
it  on  board.  It  was  hard  to  move  the  good  people  on  shore. 
The  climate  was  relaxing,  the  rainy  season  had  set  in,  and 
there  was  only  negro  labor  to  be  had,  about  the  wharves  and 
quays.  We  were  four  tedious  days  in  filling  our  coal-bunkers. 
It  had  rained,  off  and  on,  the  whole  time.  I  did  not  visit  the 


184  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

shore,  but  I  amused  myself  frequently  by  inspecting  the  mag 
nificent  scenery  by  which  I  was  surrounded,  through  an  excel 
lent  telescope.  The  vegetation  of  Trinidad  is  varied,  and  luxuri 
ant  beyond  description.  As  the  clouds  would  break  away,  and 
the  sun  light  up  the  wilderness  of  waving  palms,  and  other  tropi 
cal  trees  arid  plants  of  strange  and  rich  foliage,  amid  which 
the  little  town  lay  embowered,  the  imagination  was  enchanted 
with  the  picture. 

The  emancipation  of  the  slave  ruined  this,  as  it  did  the  other 
West  India  islands.  As  a  predial  laborer,  the  freedman  was 
nearly  worthless,  and  the  sugar  crop,  which  is  the  staple,  went 
down  to  zero.  In  despair,  the  planters  resorted  to  the  intro 
duction  of  the  coolie ;  large  numbers  of  them  have  been 
imported,  and  under  their  skilful  and  industrious  cultivation, 
the  island  is  regaining  a  share  of  its  lost  prosperity. 

A  day  or  two  after  my  arrival,  I  had  a  visit  from  the  mas 
ter  of  a  Baltimore  brig,  lying  in  the  port.  He  was  ready  for 
sea,  he  said,  and  had  come  on  board,  to  learn  whether  I  would 
capture  him.  I  told  him  to  make  himself  easy,  that  I  should 
not  molest  him,  and  referred  him  to  the  act  of  the  Confederate 
Congress,  declaring  that  a  state  of  war  existed,  to  show  him 
that,  as  yet,  we  regarded  Maryland  as  a  friend.  He  went 
away  rejoicing,  and  sailed  the  next  day. 

We  had,  as  usual,  some  little  refitting  of  the  ship  to  do. 
Off  Puerto  Cabetto,  we  had  carried  away  our  main  yard,  by 
coming  in  contact  with  the  Ally  Bradford,  and  the  first  lieu 
tenant  having  ordered  another  on  our  arrival,  it  was  now  towed 
off,  and  gotten  on  board,  fitted,  and  sent  aloft. 

Sunday,  August  4th.  —  Morning  calm  and  clear.  The  chimes 
of  the  church-bells  fall  pleasantly  and  suggestively  on  the  ear. 
An  American  schooner  came  in  from  some  point,  up  the  bay, 
and  anchored  well  in  shore,  some  distance  from  us,  as  though 
distrustful  of  our  good  faith,  and  of  our  respect  for  British  neu 
trality.  Being  all  ready  for  sea,  at  half-past  ten  A.  M.,  I  gave 
the  order  to  get  up  steam;  but  the  paymaster  reporting  to  me 
that  his  vouchers  were  not  all  complete,  the  order  was  counter 
manded,  and  we  remained  another  day. 

Her  Majesty's  steam-frigate  Cadmus  having  come  in,  from 
one  of  the  neighboring  islands,  I  sent  a  lieutenant  on  board  to 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        185 

call  on  her  captain.  This  was  the  first  foreign  ship  of  war  to 
which  I  had  extended  the  courtesy  of  a  visit,  and,  in  a  few 
hours  afterward,  my  visit  was  returned.  I  had,  from  this  time 
onward,  much  agreeable  intercourse  with  the  naval  officers  of 
the  several  nations,  with  whom  I  came  in  contact.  I  found 
them  much  more  independent,  than  the  civil,  and  military  offi 
cers.  They  did  not  seem  to  care  a  straw,  about  defactos,  or  de 
jures,  and  had  a  sailor's  contempt  for  red  tape  and  unmeaning 
forms.  They  invariably  received  my  officers,  and  myself,  when 
we  visited  their  ships,  with  the  honors  of  the  side,  appropriate 
to  our  rank,  without  stopping  to  ask,  in  the  jargon  of  Lord 
Eussell,  whether  we  were  "  So -Called,"  or  Simon  Pure.  After 
the  usual  courtesies  had  passed  between  the  lieutenant  of  the 
Cadmus  and  myself,  I  invited  him  into  my  cabin,  when,  upon 
being  seated,  he  said  his  captain  had  desired  him  to  say  to  me, 
that,  as  the  Sumter  was  the  first  ship  of  the  Confederate  States 
he  had  fallen  in  with,  he  would  take  it,  as  a  favor,  if  I  would 
show  him  my  commission.  I  replied,  "  Certainly,  but  there  is 
a  little  ceremony  to  be  complied  with,  on  your  part,  first." 
"  What  is  that? "  said  he.  "  How  do  I  know,"  I  rejoined,  "  that 
you  have  any  authority  to  demand  a  sight  of  my  commission 
—  the  flag  at  your  peak  may  be  a  cheat,  and  you  may  be  no 
better  than  you  take  me  for,  a  ship  of  war  of  some  hitherto 
unknown  government — you  must  show  me  your  commission 
first."  This  was  said,  pleasantly,  on  my  part,  for  the  idea  was 
quite  ludicrous,  that  a  large,  and  stately  steam-frigate,  bearing 
the  proud  cross  of  St.  George,  could  be  such  as  I  had  hypo- 
thetically  described  her.  But  I  was  right  as  to  the  point  I 
had  made,  to  wit,  that  one  ship  of  war  has  no  right  to  demand 
a  sight  of  the  commission  of  another,  without  first  showing 
her  own.  Indeed,  this  principle  is  so  well  known  among  naval 
men,  that  the  lieutenant  had  come  prepared  for  my  demand, 
having  brought  his  commission  with  him.  Smiling,  himself, 
now,  in  return,  he  said:  "Certainly,  your  request  is  but  rea 
sonable  ;  here  is  her  Majesty's  commission,"  unrolling,  at  the 
same  time,  a  large  square  parchment,  beautifully  engraved  with 
nautical  devices,  and  with  sundry  seals,  pendent  therefrom. 
In  return,  I  handed  him  a  small  piece  of  coarse,  and  rather 
dingy  Confederate  paper,  at  the  bottom  of  which  was  inscribed 


186  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis.  He  read  the  commission  care 
fully,  and  when  he  had  done,  remarked,  as  he  handed  it  back 
to  me,  "  Mr.  Davis's  is  a  smooth,  bold  signature."  I  replied 
"  You  are  an  observer  of  signatures,  and  you  have  hit  it  ex 
actly,  in  the  present  instance.  I  could  not  describe  his  char 
acter  to  you  more  correctly,  if  I  were  to  try  —  our  President 
has  all  the  smoothness,  and  polish  of  the  ripe  scholar  and 
refined  gentleman,  with  the  boldness  of  a  man;  who  dares 
strike  for  the  right,  against  odds." 

Monday,  August  5th.  —  Weather  clear,  and  fine.  Flocks  of 
parrots  are  flying  overhead,  and  all  nature  is  rejoicing  in  the 
sunshine,  after  the  long,  drenching  rains.  Far  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  there  is  but  one  sea  of  verdure,  giving  evidence,  at  once, 
of  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil,  and  the  ardor  of  the  sun.  At 
eleven  A.  M.,  Captain  Hillyar,  of  the  Cadmus,  came  on  board, 
to  visit  me,  and  we  had  a  long  and  pleasant  conversation  on 
American  affairs.  He  considerately  brought  me  a  New  York 
newspaper,  of  as  late  a  date,  as  the  12th  of  July.  "  I  must 
confess,"  said  he,  as  he  handed  me  this  paper,  "that  your 
American  war  puzzles  me  —  it  cannot  possibly  last  long." 
"  You  are  probably  mistaken,  as  to  its  duration,"  I  replied ;  "  I 
fear  it  will  be  long  and  bloody.  As  to  its  being  a  puzzle,  it 
should  puzzle  every  honest  man.  If  our  late  co-partners  had 
practised  toAvard  us  the  most  common  rules  of  honesty,  we 
should  not  have  quarrelled  with  them  ;  but  we  are  only  defend 
ing  ourselves  against  robbers,  with  knives  at  our  throats." 
"You  surprise  me,"  rejoined  the  Captain;  "how  is  that?" 
"Simply,  that  the  machinery  of  the  Federal  Government, 
under  which  we  have  lived,  and  which  was  designed  for  the 
common  benefit,  has  been  made  the  means  of  despoiling  the 
South,  to  enrich  the  North ; "  and  I  explained  to  him  the 
workings  of  the  iniquitous  tariffs,  under  the  operation  of 
which  the  South  had,  in  effect,  been  reduced  to  a  dependent 
colonial  condition,  almost  as  abject,  as  that  of  the  Roman 
provinces,  under  their  proconsuls;  the  only  difference  being, 
that  smooth-faced  hypocrisy  had  been  added  to  robbery,  inas 
much  as  we  had  been  plundered  under  the  forms  of  law. 

"All  this  is  new  to  me,  I  assure  you,"  replied  the  Captain; 
"  I  thought  that  your  war  had  arisen  out  of  the  slavery  ques- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      187 

tion."  "That  is  a  common  mistake  of  foreigners.  The  enemy 
has  taken  pains  to  impress  foreign  nations  with  this  false  view 
of  the  case.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  honest  zealots,  the 
canting,  hypocritical  Yankee  cares  as  little  for  our  slaves,  as 
he  does  for  our  draught  animals.  The  war  which  he  has  been 
making  upon  slavery,  for  the  last  forty  years,  is  only  an  inter 
lude,  or  by-play,  to  help  on  the  main  action  of  the  drama, 
which  is  Empire ;  and  it  is  a  curious  coincidence,  that  it  was 
commenced  about  the  time  the  North  began  to  rob  the  South, 
by  means  of  its  tariffs.  When  a  burglar  designs  to  enter  a 
dwelling,  for  the  purpose  of  robbery,  he  provides  himself  with 
the  necessary  implements.  The  slavery  question  was  one  of 
the  implements  employed,  to  help  on  the  robbery  of  the  South. 
It  strengthened  the  Northern  party,  and  enabled  them  to  get 
their  tariffs  through  Congress  ;  and  when,  at  length,  the  South, 
driven  to  the  wall,  turned,  as  even  the  crushed  worm  will  turn, 
it  was  cunningly  perceived  by  the  Northern  men,  that  'No 
Slavery '  would  be  a  popular  war-cry,  and  hence  they  used  it. 
It  is  true,  we  are  defending  our  slave  property,  but  we  are 
defending  it  no  more  than  any  other  species  of  our  property  — 
it  is  all  endangered,  under  a  general  system  of  robbery.  We 
are,  in  fact,  fighting  for  independence.  Our  forefathers  made 
a  great  mistake,  when  they  warmed  the  Puritan  serpent  in 
their  bosom ;  and  we,  their  descendants,  are  endeavoring  to 
remedy  it." 

The  Captain  now  rose  to  depart.  I  accompanied  him  on 
deck,  and  when  he  had  shoved  off)  I  ordered  the  ship  to  be 
gotten  under  way — the  fires  having  been  started  some  time 
before,  the  steam  was  already  up.  The  Sumter,  as  she  moved 
out  of  the  harbor  of  the  Port  of  Spain,  looked  more  like  a 
comfortable  passenger  steamer,  bound  on  a  voyage,  than  a  ship 
of  war,  her  stern  nettings,  and  stern  and  quarter  boats  being 
filled  with  oranges,  and  bananas,  and  all  the  other  luscious 
fruits  that  are  produced  so  abundantly  in  this  rich  tropical 
island.  Other  luxuries  were  added,  for  Jack  had  brought,  on 
board,  one  or  two  more  sad-looking  old  monkeys,  and  a  score 
more  of  squalling  parrots. 


CHAPTEK  XYII. 

ON    THE  WAY  TO  MARANHAM —  THE   WEATHER    AND  THE 

WINDS THE    SUMTER    RUNS    SHORT   OF  COAL,    AND    IS 

OBLIGED  TO  "  BEAR  UP" CAYENNE  AND  PARAMARIBO, 

IN  FRENCH   AND    DUTCH    GUIANA SAILS   AGAIN,    AND 

ARRIVES  IN  MARANHAM,  BRAZIL. 

WE  passed  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria,  through  the  eastern, 
or  Mona  passage,  a  deep  strait,  not  more  than  a  third  of 
a  mile  in  width,  with  the  land  rising,  on  both  sides,  to  a  great 
height,  almost  perpendicularly.  The  water  of  the  Orinoco 
here  begins  to  mix  with  the  sea-water,  and  the  two  waters,  as 
they  come  into  unwilling  contact,  carry  on  a  perpetual  strug 
gle,  whirling  about  in  small  circles,  and  writhing  and  twisting 
like  a  serpent  in  pain. 

We  met  the  first  heave  of  the  sea  at  about  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  and  turning  our  head  again  to  the  eastward,  we 
continued  to  run  along  the  mountainous  and  picturesque  coast 
of  Trinidad,  until  an  hour  or  two  after  nightfall.  The  coast 
is  quite  precipitous,  but,  steep  as  it  is,  a  number  of  negro 
cabins  had  climbed  the  hill-sides,  and  now  revealed  their  pres 
ence  to  us  by  the  twinkle  of  their  lights,  as  the  shades  of  even 
ing  fell  over  the  scene.  These  cabins  were  quite  invisible, 
by  daylight,  so  dense  was  the  foliage  of  the  trees  amid  which 
they  nestled.  This  must,  indeed,  be  the  very  paradise  of  the 
negro.  The  climate  is  so  genial,  that  he  requires  little  or  no 
clothing,  and  bountiful  Nature  supplies  him  with  food,  all  the 
year  round,  almost  unasked.  In  this  land  of  the  sun,  a  con 
stant  succession  of  fruits  is  pendent  from  the  trees,  and  the 
dwellers  in  the  huts  beneath  their  sheltering  arms,  have  only 
to  reach  out  their  hands  when  hunger  presses.  I  was  reminded, 
by  this  scene,  of  a  visit  I  had  once  made  to  the  island  of  St. 
Domingo,  and  of  the  indolence  in  which  the  negro  lives  in 

188 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  189 

that  soft  and  voluptuous  climate.  I  landed  at  the  bay  of 
Sam  ana,  from  the  ship  of  war  to  which  I  was  attached,  and 
taking  a  stroll,  one  evening,  I  came  upon  the  hut  of  an  Amer 
ican  negress.  Some  years  before,  Boyer,  the  President  of  the 
island,  had  invited  the  immigration  of  free  negroes,  from  the 
United  States.  A  colony  from  the  city  of  Baltimore  had  ac 
cepted  his  invitation,  and  settled  at  Samana.  In  the  course 
of  a  very  few  years,  all  the  men  of  the  colony  had  run  off,  and 
found  their  way  back,  in  various  capacities,  on  board  of  trad 
ing  vessels,  to  the  land  of  their  birth ;  leaving  their  wives 
and  daughters  behind  to  shift  for  themselves.  The  negro 
woman,  whose  hut  I  had  stumbled  upon,  was  one  of  these  grass 
widows.  She  had  become  quite  old,  but  was  living  without 
apparent  effort.  The  cocoanut  waved  its  feathery  branches 
over  her  humble  domicil,  and  the  juicy  mango  and  fragrant 
banana  hung  within  tempting  reach.  A  little  plot  of  ground 
had  been  picketed  in  with  crooked  sticks,  and  in  this  primitive 
garden  were  growing  some  squashes  and  watermelons,  barely 
visible  under  the  rank  weeds.  I  said  to  her,  "  My  good  woman, 
you  don't  seem  to  have  much  use  for  the  plough  or  the  hoe  in 
your  garden."  "La!  master,"  said  she,  "no  need  of  much 
work  in  this  country — we  have  only  to  put  in  the  seed,  and 
the  Lord,  he  gives  the  increase." 

In  time,  no  doubt,  all  the  West  India  islands  will  lapse  into 
just  such  luxuriant  wildernesses,  as  we  were  now  coasting 
along,  in  the  Sumter.  Amalgamation,  by  slow,  but  sure  pro 
cesses,  will  corrupt  what  little  of  European  blood  remains  in 
them,  until  every  trace  of  the  white  man  shall  disappear.  The 
first  process  will  be  the  mulatto;  but  the  mulatto,  as  the  name 
imports,  is  a  mule,  and  must  finally  die  out;  and  the  mass  of 
the  population  will  become  pure  African.  This  is  the  fate 
which  England  has  prepared,  for  some  of  her  own  blood,  in 
her  colonies.  I  will  not  stop  here  to  moralize  on  it.  If  we 
are  beaten  in  this  war,  what  will  be  our  fate  in  the  Southern 
States?  Shall  we,  too,  become  mongrelized,  and  disappear 
from  the  face  of  the  earth  ?  Can  this  be  the  ultimate  design 
of  the  Yankee?  The  night  was  quite  light,  and  taking  a 
fresh  departure,  at  about  ten  P.  M.,  from  the  east  end  of  Trin 
idad,  we  passed  through  the  strait  between  it  and  the  island 


190  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  Tobago,  and  soon  afterward  emerged  from  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  upon  the  broad  bosom  of  the  South  Atlantic.  Judging 
by  the  tide  rips,  that  were  quite  visible  in  the  moonlight 
there  must  have  been  considerable  current  setting  through 
this  strait,  to  the  westward.  The  next  day  the  weather  was 
still  fine,  and  the  wind  light  from  about  E.  N.  E.,  and 
the  Sumter  made  good  speed  through  the  smooth  sea.  At 
about  ten  A.  M.  a  sail  was  descried,  some  twelve  or  fourteen 
miles  distant.  She  was  away  off  on  our  port  beam,  run 
ning  before  the  trade-wind,  and  I  forbore  to  chase.  As  be 
fore  remarked,  I  was  not  now  cruising,  but  anxious  to  make 
a  passage,  and  could  not  afford  the  fuel  to  chase,  away  from 
the  track  I  was  pursuing,  the  few  straggling  sail  I  might 
discover  in  this  lonely  sea.  Once  in  the  track  of  commerce, 
where  the  sails  would  come  fast  and  thick,  I  could  make 
up  for  lost  time.  At  noon,  we  observed  in  latitude  9°  14/; 
the  longitude,  by  chronometer,  being  59°  10'. 

Wednesday,  August  7th. — Weather  clear,  and  delightful,  and 
the  sea  smooth.  Nothing  but  the  broad  expanse  of  the  ocean 
visible,  except,  indeed,  numerous  flocks  of  flying-  fish,  which 
we  are  flushing,  now  and  then  like  so  many  flocks  of  par 
tridges,  as  we  disturb  the  still  waters.  These  little  creatures 
have  about  the  flight  of  the  partridge,  and  it  is  a  pretty  sight 
to  see  them  skim  away  over  the  billows  with  their  transparent 
finny  wings  glistening  in  the  sun,  until  they  drop  again  into 
their  "cover,"  as  suddenly  as  they  rose.  Our  crew  having  been 
somewhat  broken  in  upon,  by  the  sending  away  of  so  many 
prize  crews,  the  first  lieutenant  is  re-arranging  his  watch  and 
quarter-bills,  and  the  men  are  being  exercised  at  the  guns,  to 
accustom  them  to  the  changes  which  have  become  necessary,  in 
their  stations.  Officers  and  men  are  enjoying,  alike,  the  fine 
weather.  With  the  fore-castle,  and  quarter-deck  awnings 
spread,  we  do  not  feel  the  heat,  though  the  sun  is  nearly  perpen 
dicular  at  noon.  Jack  is  "overhauling"  his  clothes'-bag,  and 
busy  with  his  needle  and  thread,  stopping,  now  and  then,  to 
have  a  "lark"  with  his  monkey,  or  to  listen  to  the  prattle  of 
his  parrot.  The  boys  of  the  ship  are  taking  lessons,  in  knot 
ting,  and  splicing,  and  listening  to  the  "yarn"  of  some  old  salt, 
as  he  indoctrinates  them  in  these  mysteries.  The  midshipmen 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       191 

have  their  books  of  navigation  spread  out  before  them,  and 
slate  in  hand,  are  discussing  sine  and  tangent,  base,  and  hypo- 
thenuse.  The  only  place  in  which  a  lounger  is  not  seen  is  the 
quarter-deck.  This  precinct  is  always  sacred  to  duty,  and  eti 
quette.  No  one  ever  presumes  to  seat  himself  upon  it,  not 
even  the  Commander.  Here  the  officer  of  the  deck  is  pacing 
to  and  fro,  swinging  his  trumpet  idly  about,  for  the  want  of 
something  to  do.  But  hold  a  moment!  he  has  at  last  found 
a  job.  It  is  seven  bells  (half-past  eleven)  and  the  ship's 
cook  has  come  to  the  mast,  to  report  dinner.  The  cook  is  a 
darkey,  and  see  how  he  grins,  as  the  officer  of  the  deck,  having 
tasted  of  the  fat  pork,  in  his  tin  pan,  and  mashed  some  of  his 
beans,  with  a  spoon,  to  see  if  they  are  done,  tells  him,  "that 
will  do."  The  Commander  now  comes  on  deck,  with  his  sex 
tant,  having  been  informed  that  it  is  time  to  "  look  out  for  the 
sun."  See,  he  gathers  the  midshipmen  around  him,  each  also 
with  his  instrument,  and,  from  time  to  time,  asks  them  what 
"altitude  they  have  on,"  and  compares  the  altitude  which  they 
give  him  with  his  own,  to  see  if  they  are  making  satisfactory 
progress  as  observers.  The  latitude  being  obtained,  and  re 
ported  to  the  officer  of  the  deck,  that  officer  now  comes  up  to 
the  Commander,  and  touching  his  hat,  reports  twelve  o'clock,  as 
though  the  Commander  didn't  know  it  already.  The  Com 
mander  says  to  him,  sententiously,  "make  it  so,"  as  though  the 
sun  could  not  make  it  so,  without  the  Commander's  leave.  See, 
now  what  a  stir  there  is  about  the  hitherto  silent  decks.  Since 
we  last  cast  a  glance  at  them,  Jack  has  put  up  his  clothes'-bag, 
and  the  sweepers  have  "swept  down,"  fore  and  aft,  and  the 
boatswain  having  piped  to  dinner,  the  cooks  of  the  different 
messes  are  spreading  their  "mess-cloths"  on  the  deck,  and  ar 
ranging  their  viands.  The  drum  has  rolled,  "to  grog,"  and  the 
master's  mate  of  the  spirit-room,  muster-book  in  hand,  is  call 
ing  over  the  names  of  the  crew,  each  man  as  his  name  is  called, 
waddling  up  to  the  tub,  and  taking  the  "tot"  that  is  handed  to 
him,  by  the  "Jack-of-the-dust,"  who  is  the  master-mate's  assist 
ant.  Dinner  now  proceeds  with  somewhat  noisy  jest  and 
joke,  and  the  hands  are  not  "turned  to,"  that  is,  set  to  work 
again,  until  one  o'clock. 

We  have  averaged,  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  eight  knots 

13 


192  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  a  h  ilf,  and  have  not,  as  yet,  experienced  any  adverse  cur 
rent,  though  we  are  daily  on  the  lookout  for  this  enemy ;  lati 
tude  8°  31'  ;  longitude  56°  12'.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon, 
a  brigantine  passing  near  us,  we  hove  her  to,  with  a  blank  car 
tridge,  when  she  showed  us  the  Dutch  colors.  She  was  from 
Dutch  Surinam,  bound  for  Europe.  Toward  nightfall,  it  be 
came  quite  calm,  and  naught  was  heard  but  the  thumping  of 
the  ship's  propeller,  as  she  urged  her  ceaseless  way  through 
the  vast  expanse  of  waters. 

August  8th.  —  Weather  still  beautifully  clear,  with  an  occa 
sional  rain  squall  enclosing  us  as  in  a  gauze  veil,  and  shutting 
out  from  view  for  a  few  minutes,  at  a  time,  the  distant  hori 
zon.  The  wind  is  light,  and  variable,  but  always  from  the 
Eastern  board ;  following  the  sun  as  the  chariot  follows  the 
steed.  We  are  making  good  speed  through  the  water,  but 
we  have  at  length  encountered  our  dreaded  enemy,  the  great 
equatorial  current,  which  sets,  with  such  regularity, .  along 
this  coast.  Its  set  is  about  W.  1ST.  W.,  and  its  drift  about 
one  knot  per  hour.  Nothing  has  been  seen  to-day.  The 
water  has  changed  its  deep  blue  color,  to  green,  indicating 
that  we  are  on  soundings.  We  are  about  ninety  miles  from 
the  coast  of  Guiana.  The  sun  went  down  behind  banks,  or 
rather  cumuli  of  pink  and  lilac  clouds.  We  are  fast  sinking 
the  north  polar  star,  and  new  constellations  arise,  nightly, 
above  the  southern  horizon.  Amid  other  starry  wonders,  we 
had  a  fine  view  this  evening,  of  the  southern  cross ;  latitude 
7°  19';  longitude  53°  04'. 

The  next  day  was  cloudy,  and  the  direction  of  the  current 
was  somewhat  changed,  for  its  set  was  now  N".  W.,  half  1ST. 
This  current  is  proving  a  serious  drawback,  and  I  begin  to 
•fear,  that  I  shall  not  be  able  to  make  the  run  to  Maranham,  as 
I  had  hoped.  Not  only  are  the  elements  adverse,  but  my  engi 
neer  tells  me,  that  we  were  badly  cheated,  in  our  coal  measure, 
at  Trinidad,  the  sharp  coal-dealer  having  failed  to  put  on 
board  of  us  as  many  tons  as  he  had  been  paid  for ;  for  which 
the  said  engineer  got  a  rowing.  We  observed,  to-day,  in  lati 
tude  6°  01'  and  longitude  50°  48'. 

August  10th.  —  Weather  clear,  with  a  deep  blue  sea,  and  a 
fresh  breeze,  from  the  south-east.  The  south-east  trade-winds 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      193 

have  thus  crossed  the  equator,  and  reached  us  in  latitude  5° 
north,  which  is  our  latitude  to-day.  I  was  apprehensive  of 
this,  for  we  are  in  the  middle  of  August,  and  in  this  month 
these  winds  frequently  drive  back  the  north-east  trades,  and 
usurp  their  place,  to  a  considerable  extent,  until  the  sun 
crosses  back  into  the  southern  hemisphere.  We  thus  have 
both  wind,  and  current  ahead ;  the  current  alone  has  retarded 
us  fifty  miles,  or  a  fraction  over  two  knots  an  hour ;  which  is 
about  equal  to  the  drift  of  the  Gulf  Stream  off  Cape  Hatteras. 

Things  were  beginning  now  to  look  decidedly  serious.  I 
had  but  three  days  of  fuel  on  board,  and,  upon  consulting  my 
chart,  I  found  that  I  was  still  550  miles  from  my  port,  current 
taken  into  account.  It  was  not  possible  for  the  dull  little 
Sumter  to  make  this  distance,  in  the  given  time,  if  the  wind, 
and  current  should  continue  of  the  same  strength.  I  resolved 
to  try  her,  however,  another  night,  hoping  that  some  change 
for  the  better  might  take  place.  My  journal  tells  the  tale  of 
that  night  as  follows  :  — 

August  llth. — "The  morning  has  dawned  with  a  fresh  breeze, 
and  rather  rough  sea,  into  which  we  have  been  plunging  all 
night,  making  but  little  headway.  The  genius  of  the  east  wind 
refuses  to  permit  even  steam  to  invade  his  domain,  and  drives 
us  back,  with  disdain.  His  ally,  the  current,  has  retarded  us 
sixty  miles  in  the  last  twenty-four  hours  ! "  I  now  no  longer 
hesitated,  but  directing  the  engineer  to  let  his  fires  go  clown, 
turned  my  ship's  head,  to  the  westward,  and  made  sail;  it 
being  my  intention  to  run  down  the  coast  to  Cayenne  in 
French  Guiana,  with  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  fresh  supply  of 
fuel  at  that  place.  We  soon  had  the  studding  sails  on  the 
ship,  and  were  rolling  along  to  the  northward  and  westward, 
with  more  grace  than  speed,  our  rate  of  sailing  being  only  four 
knots.  The  afternoon  proved  to  be  remarkably  fine,  and  we 
should  have  enjoyed  this  far  niente  change,  but  for  our  dis 
appointment.  Our  chief  regret  was  that  we  were  losing  so 
much  valuable  time,  in  the  midst  of  the  stirring  events  of  the 
war. 

Hauling  in  for  the  coast,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Orange,  we 
struck  soundings  about  nightfall.  The  sea  now  became  quite 
smooth,  and  the  wind  fell  very  light  during  the  night — the 


194  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

current,  however,  is  hurrying  us  on,  though  its  set  is  not  ex 
actly  in  the  right  direction.  Its  tendency  is  to  drive  us  too  far 
from  the  coast.  The  next  day,  it  became  perfectly  calm,  and 
so  continued  all  day.  We  were  in  twenty-three  fathoms  of 
water,  and  could  see  by  the  lead  line  that  we  were  drifting 
over  the  bottom  at  the  rate  of  about  two  knots  an  hour.  We 
got  out  our  fishing-lines,  and  caught  some  deep  sea-fish,  of  the 
grouper  species.  The  sea  was  alive  with  the  nautilus,  and  the 
curious  sea-nettle,  with  its  warps  and  hawsers  thrown  out,  and 
its  semi-transparent,  gelatinous  disc  contracting  and  expand 
ing,  as  the  little  animal  extracted  its  food  from  the  water. 
Schools  of  fish,  large  and  small,  were  playing  about  in  every 
direction,  and  flocks  of  sea-gulls,  and  other  marine  birds  of 
prey,  were  hovering  over  them,  and  making  occasional  forays 
in  their  midst.  During  the  day,  a  sail  was  descried,  far  in 
shore,  but  we  were  unable  to  make  it  out ;  indeed  sails  were 
of  the  least  importance  to  us  now,  as  we  were  unable  to  chase. 
Just  before  sunset,  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  Silver  Mountains, 
some  forty  or  fifty  miles  distant,  in  the  south-west. 

August  ~L5th.  —  During  the  past  night,  we  made  the  "Great 
Constable,"  a  small  island,  off  the  coast,  and  one  of  the  land- 
marks  for  Cayenne.  The  night  was  fine,  and  moonlit,  and  we 
ran  in,  and  anchored  about  midnight,  in  fourteen  fathoms  of 
water.  At  daylight,  the  next  morning,  after  waiting  for  the 
passage  of  a  rain-squall,  we  got  under  way,  and  proceeding 
along  the  coast,  came  up  with  the  Eemize  Islands,  in  the  course 
of  the  afternoon,  where  we  found  a  French  pilot-lugger  lying 
to,  waiting  for  us.  We  were  off  Cayenne,  and  the  lugger  had 
come  out  to  show  us  the  way  into  the  anchorage.  A  pilot 
jumping  on  board,  we  ran  in,  and  anchored  to  the  north-west 
of  the  "Child"  —  a  small  island  —  in  three  and  a  quarter 
fathoms  of  water.  I  could  scarcely  realize,  that  this  was  the 
famous  penal  settlement  of  Cayenne,  painted  in  French  history, 
as  the  very  abode  of  death,  and  fraught  with  all  other  human 
horrors,  so  beautiful,  and  picturesque  did  it  appear.  The  out 
lying  islands  are  high,  rising,  generally,  in  a  conical  form,  and 
are  densely  wooded,  to  their  very  summits.  Sweet  little  nooks 
and  coves,  overhung  by  the  waving  foliage  of  strange-looking 
tropical  trees,  indent  their  shores,  and  invite  the  fisherman,  or 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      195 

pleasure-seeker  to  explore  their  recesses.  The  main  land  is 
equally  rich  in  vegetation,  and  though  the  sea-coast  is  low,  dis 
tant  ranges  of  mountains,  inland,  break  in,  agreeably,  upon  the 
monotony.  A  perennial  summer  prevails,  and  storms,  and  hurri 
canes  are  unknown.  It  was  here  that  some  of  the  most  desperate 
and  bloodthirsty  of  the  French  revolutionists  of  1790,  were 
banished.  Many  of  them  died  of  yellow  fever ;  others  escaped, 
and  wandered  off  to  find  inhospitable  graves,  in  other  coun 
tries  ;  few  of  them  ever  returned  to  France.  Shortly  after  we 
came  to  anchor,  the  batteries  of  the  town,  and  some  small  French 
steamers  of  war,  that  lay  in  the  harbor,  fired  salutes  in  honor  of  the 
birthday  of  Louis  Napoleon  —  this  being  the  15th  of  August. 

The  next  morning,  at  daylight,  I  dispatched  Lieutenant 
Evans,  and  Paymaster  Myers,  to  the  town — the  former  to  call 
on  the  Governor,  and  the  latter  to  see  if  any  coal  could  be 
had.  Their  errand  was  fruitless.  Not  only  was  there  no  coal 
to  be  purchased,  but  my  officers  thought  that  they  had  been 
received  rather  ungraciously.  The  fact  is,  we  found  here,  as 
in  Cura^oa,  that  the  enemy  was  in  possession  of  the  neutral 
territory.  There  was  a  Federal  Consul  resident  in  the  place, 
who  was  the  principal  contractor,  for  supplying  the  French 
garrison  with  fresh  beef !  and  there  were  three,  or  four  Yankee 
schooners  in  the  harbor,  whose  skippers  had  a  monopoly  of 
the  trade  in  flour  and  notions.  What  could  the  Sumter  effect 
against  such  odds  ? 

In  the  course  of  an  hour  after  my  boat  returned,  we  were 
again  under  way,  running  down  the  coast,  in  the  direction  of 
Surinam,  to  see  if  the  Dutchmen  would  prove  more  propitious, 
than  the  Frenchmen  had  done.  About  six  P.  M.,  we  passed 
the  "  Salut "  Islands,  three  in  number,  on  the  summit  of  one 
of  which  shone  the  white  walls  of  a  French  military  hospital, 
contrasting  prettily  with  the  deep-green  foliage  of  the  shade- 
trees  around  it.  It  was  surrounded  by  low  walls,  on  which 
were  mounted  some  small  guns  en  barbette.  Hither  are  sent  all 
the  sick  sailors,  and  soldiers  from  Cayenne. 

August  17 'th.  —  Morning  clear,  and  beautiful,  as  usual,  in  this 
delightful  climate,  with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  south-east. 
We  are  now  in  latitude  6°  north,  and  still  the  south-east  trade- 
wind  is  following  us  —  the  calm  belt  having  been  pushed 


196  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

farther  and  farther  to  the  northward.  We  are  running  along 
in  ten  fathoms  of  water,  at  an  average  distance  of  seven,  or 
eight  miles,  from  the  land,  with  the  soundings  surprisingly 
regular.  Passed  the  mouth  of  the  small  river  Maroni,  at  noon. 
At  four  P.  M.,  ran  across  a  bank,  in  very  muddy  water,  some 
fifteen  miles  to  the  northward  and  eastward,  of  the  entrance 
of  this  river,  with  only  three  fathoms  of  water  on  it ;  rather 
close  shaving  on  a  strange  coast,  having  but  six  feet  of  water 
under  our  keel.  Becoming  a  little  nervous,  we  "  hauled  out," 
and  soon  deepened  into  five  fathoms.  There  is  little  danger 
of  shipwreck,  on  this  coast,  however,  owing  to  the  regularity 
of  the  soundings,  and  the  almost  perpetual  smoothness  of  the 
sea.  The  bars  off  the  mouths  of  the  rivers,  too,  are,  for  the 
most  part,  of  mud,  where  a  ship  sticks,  rather  than  thumps. 
Hence,  the  temerity  with  which  we  ran  into  shallow  waters. 

Sunday,  August  ~LSth. —  The  south-east  wind  came  to  us,  as 
softly,  and  almost  as  sweetly,  this  morning,  as  if  it  were 
'  breathing  o'er  a  bed  of  violets ; "  but  it  freshened  as  the 
day  advanced,  in  obedience  to  the  mandate  of  its  master,  the 
sun,  and  we  had  a  fresh  breeze,  toward  nightfall.  After  pass 
ing  Post  Orange,  we  ran  over  another  three-fathom  bank,  the 
water  deepening  beyond,  and  enabling  us  to  haul  in  toward 
the  coast,  as  we  approached  Bram's  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Surinam  Eiver,  off  which  we  anchored,  (near  the  buoy  on  the 
bar,)  at  twenty  minutes  past  five  P.  M.,  in  four  fathoms  of 
water.  This  being  Sunday,  as  we  were  running  along  the 
coast,  we  had  mustered  and  inspected  the  crew,  and  caused  the 
clerk  to  read  the  articles  "  for  the  better  government  of  the 
Navy  "  to  them — the  same  old  articles,  though  not  read  under 
the  same  old  flag,  as  formerly.  This  was  my  invariable  prac 
tice  on  the  Sabbath.  It  broke  in,  pleasantly,  and  agreeably, 
upon  the  routine  duties  of  the  week,  pretty  much  as  church- 
going  does,  on  shore,  and  had  a  capital  effect,  besides,  upon  disci 
pline,  reminding  the  sailor  of  his  responsibility  to  the  laws,  and 
that  there  were  such  merciless  tribunals,  as  Courts-Martial,  for 
their  enforcement.  The  very  shaving,  and  washing,  and  dress 
ing,  of  a  Sunday  morning,  contributed  to  the  sailor's  self- 
respect.  The  "  muster  "  gratified,  too,  one  of  his  passions,  as 
it  gave  him  the  opportunity  of  displaying  all  those  anchors, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      197 

and  stars,  which  lie  had  so  industriously  embroidered,  in  floss 
silk,  an  his  ample  shirt-collar,  and  on  the  sleeve  of  his  jacket. 
We  had  some  dandies  on  board  the  Sumter,  and  it  was  amus 
ing  to  witness  the  self-complacent  air,  with  which  these  gentle 
men  would  move  around  the  capstan,  with  the  blackest,  and 
most  carefully  polished  of  pumps,  and  the  whitest,  and  finest 
of  sinnott  hats,  from  which  would  be  streaming  yards  enough 
of  ribbon,  to  make  the  ship  a  pennant. 

I  had  had  considerable  difficulty  in  identifying  the  mouth  of 
the  Surinam  River,  so  low  and  uniform  in  appearance  was  the 
coast,  as  seen  from  the  distance  at  which  we  had  been  com 
pelled  to  run  along  it,  by  the  shallowness  of  the  water. 
There  is  great  similarity  between  these  shelving  banks,  run 
ning  off  to  a  great  distance,  at  sea,  and  the  banks  on  the  coast 
of  West  Florida.  The  rule  of  soundings,  on  some  parts  of 
the  latter  coast,  is  a  foot  to  the  mile,  so  that,  when  the  naviga 
tor  is  in  ten  feet  of  water,  he  is  ten  miles  from  the  land.  This 
is  not  quite  the  case,  on  the  coast  of  Guiana,  but  on  some  parts 
of  it,  a  large  ship  can  scarcely  come  within  sight  of  the  land. 
A  small  craft,  drawing  but  a  few  feet  of  water,  has  no  need  of 
making  a  harbor,  on  either  coast,  for  the  whole  coast  is  a  har 
bor —  the  sea,  in  bad  weather,  breaking  in  from  three  to  five 
fathoms  of  water,  miles  outside  of  her,  leaving  all  smooth  and 
calm  within.  There  is  a  difference,  however,  between  the  two 
coasts — the  Florida  coast  is  scourged  by  the  hurricane,  whilst 
the  Guiana  coast  is  entirely  free  from  storms. 

Soon  after  we  carne  to  anchor,  as  related,  we  descried  a 
steamer  in  the  west,  steering  for  the  mouth  of  the  river.  No 
thing  was  more  likely  than  that,  by  this  time,  the  enemy 
should  have  sent  some  of  his  fast  gun-boats  in  pursuit  of 
us,  and  the  smoke  of  a  steamer  on  the  horizon,  therefore, 
caused  me  some  uneasiness.  I  knew  that  I  had  not  a  chivalrous 
enemy  to  deal  with,  who  would  be  likely  to  give  ,me  a  fair 
fight.  The  captures  made  by  the  Sumter  had  not  only  touched 
the  Yankee  in  a  very  tender  spot  —  his  pocket — they  had  ad 
ministered,  also,  a  well-merited  rebuke  to  his  ridiculous  self- 
conceit.  It  was  monstrous,  indeed,  in  his  estimation,  that  any 
one  should  have  the  audacit}^  in  the  face  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
proclamation  of  prompt  vengeance,  to  molest  one  of  his  ships. 


198  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

A  malignant  press,  from  Maine  to  Maryland,  had  denounced 
the  Sumter  as  a  pirate,  and  no  quarter  was  to  be  shown  her. 
The  steamer,  now  approaching,  having  been  descried,  at  a  great 
distance,  by  the  curling  of  her  black  smoke  high  into  the 
still  air,  night  set  in  before  she  was  near  enough  to  be  made 
out.  We  could  see  her  form  indistinctly,  in  the  darkness,  but 
no  certain  conclusion  could  be  arrived  at  as  to  her  size  or  na 
tionality.  I,  at  once,  caused  my  fires  to  be  lighted,  and,  beat 
ing  to  quarters,  prepared  my  ship  for  action.  We  stood  at 
our  guns  for  some  time,  but  seeing,  about  ten  p.  M.,  that  the 
strange  steamer  came  to  anchor,  some  three  or  four  miles  out 
side  of  us,  I  permitted  the  men  to  leave  their  quarters,  caution 
ing  the  officer  of  the  watch,  however,  to  keep  a  bright  look 
out,  during  the  night,  for  the  approach  of  boats,  and  to  call 
me  if  there  should  be  any  cause  for  alarm.  As  I  turned  in, 
I  thought  things  looked  a  little  squally.  If  the  strange  ves 
sel  were  a  mail-steamer,  she  would,  of  course,  be  familiar 
with  the  waters  in  which  she  plied,  and,  instead  of  anchor 
ing  outside,  would  have  run  boldly  into  the  river  without 
waiting  for  daylight.  Besides,  she  had  no  lights  about  her, 
as  she  approached,  and  packet  steamers  always  go  well  lighted 
up.  That  she  was  a  steamer  of  war,  therefore,  appeared  quite 
certain;  but,  of  course,  it  was  of  no  use  to  speculate  upon 
the  chances  of  her  being  an  enemy;  daylight  only  could  re 
veal  that.  In  the  meantime,  the  best  thing  we  could  do  would 
be  to  get  a  good  night's  rest,  so  as  to  rise  refreshed  for  the 
morning's  work,  if  work  there  should  be. 

At  daylight,  all  hands  were  again  summoned  to  their  quar 
ters;  and  pretty  soon  the  strange  steamer  was  observed  to  be 
under  way,  and  standing  toward  us.  We  got  up  our  own  an 
chor  in  a  trice  —  the  men  running  around  the  capstan  in 
"double-quick," — and  putting  the  ship  under  steam,  started  to 
meet  her.  Neither  of  us  had,  as  yet,  any  colors  hoisted.  We 
soon  perceived  that  the  stranger  was  no  heavier  than  our 
selves.  This  greatly  encouraged  me,  and  [  could  see  a  corre 
sponding  lighting  up  of  the  faces  of  my  crew,  all  standing 
silently  at  their  guns.  Desiring  to  make  the  stranger  reveal 
her  nationality  to  me  first,  I  now  hoisted  the  French  colors  — 
a  fine  new  flag,  that  I  had  had  made  in  New  Orleans.  To  my 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      199 

astonishment,  and  no  little  perplexity,  up  went  the  same  colors, 
on  board  the  stranger !  I  was  alongside  of  a  French  ship  of  war, 
pretending  to  be  a  Frenchman  myself  I  Of  course,  there  was 
but  one  thing  to  be  done,  and  that  was,  to  haul  down  the 
French  flag  and  hoist  my  own,  which  was  done  in  an  instant, 
when  we  mutually  hailed.  A  colloquy  ensued,  when  the  names 
of  the  two  ships  were  interchanged,  and  we  ascertained  that 
the  stranger  was  bound  into  the  Surinam,  like  ourselves.  We 
now  both  ran  in  for  the  light-ship,  and  the  Frenchman  receiv 
ing  a  pilot  on  board  from  her,  I  permitted  him  to  take  the  lead, 
and  we  followed  him  up  the  long  and  narrow  channel,  having 
sometimes  scarcely  a  foot  of  water  to  spare  under  our  keel. 

After  we  had  passed  inside  of  Bram's  Point,  the  tide  being 
out,  both  ships  anchored  to  wait  for  the  returning  flood.  I 
took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and  sent  a  lieutenant  to 
visit  the  French  ship.  The  Vulture,  for  such  was  her  name,  was 
one  of  the  old-fashioned,  side-wheel  steamers,  mounting  only 
oarronades,  and  was  last  from  Martinique,  with  convicts  on 
board,  for  Cayenne.  Kunning  short  of  coal,  she  was  putting 
into  Paramaribo,  for  a  supply.  Getting  under  way  again,  soon 
after  mid-day,  we  continued  our  course  up  the  river.  We  were 
much  reminded,  by  the  scenery  of  the  Surinam,  of  that  of  some 
of  our  Southern  rivers  —  the  Mississippi,  for  instance,  after  the 
voyager  from  the  Gulf  has  left  the  marshes  behind  him,  and  is 
approaching  New  Orleans.  The  bottom  lands,  near  the  river, 
are  cleared,  and  occupied  by  sugar,  and  other  plantations,  the 
back-ground  of  the  picture  presenting  a  dense,  and  unbroken 
forest.  As  we  passed  the  well-known  sugar-house,  with  its 
tall  chimney,  emitting  volumes  of  black  smoke,  and  saw  gangs 
of  slaves,  cutting,  and  hauling  in  the  cane,  the  illusion  was 
quite  perfect.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  fertility  of  these 
alluvial  lands.  They  are  absolutely  inexhaustible,  yielding 
crop  after  crop,  in  continual  succession,  without  rest  or  interval; 
there  being  no  frosts  to  interfere  with  vegetation,  in  this  genial 
climate.  Some  of  the  planters'  dwellings  were  tasteful,  and 
even  elegant,  surrounded  by  galleries  whose  green  Venetian 
blinds  gave  promise  of  coolness  within,  and  sheltered  besides 
by  the  umbrageous  arms  of  giant  forest-trees.  Cattle  wandered 
over  the  pasture  lands,  the  negroes  were  well  clothed,  and 


200  MEMOIRS    OF     SERVICE    AFLOAT 

there  was  a  general  air  of  abundance,  and  contentment.  Sla 
very  is  held  by  a  very  precarious  tenure,  here,  and  will  doubt 
less  soon  disappear,  there  being  a  strong  party,  in  Holland,  in 
favor  of  its  abolition.  Our  consort,  the  Vulture,  and  ourselves 
anchored  almost  at  the  same  moment,  off  the  town  of  Para 
maribo,  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon.  There  were  two,  or 
three  American  brigantines  in  the  harbor,  and  a  couple  of 
Dutch  ships  of  war.  I  sent  a  lieutenant  to  call  on  the  Gov 
ernor,  and  to  request  permission  to  coal,  and  refit;  both  of 
which  requests  were  granted,  with  the  usual  conditions,  viz. : 
that  I  should  not  increase  my  crew  or  armament,  or  receive 
ammunition  on  board.  The  Captain  of  the  Vulture  now  came  on 
board,  to  return  the  visit  I  had  made  him,  through  my  lieu 
tenant,  and  the  commanding  Dutch  naval  officer  also  called. 
But,  what  was  more  important,  several  coal  merchants  came 
off  to  negotiate  with  my  paymaster,  about  supplying  the  ship 
with  the  very  necessary  article  in  which  they  dealt.  The  suc 
cessful  bidder  for  our  contract  was  a  "gentleman of  color"  that 
is  to  say,  a  quadroon,  who  talked  freely  about  whites,  and 
blacks,  always  putting  himself,  of  course,  in  the  former  category, 
by  the  use  of  the  pronoun  "  we,"  and  seemed  to  have  no  sort 
of  objection  to  our  flag,  or  the  cause  it  was  supposed  to  repre 
sent.  I  wined  this  "  gentleman,"  along  with  my  other  visitors, 
and  though  I  paid  him  a  remunerative  price  for  his  coal,  I 
am  under  many  obligations  to  him,  for  his  kindness,  and  assist 
ance  to  us,  during  our  stay.  I  take  great  pleasure  in  con 
trasting  the  conduct  and  bearing  of  this  person,  with  those  of 
the  Federal  Consul,  at  Paramaribo.  This  latter  gentleman  was 
a  Connecticut  man,  who  had  probably  worn  white  cravats,  and 
delivered  quarter-dollar  lectures,  in  his  native  village,  against 
slavery,  as  a  means  of  obtaining  an  "honest  living."  Coining 
to  Paramaribo,  he  had  married  a  mulatto  wife,  and  through 
her,  become  a  slave-holder.  '  This  virtuous  representative  of 
"great  moral  ideas,"  at  once  threw  himself  into  the  breach, 
between  the  Sumter,  and  the  coal-market,  and  did  all  he  could 
to  prevent  her  from  coaling.  He  was  one  of  Mr.  Seward's  men, 
ajid  taking  up  the  refrain  about  "piracy,"  went  first  to  the  Gov 
ernor,  to  see  what  could  be  effected,  in  that  quarter.  Being  told 
that  Holland  had  followed  the  lead  of  the  great  powers,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      201 

recognized  the  Confederates  as  belligerents,  he  next  went  to 
our  quadroon  contractor,  and  endeavored  to  bluff  him  off,  by 
threatening  him  with  the  loss  of  any  Yankee  trade,  that  he 
might  possess.  Being  equally  unsuccessful  here,  he  next 
tried  to  seduce  the  lightermen,  to  prevent  them  from  delivering 
the  coal  to  us.  All  would  not  do;  however,  the  Sumter,  or 
what  is  more  likely,  the  Sumter 's  gold — that  talisman  that 
works  so  many  miracles  in  this  virtuous  world  of  ours  — 
was  too  strong  for  him,  and,  pretty  soon,  the  black  diamonds 
—  the  most  precious  of  jewels  to  men  in  our  condition  —  came 
tumbling  into  our  coal-bunkers.  Failing  to  prevent  us  from 
coaling,  the  little  Connecticut  official  next  tampered  with  the 
pilot,  and  endeavored  to  prevail  on  him,  to  refuse  to  take  us 
to  sea.  But  the  pilot  was  a  sailor,  with  all  the  generous  in 
stincts  that  belong  to  his  class,  and  he  not  only  refused  to  be 
seduced,  but  presented  me  with  some  local  charts  of  the  coast, 
which  I  found  very  useful. 

The  Consul  had  his  triumph  at  last,  however.  When  I  was 
fitting  out  the  Sumter  in  New  Orleans,  a  friend,  and  relative 
resident  in  that  city,  had  kindly  permitted  me  to  take  with  me, 
as  my  steward,  a  valuable  slave  of  his  who  had  been  brought 
up  as  a  dining-room  servant.  Ned  was  as  black  as  the  ace  of 
spades,  and  being  a  good-tempered,  docile  lad,  had  become  my 
right-hand  man,  taking  the  best  of  care  of  my  cabin,  and  keeping 
my  table  supplied  with  all  the  delicacies  of  the  different  mar 
kets,  to  which  we  had  had  access.  He  was  as  happy  as  the  days 
were  long,  a  great  favorite  with  the  crew,  and  when  there  was 
any  fun  going  on,  on  the  forecastle,  he  was  sure  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  it.  But  the  tempter  came  along.  The  Connecticut  mis- 
cegenist  (and  slave-holder,  at  the  same  time)  had  seen  Ned's 
shining  and  happy  face  going  to  market,  of  mornings,  and,  like 
the  serpent  of  old,  whispered  in  his  ear.  One  morning  Ned  was ' 
missing,  but  the  market-basket  came  off,  piled  up  as  usual  with 
luxuries  for  dinner.  The  lad  had  been  bred  in  an  honest  house 
hold,  and  though  his  poor  brain  had  been  bewildered,  he  was 
still  above  theft.  His  market -basket  fully  balanced  his  ac 
count.  Poor  Ned !  his  after-fate  was  a  sad  one.  He  was  taken 
to  the  country,  by  his  Mephistophiles,  and  set  at  work,  with 
the  slaves  of  that  pious  Puritan,  on  a  small  plantation  that 


202  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

belonged  to  his  negro  wife.  Ned's  head  was  rather  too  woolly, 
to  enable  him  to  understand  much  about  the  abstractions  of 
freedom  and  slavery,  but  he  had  sense  enough  to  see,  ere  long, 
that  he  had  been  beguiled,  and  cheated,  by  the  smooth  Yankee ; 
and  when,  in  course  of  time,  he  saw  himself  reduced  to  yam 
diet,  and  ragged  clothing,  he  began,  like  the  prodigal  child,  to 
remember  the  abundance  of  his  master's  house,  and  to  long  to 
return  to  it.  Accordingly,  he  was  missing,  again,  one  fine 
morning,  and  was  heard  of  no  more  in  Paramaribo.  He  had 
embarked  on  board  a  vessel  bound  to  Europe,  and  next  turned 
up  in  Southampton.  The  poor  negro  had  wandered  off  at  a 
hazard  in  quest  of  the  Sumter,  but  hearing  nothing  of  her,  and 
learning  that  the  Confederate  States  steamer  Nashville,  Com 
mander  Pegram,  was  at  Southampton,  he  made  his  way  on 
board  of  that  ship,  and  told  his  tale  to  the  officers.  He  afterward 
found  his  way  to  the  United  States,  and  died  miserably,  of 
cholera,  in  some  of  the  negro  suburbs  of  Washington  City 

August  23c/. —  Weather  clear,  during  the  day,  but  we  had 
some  heavy  showers  of  rain,  with  thunder,  and  lightning  during 
the  night.  We  are  receiving  coal  rather  slowly  —  a  small 
lighter-load  at  a  time.  We  are  making  some  changes  in  the  in 
ternal  arrangements  of  the  ship.  Finding,  by  experience,  that 
we  have  more  tank-room,  for  water,  than  is  requisite,  we  are 
landing  a  couple  of  our  larger  tanks,  and  extending  the  bulk 
heads  of  the  coal-bunkers.  By  this  means,  we  shall  be  en 
abled  to  increase  our  coal-carrying  capacity  by  at  least  a  third, 
carrying  twelve  days  of  fuel,  instead  of  eight.  Still  the  Sum 
ter  remains  fundamentally  defective,  as  a  cruiser,  in  her  inability 
to  lift  her  screw. 

August  24:t/i. — Weather  clear,  and  pleasant,  with  some  pass 
ing  clouds,  and  light  showers  of  rain.  The  Dutch  mail- 
steamer,  from  Dernerara,  arrived,  to-day.  We  are  looking 
anxiously  for  news  from  home,  as,  at  last  accounts  —  July 
20th  from  New  York — a  battle  near  Manassas  Junction, 
seemed  imminent.  Demerara  papers  of  the  19th  of  August 
contain  nothing,  except  that  some  skirmishing  had  taken 
place,  between  the  two  armies.  The  French  steamer-of-war 
Abeille  arrived,  and  anchored  near  us. 

Sunday,  August  2oth. — Morning  cloudy.     At  half-past  eight 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       203 

I  went  on  shore  to  church.  The  good  old  Mother  has  her 
churches,  and  clergymen,  even  in  this  remote  Dutch  colony. 
The  music  of  her  choirs  is  like  the  "drum-beat"  of  England; 
it  encircles  the  earth,  with  its  never-ending  melody.  As  the 
sun,  " keeping  company  with  the  hours,"  lights  up,  with  his 
newly  risen  beams,  one  degree  of  longitude  after  another,  he 
awakens  the  priest  to  the  performance  of  the  never-ending 
mass.  The  church  was  a  neat,  well-arranged  wooden  building, 
of  large  dimensions,  and  filled  to  overflowing  with  devout 
worshippers.  All  the  shades  of  color,  from  "snowy  white  to 
sooty"  were  there,  and  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  order  in 
the  seating  of  the  congregation,  the  shades  being  promiscu 
ously  mixed.  The  preacher  was  fluent,  and  earnest  in  action, 
but  his  sermon,  which  seemed  to  impress  the  congregation, 
being  in  that  beautiful  and  harmonious  language,  which  we 
call  "low  Dutch,"  was  entirely  unintelligible  to  me.  The  Latin 
mass,  and  ceremonies — which  are  the  same  all  over  the  world 
—  were,  of  course,  quite  familiar,  and  awoke  many  ten 
der  reminiscences.  I  had  heard,  and  seen  them,  in  my  own 
country,  under  the  domes  of  grand  cathedrals,  and  in  the 
quiet  retreat  of  the  country  house,  where  the  good  wife  her 
self  had  improvised  the  altar.  A  detachment  of  the  Govern 
ment  troops  was  present. 

Some  Dutch  naval  lieutenants  visited  the  ship  to-day.  We 
learn,  by  late  papers  from  Barbadoes,  politely  brought  us  by 
these  gentlemen,  that  the  enemy's  steamer,  Keystone  State,  was 
in  that  island,  in  search  of  us,  on  the  21st  of  July.  She  prob 
ably  heard,  there,  of  my  intention  to  go  back  to  cruise  off  the 
island  of  Cuba,  which,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  I  confidentially 
communicated  to  my  friends  at  Curacoa,  and  has  turned  back 
herself.  If  she  were  on  the  right  track  she  should  be  here 
before  this.  There  was  great  commotion,  too,  as  we  learn  by 
these  papers,  at  Key  West,  on  the  8th  of  July,  when  the  news 
reached  there  of  our  being  at  Cienfuegos.  Consul  Shufeldt, 
at  Havana,  had  been  prompt,  as  I  had  foreseen.  We  entered 
Cienfuegos  on  the  6th,  and  on  the  8th,  he  had  two  heavy  and 
fast  steamers,  the  Niagara  and  the  Crusader,  in  pursuit  of  us. 
They,  too,  seem  to  have  lost  the  trail. 

August  28th. —  Bright,  elastic  morning,  with  a  gentle  breeze 


204  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

from  the  south-east.  There  was  a  grand  fandango,  on  shore, 
last  night,  at  which  some  of  my  officers  were  present.  The 
fun  grew  "fast  and  furious,"  as  the  night  waned,  and  what  with 
the  popping  of  champagne-corks,  and  the  flashing  of  the  bright 
eyes  of  the  waltzers,  as  they  were  whirled  in  the  giddy  dance, 
my  young  fellows  have  come  off  looking  a  little  red  about  the 
eyes,  and  inclined  to  be  poetical. 

Eumors  have  been  rife,  for  some  days  past,  of  a  Confederate 
victory  at  Manassas.  There  seems  now  to  be  no  longer  any 
doubt  about  the  fact.  Private  letters  have  been  received,  from 
Demerara,  which  state  that  the  enemy  was  not  only  beaten,  but 
shamefully  routed,  flying  in  confusion  and  dismay  from  the 
battle-field,  and  seeking  refuge,  pell-mell,  in  the  Federal  capi 
tal.  With  the  exception  of  the  Federal  Consul,  and  Yankee 
skippers  in  the  port,  and  a  small  knot  of  shop-keepers,  inter 
ested  in  the  American  trade,  all  countenances  are  beaming 
with  joy  at  this  intelligence.  This  splendid  victory  was  won 
by  General  Beauregard.  McDowell  was  the  commander  of 
the  enemy's  forces,  assisted,  as  it  would  seem,  by  the  poor  old 
superannuated  W infield  Scott  —  this  renegade  soldier  lending 
his  now  feeble  intellect  to  the  Northern  Vandal,  to  assist  in 
stabbing  to  the  heart  his  mother  State  — Virginia  !  Alas  !  what 
an  ignoble  end  of  a  once  proud  and  honored  soldier. 

August  29th. —  We  have,  at  length,  finished  coaling,  after  a 
tedious  delay  of  ten  days.  A  rumor  prevailed  in  the  town, 
yesterday,  that  there  were  two  enemy's  ships  of  war  off  the 
bar  —  keeping  themselves  cunningly  out  of  sight,  to  waylay 
the  Sumter.  The  rumor  comes  with  circumstance,  for  it  is  said 
that  the  fisherman,  who  brought  the  news,  supplied  one  of  the 
ships  with  fish,  and  said  that  the  other  ship  was  getting  water 
on  board  from  one  of  the  coast  plantations.  To-day,  the  rumor 
dwindles ;  but  one  ship,  it  seems,  has  been  seen,  and  she  a  mer 
chant  ship.  The  story  is  probably  like  that  of  the  three  white 
crows. 

August  30th.  —  The  pilot  having  come  on  board,  we  got  un- 
ler  way,  at  two  p.  M.,  and  steamed  down  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  where  we  came  to  anchor.  A  ship,  going  to  sea,  is  like 
a  woman  going  on  a  journey  —  many  last  things  remaining  to 
be  attended  to,  at  the  moment  of  departure.  I  have  always 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      205 

found  it  best,  to  sliove  off  shore -boats,  expel  all  visitors,  "drop 
down"  out  of  the  influences  of  the  port,  and  send  an  officer  or 
two  back,  to  arrange  these  last  things.  A  boat  was  now  ac 
cordingly  dispatched  back  to  the  town,  for  this  purpose,  and 
as  she  would  not  return  until  late  in  the  night,  inviting  the 
surgeon  and  paymaster,  and  my  clerk  to  accompany  me,  I 
pulled  on  shore,  in  my  gig,  to  make  a  visit  to  an  adjoining 
sugar  plantation,  that  lay  close  by,  tempting  us  to  a  stroll  un 
der  its  fine  avenues  of  cocoanut  and  acacia  trees.  We  were  re 
ceived  very  hospitably  at  the  planter's  mansion,  where  we  found 
some  agreeable  ladies,  and  with  whom  we  stayed  late  enough, 
to  take  tea,  at  their  pressing  solicitation.  It  was  a  Hollandese 
household,  but  all  the  inmates  spoke  excellent  English. 
Whilst  tea  was  being  prepared,  we  wandered  over  the  prem 
ises,  the  sugar-house  included,  where  we  witnessed  all  the  pro 
cesses  of  sugar  making,  from  the  expression  of  the  juice  from 
the  cane,  to  the  crystallization  of  the  syrup.  There  were 
crowds  of  negroes  on  the  place,  old  and  young,  male  and  fe 
male —  some  at  work,  and  some  at  play;  the  players  being 
rather  the  more  numerous  of  the  two  classes.  The  grounds 
around  the  dwelling  were  tastefully  laid  out,  in  serpentine 
walks,  winding  through  a  wilderness  of  rare  tropical  shrub 
bery,  redolent  of  the  most  exquisite  of  perfumes.  True  to  the 
Dutch  instinct  for  the  water,  the  river,  or  rather  the  bay,  for 
the  river  has  now  disembogued  into  an  arm  of  the  sea,  washed 
the  very  walls  of  the  flower-garden,  and  the  plash,  or  rather  the 
monotonous  fretting  of  the  tiny  waves,  at  their  base,  formed  no 
unmusical  accompaniment  to  the  hum  of  conversation,  as  the 
evening  wore  away.  Among  other  plants,  we  noticed  the  giant 
maguey,  and  a  great  variety  of  the  cactus,  that  favorite  child 
of  the  sun.  Our  visit  being  over,  we  took  a  warm  leave  of  our 
hospitable  entertainers,  and  pulled  on  board  the  Sumter,  by 
moonlight,  deeply  impressed,  and  softened  as  well  by  the  harmo 
nies  of  nature,  and  feeling  as  little  like  "pirates,"  as  possible. 

The  next  morning,  having  run  up  our  boats,  and  taken  a 
final  leave  of  the  waters  of  the  Surinam,  we  steamed  out  to  sea, 
crossing  the  bar  about  meridian ;  the  weather  being  fine,  and 
the  wind  fresh  from  the  north-east.  Having  given  it  out  that 
we  were  bound  to  Barbadoes,  to  look  for  the  Keystone  State, 


206  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  stood  north,  until  we  had  run  the  land  out  of  sight,  to  give 
color  to  this  idea,  when  we  changed  our  course  to  E.,  half  S. 
We  ran  along,  for  the  next  two  or  three  days,  on  soundings, 
with  a  view  to  break  the  force  of  the  current,  doubling  Cape 
Orange,  on  the  2d  of  September,  and  hauling  more  to  the 
southward,  with  the  trending  of  the  coast.  On  the  next  day, 
we  had  regained  the  position  from  which  we  had  been  com 
pelled  to  bear  up,  and  my  journal  remarks:  —  "We  have  thus 
lost  three  days  and  a  half  of  steaming,  or  about  fifty  tons  of 
coal,  but  what  is  worse,  we  have  lost  twenty-three  days  of 
valuable  time, —  but  this  time  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have 
been  wholly  lost,  either,  since  the  display  of  the  flag  of  our 
young  republic,  in  Cayenne  and  Paramaribo,  has  had  a  most 
excellent  effect." 

Sept.  4th.  —  Weather  fine,  with  a  fresh  breeze,  from  about 
E.  by  S.  During  most  of  the  day,  we  have  carried  fore  and 
aft  sails,  and  have  made  an  excellent  run,  for  a  dull  ship  — 175 
miles.  We  have  experienced  no  current.  We  passed  the 
mouths  of  the  great  Amazon,  to-day,  bearing  on  its  bosom  the 
waters  of  a  continent.  We  were  running  along  in  the  deepest 
and  bluest  of  sea-water,  whilst  at  no  great  distance  from  us, 
we  could  plainly  perceive,  through  our  telescopes,  the  turbid 
waters  of  the  great  stream,  mixing  and  mingling,  by  slow  de 
grees,  with  the  ocean.  Numerous  tide  rips  marked  the  uncon 
genial  meeting  of  the  waters,  and  the  sea-gull  and  penguin 
were  busy  diving  in  them,  as  though  this  neutral  ground,  or 
rather  I  should  say,  battle-ground,  was  a  favorite  resort  for 
the  small  fish,  on  which  they  prey.  A  drift  log  with  sedate 
water-fowl  seated  upon  it,  would  now  and  then  come  along, 
and  schools  of  porpoises  were  disporting  themselves,  now  in 
the  blue,  now  in  the  muddy  waters.  Unlike  the  mouths  of  the 
Mississippi,  there  were  no  white  sails  of  commerce  dotting  the 
waters,  in  the  omng,  and  no  giant  tow-boats  throwing  their 
volumes  of  black  smoke  into  the  air,  and,  with  their  huge 
side-wheels,  beating  time  to  ttfe  pulsations  of  the  steam-engine. 
All  was  nature.  The  giant  stream  ran  through  a  wilderness, 
scarcely  yet  opened  to  civilization.  It  disembogues  a  little 
south  of  the  equator,  and  runs  from  west  to  east,  nearly 
entirely  across  the  continent. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      207 

We  crossed  the  equator  in  the  Sumter,  on  the  meridian  of  46° 
40',  and  sounded  in  twenty  fathoms  of  water,  bringing  up  from 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  for  the  first  time,  some  of  the  sand,  and 
shells  of  the  Southern  Hemisphere.  We  hoisted  the  Confod- 
erate  flag,  though  there  were  no  eyes  to  look  upon  it  outside 
of  our  ship,  to  vindicate,  symbolically,  our  right  to  enter  this 
new  domain  of  Neptune,  in  spite  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  the 
Federal  gun-boats. 

September  5th.— Wind  fresh  from  E.  S.  E.  Doubled  Cape 
Garupi,  during  the  early  morning,  and  sounded,  at  meridian,  in 
eight  fathoms  of  water,  without  any  land  in  sight,  though  the 
day  was  clear.  Hauled  out  from  the  coast  a  little.  At  half- 
past  three,  P.  M.,  made  the  island  of  San  Joao,  for  which  we  had 
been  running,  a  little  on  the  starboard  bow.  We  now  hauled 
in  close  with  this  island,  and  running  along  its  white  sand 
beach,  which  reminded  us  much  of  the  Florida  coast,  about 
Pensacola,  we  doubled  its  north-eastern  end,  in  six,  and  seven 
fathoms  of  water.  Night  now  set  in,  and,  shaping  our  course 
S.  E.  by  S.,  we  ran  into  some  very  broken  ground — the  sound 
ings  frequently  changing,  in  a  single  cast  of  the  lead,  from 
seven  to  four  fathoms.  Four  fathoms  being  rather  uncom 
fortably  shoal,  on  an  open  coast,  we  again  hauled  out,  until  we 
deepened  our  water  to  eight  fathoms,  in  which  we  ran  along,  still 
in  very  equal  soundings,  until  we  made  the  light  on  Mount  Ita- 
colomi,  nearly  ahead.  In  half  an  hour  afterward,  we  anchored 
in  six  and  a  half  fathoms  of  water,  to  wait  for  daylight. 

When  I  afterward  told  some  Brazilian  officers,  who  came 
on  board,  to  visit  me,  in  Marauham,  of  this  eventful  night's 
run,  they  held  up  their  hands  in  astonishment,  telling  me  that 
the  chances  were  a  hundred  to  one,  that  I  had  been  wrecked, 
for,  many  parts  of  the  broken  ground  over  which  I  had  run, 
were  almost  dry,  at  low  water.  Their  steamers  never  attempt 
it,  they  said,  with  the  best  pilots  on  board.  It  is  a  pity  this  coast 
is  not  better  surveyed,  for  the  charts  by  which  I  was  running,  rep 
resented  it  free  from  danger.  The  Brazilian  is  a  coral  coast,  and, 
as  before  remarked,  all  coral  coasts  are  dangerous.  The  inequal 
ity  of  soundings  was  due  to  the  greater  industry  of  the  little  stone 
mason,  of  which  we  read  some  pages  back,  in  some  spots  than 

in  others.     This  little  worker  of  the  sea  will  sometimes  pierce 
14 


208  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

a  ship's  bottom,  with  a  cone,  which  it  has  brought  near  the 
surface,  from  surrounding  deep  waters.  As  it  is  constantly  at 
work,  the  bottom  of  the  sea  is  constantly  changing,  and  hence, 
on  coral  coasts,  surveying  steamers  should  be  almost  always  at 
work.  Having  anchored  in  the  open  sea,  and  the  sea  being  a 
little  rough,  we  found,  when  we  came  to  heave  up  our  anchor, 
the  next  morning,  that  we  brought  up  only  the  ring,  and  a 
small  piece  of  the  shank.  It  had  probably  been  caught  in  the 
rocky  bottom,  and  broken  by  the  force  of  the  windlass,  aided 
by  the  pitching  of  the  ship. 

There  was,  much  to  my  regret,  no  pilot-boat  in  sight.  The 
entrance  to  Maranham  is  quite  difficult,  but  difficult  as  it  was, 
I  was  forced  to  attempt  it.  We  rounded  safely,  the  shoals  of 
Mount  Itacolomi,  and  passed  the  middle  ground  of  the  Meio, 
and  I  was  already  congratulating  myself  that  the  danger  was 
past,  when  the  ship  ran  plump  upon  a  sand-bank,  and  stopped ! 
She  went  on,  at  full  speed,  and  the  shock,  to  those  standing  on 
deck,  was  almost  sufficient  to  throw  them  off  their  feet.  We 
had  a  skilful  leadsman  in  the  chains,  and  at  his  last  cast,  he 
had  found  no  bottom,  with  eight  fathoms  of  line  —  all  that  the 
speed  of  the  ship  would  allow  him  to  sink.  Here  was  a  catas 
trophe  !  Were  the  bones  of  the  Sumter  to  be  laid  to  rest,  on 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  her  Commander,  and  crew  to  return  to 
the  Confederate  States,  and  report  to  the  Government,  that  they 
had  lost  its  only  ship  of  war!  This  idea  flashed  through  my 
mind  for  an  instant,  but  only  for  an  instant,  for  the  work  of 
the  moment  pressed.  The  engineer  on  duty  had  stopped  his 
engine,  without  waiting  for  orders,  as  soon  as  he  felt  the  ship 
strike,  and  I  now  ordered  it  reversed.  In  a  moment  more  the 
screw  was  revolving  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  the  strong 
tide,  which  was  running  out,  catching  the  ship,  on  the  port 
bow,  at  the  same  time,  she  swung  round  to  starboard,  and  slid 
off  the  almost  perpendicular  edge  of  the  bank  into  deep  water, 
pretty  much  as  a  turtle  will  drop  off  a  log.  The  first  thing  I 
did  was  to  draw  a  long  breath,  and  the  second  was  to  put  on 
an  air  of  indifference,  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  and  tell  the 
officer  of  the  deck,  in  the  coolest  manner  possible,  to  "  let  her 
go  ahead."  We  now  proceeded  more  cautiously,  under  low 
steam,  giving  the  leadsman  plenty  of  time  to  get  his  sound- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      209 

ings,  accurately.  These  soon  proving  very  irregular,  and  there 
being  some  fishermen  on  the  coast,  half  a  mile  distant,  throw 
ing  up  their  arms,  and  gesticulating  to  us,  as  though  to  warn 
us  of  danger,  we  anchored,  and  sending  a  boat  on  shore, 
brought  one  of  them  off,  who  volunteered  to  pilot  us  up  to  the 
town.  Upon  sounding  the  pumps,  we  found  that  the  ship  had 
suffered  no  damage  from  the  concussion.  We  anchored  in  the 
port  of  Maranham,  in  three  or  four  hours  afterward,  and  the 
Confederate  States  flag  waved  in  the  Empire  of  Brazil.  The 
Port  Admiral  sent  a  lieutenant  to  call  on  us,  soon  after  anchor 
ing,  and  I  dispatched  one  of  my  own  lieutenants,  to  call  on 
the  Governor  ;  returning  the  Admiral's  visit,  myself,  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon,  at  his  place  of  business  on  shore. 


CHAPTEE   XVIII. 

THE  SUMTER  AT  MARANHAM  -  MORE  DIPLOMACY  NECES 
SARY  -  THE  HOTEL  PORTO  AND  ITS  PROPRIETOR  -  A 
WEEK  ON  SHORE  -  SHIP  COALS  AND  SAILS  AGAIN. 


HE  day  after  our  arrival  in  Maranham,  was  a  day  of  feast- 
__  ing  and  rejoicing  by  the  townspeople  —  all  business  being 
suspended.  It  was  the  7th  of  September,  the  anniversary  of 
the  day  on  which  Brazil  had  severed  her  political  connection 
with  Portugal  —  in  other  words,  it  was  her  Independence-day. 
The  forts  and  ships  of  war  fired  salutes,  and  the  latter  were 
gayly  draped  in  flags  and  signals,  presenting  a  very  pretty  ap 
pearance.  It  is  customary,  on  such  occasions,  for  the  ships  of 
war  of  other  nations,  in  the  port,  to  participate  in  the  ceremo 
nies  and  merry-making.  We  abstained  from  all  participation, 
on  board  the  Sumter,  our  flag  being,  as  yet,  unrecognized,  for 
the  purposes  of  form  and  ceremony.  In  the  evening,  a  grand 
ball  was  given,  at  the  Government  House,  by  the  President  of 
the  Province,  to  which  all  the  world,  except  the  Sumter,  was 
invited  —  the  etiquette  of  nations,  before  referred  to,  requiring 
that  she  should  be  ruled  out.  The  only  feeling  excited  in  us, 
by  this  official  slight,  was  one  of  contempt  for  the  silliness  of 
the  proceeding  —  a  contempt  heightened  by  the  reflection  that 
we  were  a  race  of  Anglo-Saxons,  proud  of  our  lineage,  and 
proud  of  our  strength,  frowned  upon  by  a  set  of  half-breeds. 
The  Government  House  being  situated  on  the  river  bank,  near 
our  anchorage,  the  lights  of  the  brilliantly  illuminated  halls 
and  chambers,  shone  full  upon  our  decks,  and  the  music  of  the 
bands,  and  even  the  confused  hum  of  the  voices  of  the  merry 
makers,  and  the  muffled  shuffling  of  the  dancers'  feet,  came  to 
us,  very  distinctly,  to  a  late  hour.  The  Sumter  lay  dark,  and 
motionless,  and  silent,  amid  this  scene  of  merriment  ;  the  only 
answer  which  she  sent  back  to  the  revellers,  being  the  sonorous 

210 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  211 

and  startling  cry,  every  half  hour,  of  her  marine  sentinels  on 
post,  of  "All's  well!" 

Having  suffered,  somewhat,  in  health,  from  the  fatigue  and 
excitement  of  the  last  few  weeks,  I  removed  on  shore  the 
next  day,  and  took  up  my  quarters  at  the  hotel  Porto,  kept  by 
one  of  those  nondescripts  one  sometimes  meets  with  in  the 
larger  South  American  cities,  whose  nationality  it  is  impossi 
ble  to  guess  at,  except  that  he  belongs  to  the  Latin  race.  My 
landlord  had  followed  the  sea,  among  his  thousand  and  one  oc 
cupations,  spoke  half  a  dozen  languages,  and  was  "running" — 
to  use  a  slang  Americanism  —  a  theatre  and  one  or  two  fash 
ionable  restaurants,  in  beautifully  laid  out  pleasure-grounds 
in  the  suburbs,  in  addition  to  his  hotel.  He  drove  a  pair  of 
fast  horses,  was  on  capital  terms  with  all  the  pretty  women  in 
the  town,  smashed  champagne-bottles,  right  and  left,  and 
smoked  the  best  of  Havana  cigars.  The  reader  will  thus  see, 
that  being  an  invalid,  and  requiring  a  little  nursing,  I  had 
fallen  into  capital  hands.  Whether  it  was  that  Senhor  Porto  — 
for  he  had  given  his  own  name  to  his  hotel — had  chased  and 
captured  merchant-ships,  in  former  days,  himself,  or  from  some 
other  motive,  I  could  never  tell,  but  he  took  quite  a  fancy  to 
me  at  once,  and  I  rode  with  him  daity,  during  my  stay,  behind 
his  fast  ponies,  and  visited  all  the  places  of  amusement,  of 
which  he  was  the  padron.  The  consequence  was,  that  I  visibly 
improved  in  health,  and  at  the  end  of  the  week  which  I  spent 
with  him,  returned  on  board  the  Sumter,  quite  set  up  again; 
in  requital  whereof,  I  have  permitted  the  gallant  Captain  to 
sit  for  his  portrait  in  these  pages. 

My  first  duty,  after  being  installed  in  my  new  apartments 
on  shore,  was,  of  course,  to  call  on  the  President  of  the  De 
partment —  the  town  of  Maranham  being  the  seat  of  govern 
ment  of  the  province  of  the  same  name.  The  President  de 
clined  to  see  me  then,  but  appointed  noon,  the  next  day,  to 
receive  me.  Soon  after  I  had  returned  to  my  hotel,  Senhor 
Porto  entered  my  room,  to  inform  me  that  Captain  Pinto,  of 
the  Brazilian  Navy,  the  commanding  naval  officer  on  the  sta 
tion,  accompanied  by  the  Chief  of  Police,  had  called  to  see 
me.  "  What  does  this  mean  ?  "  said  I,  "the  Chief  of  Police, 
in  our  cities,  is  a  very  questionable  sort  of  gentleman,  and  is 


212  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

usually  supposed  to  be  on  the  scent  of  malefactors."  "  Oh  !  he 
is  a  very  respectable  gentleman,  I  assure  you/'  replied  Porto, 
"and,  as  you  see,  he  has  called  with  the  Port  Admiral,  so  that 
he  is  in  good  company,  at  least.  Indeed  he  is  reputed  to  be 
the  confidential  friend  of  the  President."  Thus  reassured, 
and  making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  I  desired  Porto,  very  com 
placently,  to  admit  the  visitors.  The  Port  Admiral  had  done 
me  the  honor  to  visit  me,  immediately  upon  my  arrival, 
and  I  had  returned  his  visit,  so  that  we  were  not  strangers. 
He  introduced  the  Chief  of  Police  to  me,  who  proved  to  be, 
as  Porto  had  represented  him,  an  agreeable  gentleman,  holding 
military  rank,  and,  after  the  two  had  been  seated,  they 
opened  their  business  to  me.  They  had  come,  they  said,  on 
behalf  of  the  President,  to  present  me  with  a  copy  of  a 
paper,  which  had  been  handed  him,  by  the  United  States 
Consul,  protesting  against  my  being  permitted  to  coal,  or 
receive  any  other  supplies  in  the  port  of  Maranham.  Oh 
ho!  thought  I,  here  is  another  of  Mr.  Seward's  small  fry 
turned  up.  I  read  the  paper,  and  found  it  full  of  ignorance 
and  falsehoods  —  ignorance  of  the  most  common  principles 
of  international  law,  and  barefaced  misrepresentations  with 
regard  to  my  ship ;  the  whole  composed  in  such  execrable 
English,  as  to  be  highly  creditable  to  Mr.  Seward's  Depart 
ment.  I  characterized  the  paper,  as  it  deserved,  and  said  to 
the  gentlemen,  that  as  I  had  made  an  appointment  to  call  on 
the  President,  on  the  morrow,  I  would  take  that  opportunity 
of  replying  to  the  slanderous  document.  The  conversation 
then  turned  on  general  topics,  and  my  visitors  soon  after 
withdrew. 

As  I  rode  out,  that  afternoon,  with  Porto,  he  said,  "  Never 
mind !  I  know  all  that  is  going  on,  at  the  palace,  and  you  will 
get  all  the  coal,  and  everything  else  you  want."  The  pay  of 
the  Federal  Consul  at  Maranham,  was,  I  believe,  at  the  time  I 
visited  the  town,  about  twelve  hundred  dollars,  per  annum. 
As  was  to  be  expected,  a  small  man  filled  the  small  place.  He 
was  quite  young,  and  with  commendable  Yankee  thrift,  was 
exercising,  in  the  consular  dwelling,  the  occupation  of  a  den 
tist  ;  the  "  old  flag  "  flying  over  his  files,  false  teeth,  and  spit 
toons.  He  probably  wrote  the  despatch,  a  copy  of  which  had 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      213 

been  handed  me,  in  the  intervals  between  the  entrance,  and 
exit  of  his  customers.  It  was  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that 
this  semi -diplomat,  charged  with  the  affairs  of  the  Great  Ee- 
public,  and  with  the  decayed  teeth  of  the  young  ladies  of 
Maranham,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  should  be  a  little  con 
fused,  as  to  points  of  international  law,  and  the  rules  of  Lind- 
ley  Murray.  That  he  should  misrepresent  me  was  both  natural, 
and  Federal. 

At  the  appointed  hour,  the  next  day,  I  called  to  see  his  Ex 
cellency,  the  President,  and  being  ushered,  by  an  orderly  in 
waiting,  into  a  suite  of  spacious,  and  elegantly  furnished  apart 
ments,  I  found  Captain  Pinto,  and  his  Excellency,  both  pre 
pared  to  receive  me.  We  proceeded,  at  once,  to  business.  I 
exhibited  to  his  Excellency  the  same  little  piece  of  brownish 
paper,  with  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis's  signature  at  the  bottom  of 
it,  that  I  had  shown  to  Captain  Hillyer  of  the  Cadmus  — 
unasked,  however,  as  DO  doubts  had  been  raised  as  to  the 
verity  of  the  character  of  my  ship.  I  then  read  to  his  Excel 
lency  an  extract  or  two  from  the  letter  of  instructions,  which 
had  been  sent  me  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  directing  me 
to  pay  all  proper  respect  to  the  territory,  and  property  of  neu 
trals.  I  next  read  the  proclamations  of  England  and  France, 
acknowledging  us  to  be  in  the  possession  of  belligerent  rights, 
and  said  to  his  Excellency,  that  although  I  had  not  seen  the 
proclamation  of  Brazil,  I  presumed  she  had  followed  the  lead 
of  the  European  powers — to  which  he  assented.  I  then 
"  rested  my  case,"  as  the  lawyers  say,  seeing,  by  the  expression 
of  his  Excellency's  countenance,  that  every  lick  had  told,  and 
that  I  had  nothing  now  to  fear.  "But,  what  about  coal  being 
contraband  of  war,"  said  his  Excellency,  at  this  stage  of  the 
proceeding.  "  The  United  States  Consul,  in  the  protest  ad 
dressed  to  me,  a  copy  of  which  I  sent  you,  yesterday,  by  Cap 
tain  Pinto,  and  the  Chief  of  Police,  states  that  you  had  not 
been  permitted  to  coal,  in  any  of  the  ports,  which  you  have 
hitherto  visited."  The  reader  will  recollect,  that,  at  the  British 
Island  of  Trinidad,  the  question  of  my  being  permitted  to  coal 
had  been  submitted  to  the  "law  officers  of  the  Crown."  The 
newspaper,  at  that  place,  had  published  a  copy  of  the  opinion 
of  these  officers,  and  also  a  copy  of  the  decision  of  the  Grov- 


214  MEMOIKS    OP    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ernor,  thereupon.  Having  brought  a  copy  of  this  paper,  in  my 
pocket,  for  the  occasion,  I  now  rejoined  to  his  Excellency : 
"The  United  States  Consul  has  made  you  a  false  statement.  I 
have  coaled,  already,  in  the  colonies  of  no  less  than  three 
Powers  —  Spain,  Holland,  and  England"  —  and  drawing  from 
my  pocket  the  newspaper,  and  handing  it  to  him,  I  continued, 
"and  your  Excellency  will  find,  in  this  paper,  the  decision  of 
the  English  authorities,  upon  the  point  ia  question  —  that  is  to 
say,  that  coal  is  not  contraband  of  war,  and  may  be  supplied 
by  neutrals  to  belligerents."  Captain  Pinto,  to  whom  his  Ex 
cellency  handed  the  paper,  read  aloud  the  decision,  putting  it 
into  very  good  Portuguese,  as  he  went  along,  and  when  he  had 
finished  the  reading,  his  Excellency  turned  again  to  me, 
and  said :  "  I  have  no  longer  any  doubts  on  the  question. 
You  can  have  free  access  to  the  markets,  and  purchase  what 
soever  you  may  desire  —  munitions  of  war  alone  excepted."  I 
have  been  thus  particular  in  describing  these  proceedings  to 
the  reader,  to  show  him  with  what  sleuth-hound  perseverance 
I  was  followed  up,  by  these  small  consuls,  taken  from  the 
political  kennel  in  the  Northern  States,  who  never  hesitated  to 
use  the  most  unblushing  falsehoods,  if  they  thought  these 
would  serve  their  purposes  better  than  the  truth.  The  official 
portion  of  my  interview  with  the  President  being  ended,  I 
ventured  upon  some  general  remarks  with  regard  to  the  unnat 
ural,  and  wicked  war  which  was  being  waged  upon  us,  and 
soon  afterward  took  my  leave. 

In  an  hour  after  I  had  left  the  President's  quarters,  my 
paymaster  had  contracted  for  a  supply  of  coal,  and  lighters 
were  being  prepared  to  take  it  on  board.  The  sailors  were 
now  permitted  to  visit  the  shore,  in  detachments,  "  on  liberty," 
and  the  officers  wandered  about,  in  twos  and  threes,  wherever 
inclination  prompted.  We  soon  found  that  wherever  we 
moved,  we  were  objects  of  much  curiosity,  the  people  fre 
quently  turning  to  stare  at  us ;  but  we  were  always  treated 
with  respect.  Nothing  was  thought,  or  talked  of,  during  our 
stay,  but  the  American  war.  The  Provincial  Congress  was  in 
session,  and  several  of  its  members  boarded  at  the  hotel  Porto. 
I  found  them  intelligent,  well-informed  men.  There  were 
political  parties  here,  as  elsewhere,  of  course ;  among  others 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      215 

as  might  be  expected,  in  a  slave-holding  country,  there  was  an 
abolition  party,  and  this  party  sympathized  with  the  North. 
It  was  very  small,  however,  for  it  was  quite  evident,  from  the 
popular  demonstrations,  that  the  great  mass  of  the  people  were 
with  us.  This  state  of  the  public  feeling  not  only  rendered 
our  stay,  very  pleasant,  but  facilitated  us  in  getting  off  our 
supplies.  Invitations  to  the  houses  of  the  citizens  were  fre 
quent,  and  we  had  free  access  to  all  the  clubs,  and  other  places 
of  public  resort. 

I  must  not  omit  to  mention  here,  a  very  agreeable  fellow- 
countryman,  whom  we  met  in  Maranham  —  Mr.  J.  Wetson, 
from  Texas.  He  had  been  several  years  in  Brazil.  His  pro 
fession  was  that  of  a  steam-engineer,  and  mill-wright.  This 
worthy  young  mechanic,  full  of  love,  and  enthusiasm  for  his 
section,  loaned  the  paymaster  two  thousand  dollars,  on  a  bill 
against  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  and  during  the  whole  of 
our  stay,  his  rooms  were  the  head-quarters  of  my  younger 
officers,  where  he  dispensed  to  them  true  Southern  hospitality. 
We  were  gratified  to  find  him  a  great  favorite  with  the  towns 
people,  and  we  took  leave  of  him  with  regret. 

Maranham  lies  in  latitude  2°  S.  and  we  visited  it,  during 
the  dry  season ;  the  sun  having  carried  the  equatorial  cloud- 
ring,  which  gives  it  rain,  farther  north.  We  had  perpetual 
sunshine,  during  our  stay,  but  the  heat  was  tempered  by 
the  trade-wind,  which  blew  sometimes  half  a  gale,  so  that  we 
did  not  feel  it  oppressive.  Toward  night  the  sea-breeze  would 
moderate,  and  the  most  heavenly  of  bright  skies,  and  most 
balmy  of  atmospheres  would  envelop  the  landscape.  At  this 
witching  hour,  the  beauties  of  Maranham  made  their  appear 
ance,  at  the  street-doors,  and  at  open  windows,  and  the  tinkle 
of  the  guitar  and  the  gentle  hum  of  conversation  would  be 
heard.  Later  in  the  night,  there  would  arise  from  different 
parts  of  the  town  —  somewhat  removed  from  the  haunts  of  the 
upper-tendom — the  rumbling,  and  jingling  of  the  tambourine, 
and  the  merry  notes  of  the  violin,  as  the  national  fandango 
was  danced,  with  a  vigor,  and  at  the  same  time  with  a  poetry 
of  motion  unknown  to  colder  climes.  The  wine  flowed  freely 
on  these  occasions,  and  not  unfrequently  the  red  knife  of  the 
assassin  found  the  heart's  blood  of  a  rival  in  love ;  for  there 


216  MEMOIRS    OP    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

are  other  climes  besides  those  of  which  the  poet  sang,  where 

"  The  rage  of  the  vulture,  the  love  of  the  turtle 
Now  melt  into  sorrow,  now  madden  to  crime." 

The  trade  of  Maranham  is  mostly  monopolized  by  Portugal, 
France,  and  Spain,  though  there  is  some  little  carried  on  with 
the  United  States  —  an  occasional  ship  from  New  York,  or 
Boston,  bringing  a  cargo  of  flour,  cheap  but  gaudy  furniture, 
clocks,  and  domestic  cottons,  and  other  Yankee  staples,  and 
notions.  The  shop-keepers  are  mostly  French  and  Germans. 
An  excellent  staple  of  cotton  is  produced  in  the  province  of 
Maranham. 

On  the  15th  of  September,  the  Sumter  was  ready  for  sea, 
having  been  refitted,  and  repainted,  besides  being  coaled,  and 
provisioned ;  and  there  being,  as  usual,  according  to  rumor,  a 
couple  of  enemy's  ships  waiting  for  her  outside,  we  received  a 
pilot  on  board,  and  getting  up  steam,  took  leave  of  Maranham, 
carrying  with  us  many  kindly  recollections  of  the  hospitality 
of  the  people.  We  swept  the  sea  horizon,  with  our  glasses,  as 
we  approached  the  bar,  but  the  enemy's  cruisers  were  nowhere 
to  be  seen,  and  at  three  P.  M.,  we  were  again  in  blue  water ;  our 
little  craft  rising,  and  falling  gently,  to  the  undulations  of  the 
sea,  as  she  ploughed  her  way  through  it. 

The  question  now  was,  in  what  direction  should  we  steer  ? 
I  was  within  striking  distance  of  the  cruising- ground,  for 
which  I  had  set  out — Cape  St.  Eoque ;  but  we  had  been  so 
long  delayed,  that  we  should  reach  it,  if  we  proceeded  thither 
at  all,  at  a  most  unpropitious  season  —  the  sailing,  and  steam 
ing  qualities  of  the  Sumter  considered.  The  trade-winds  were 
sweeping  round  the  Cape,  blowing  half  a  gale,  on  the  wings 
of  which  the  dullest  ship  would  be  able  to  run  away  from  us, 
if  we  trusted  to  sail,  alone ;  and  steam,  in  the  present  state  of 
my  exchequer,  was  out  of  the  question.  I  had  paid  $17.50 
per  ton  for  the  coal  I  had  taken  in,  at  Maranham,  and  but  for 
the  timely  loan  of  Mr.  Wetson,  should  have  exhausted  my 
treasury  entirely.  The  trade- winds  would  continue  to  blow, 
with  equal  force,  until  some  time  in  December ;  they  would 
then  moderate,  and  from  that  time,  onward,  until  March,  we 
might  expect  more  gentle  weather.  This,  then,  was  the  only 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      217 

season,  in  which  the  Sumter  could  operate  off  the  Cape,  to 
advantage. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  calm  belt  of  the  equator  lay  before 
me  —  its  southern  edge,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  being  in 
latitude  of  about  5°  ]ST.  All  the  homeward-bound  trade  of 
the  enemy  passed  through  this  calm  belt,  or  used  to  pass  through 
it  before  the  war,  at  a  well-known  crossing.  At  that  crossing, 
there  would  be  a  calm  sea,  light,  and  variable  winds,  and  rain. 
In  such  weather,  I  could  lie  in  wait  for  my  prey,  under  sail, 
and,  if  surprise,  and  stratagem  did  not  effect  my  purpose,  I 
could,  when  a  sail  appeared,  get  up  steam  and  chase  and 
capture,  without  the  expenditure  of  much  fuel.  In  this  way, 
with  the  coal  I  had  on  board,  I  could  prolong  my  cruise,  prob 
ably,  for  a  couple  of  months.  I  did  not  hesitate  long,  there 
fore,  between  the  two  schemes.  I  turned  my  ship's  head  to 
the  northward,  and  eastward,  for  the  calm  belt,  and  before  sun 
set,  we  had  run  the  coast  of  Brazil  out  of  sight. 

We  recrossed  the  equator,  the  next  day.  In  five  days  more, 
the  sun  would  have  reached  the  equator,  when  we  should  have 
had  the  grand  spectacle,  at  noon,  of  being  able  to  sweep  him, 
with  our  instruments,  entirely  around  the  horizon,  with  his 
lower  limb  just  touching  it,  at  all  points.  We  could  nearly 
do  this,  as  it  was,  and  so  rapidly  did  he  dip,  at  noon,  that  we 
were  obliged  to  watch  him,  with  constant  vigilance,  to  ascer 
tain  the  precise  moment  of  twelve  o'clock. 

September  17 'th.  —  The  sea  is  of  a  deep,  indigo  blue,  and  we 
have  a  bright,  and  exceedingly  transparent  atmosphere,  with  a 
fresh  breeze  from  the  south-east.  At  half-past  eleven  A.  M.,  we 
let  the  steam  go  down,  uncoupled  the  propeller,  and  put  the 
ship  under  sail.  Observed  at  noon,  in  latitude  2°  19'  N. ; 
longitude,  41°  29' 

For  the  next  few  days,  we  encountered  a  remarkable  easterly 
current — the  current,  in  this  part  of  the  ocean,  being  almost 
constantly  to  the  westward.  This  current  —  which  we  were  now 
stemming,  for  we  were  sailing  toward  the  north-west — retarded 
us,  as  much  as  fifty  miles,  in  a  single  day !  So  remarkable  did 
the  phenomenon  appear,  that  if  I  had  noticed  it,  for  but  a 
single  day,  I  should  have  been  inclined  to  think  that  I  had 
made  some  mistake  in  rny  observations,  or  that  there  was  some 


218  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

error  in  my  instrument,  but  we  noticed  it,  day  after  day,  for 
four  or  five  days. 

Contemporaneously  with  this  phenomenon,  another,  and 
even  more  wonderful  one  appeared.  This  was  a  succession  of 
tide-rips,  so  remarkable,  that  they  deserve  special  description. 

The  Sumter  lay  nearly  stationary,  during  the  whole  of  these 
phenomena  —  the  easterly  current  setting  her  back,  nearly  as 
much  as  she  gained  under  sail.  She  was  in  the  average  latitude 
of  5°  K,  and  average  longitude  of  42°  W.  For  the  first 
three  days,  the  rips  appeared  with  wonderful  regularity  —  there 
being  an  interval  of  just  twelve  hours  between  them.  They 
approached  us  from  the  south,  and  travelled  toward  the  north. 
At  first,  only  a  line  of  foam  would  be  seen,  on  the  distant  hori 
zon,  approaching  the  ship  very  rapidly.  As  it  came  nearer, 
an  almost  perpendicular  wall  of  water,  extending  east  and 
west,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  would  be  seen,  the  top  of 
the  wall  boiling  and  foaming,  like  a  breaker  rolling  over  a 
rocky  bottom.  As  the  ridge  approached  nearer  and  nearer,  it 
assumed  the  form  of  a  series  of  rough  billows,  jostling  against, 
and  struggling  with  each  other,  producing  a  scene  of  the 
utmost  confusion,  the  noise  resembling  that  of  a  distant  cata 
ract.  Beaching  the  ship,  these  billows  would  strike  her  with 
such  force,  as  to  send  their  spray  to  the  deck,  and  cause  her  to 
roll  and  pitch,  as  though  she  were  •amid  breakers.  The  phe 
nomenon  was,  indeed,  that  of  breakers,  only  the  cause  was  not 
apparent  —  there  being  no  shoal  water  to  account  for  it.  The 
Sumter  sometimes  rolled  so  violently  in  these  breakers,  when 
broadside  to,  that  we  were  obliged  to  keep  her  off  her  course, 
several  points,  to  bring  the  sea  on  her  quarter,  and  thus  mitigate 
the  effect.  The  belt  of  rips  would  not  be  broad,  and  as  it  trav 
elled  very  rapidly  —  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  the  hour — the 
ship  would  not  be  long  within  its  influence.  In  the  course  of 
three  quarters  of  an  hour,  it  would  disappear,  entirely,  on  the 
distant  northern  horizon.  So  curious  was  the  whole  phenome 
non,  that  the  sailors,  as  well  as  the  officers,  assembled,  as  if  by 
common  consent,  to  witness  it.  "There  come  the  tide  rips!" 
some  would  exclaim,  and,  in  a  moment  there  would  be  a  de 
mand  for  the  telescopes,  and  a  rush  to  the  ship's  side,  to  wit 
ness  the  curious  spectacle.  These  rips  have  frequently  been 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      21S 

noticed  by  navigators,  and  discussed  by  philosophers,  but 
hitherto,  no  satisfactory  explanation  has  been  given  of  them. 
They  are  like  the  bores,  at  the  mouths  of  great  rivers ;  as  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  of 
the  Ganges,  in  the  eastern  ;  great  breathings,  or  convulsions  of 
the  sea,  the  causes  of  which  elude  our  research.  These  bores 
sometimes  come  in,  in  great  perpendicular  walls,  sweeping 
everything  before  them,  and  causing  immense  destruction  of 
life,  a"nd  property.  I  was,  at  first,  inclined  to  attribute  these 
tide  rips  to  the  lunar  influence,  as  they  appeared  twice  in 
twenty-four  hours,  like  the  tides,  and  each  time  near  the  pass 
ing  of  the  meridian,  by  the  moon;  but,  in  a  few  days,  they 
varied  their  times  of  appearance,  and  came  on  quite  irregularly, 
sometimes  with  an  interval  of  five  or  six  hours,  only.  And 
then  the  tidal  wave,  for  it  is  evidently  this,  and  not  a  current, 
should  be  from  east  to  west,  if  it  were  due  to  lunar  influence ; 
and  we  have  seen  that  it  travelled  from  south  to  north.  Nor 
could  I  connect  it  with  the  easterly  current  that  was  prevailing 
—  for  it  travelled  at  right  angles  to  the  current,  and  not  with,  or 
against  it.  It  was,  evidently,  due  to  some  pretty  uniform  law, 
as  it  always  travelled  in  the  same  direction. 

We  reached  the  calm  belt,  on  the  24th  of  September,  for,  on 
this  day,  having  lost  the  south-east  trade,  we  had  light  and  baf 
fling  winds  from  the  south-west,  and  rain-clouds  began  to  mus 
ter  overhead.  On  the  next  day,  the  weather  being  in  its  nor 
mal  condition  of  cloud,  the  welcome  cry  of  "sail  ho!"  came 
resounding  from  the  mast-head,  with  a  more  prolonged,  and 
musical  cadence  than  usual  —  the  look-out,  with  the  rest  of  the 
crew,  having  become  tired  of  the  inactivity  of  the  last  few 
days.  All  was  bustle,  immediately,  about  the  decks ;  and  in 
half  an  hour,  with  the  sails  snugly  furled,  and  the  ship  under 
steam,  we  were  in  hot  pursuit.  The  stranger  was  a  brigantine, 
and  was  standing  to  the  north-west,  pursuing  the  usual  cross 
ing  of  the  calm  belt,  as  best  he  might,  in  the  light  winds,  that 
were  blowing,  sometimes  this  way,  sometimes  that.  We  came 
up  with  him  quite  rapidly,  there  being  scarcely  a  ripple  on 
the  surface  of  the  smooth  sea,  to  impede  our  progress,  and 
when  we  had  come  sufficiently  near  to  enable  him  to  make  it 
out,  distinctly,  we  showed  him  the  enemy's  flag.  He  was  evi- 


220  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

dently  prepared  with  his  own  flag,  for,  in  less  than  a  minute, 
the  lazy  breeze  was  toying  and  playing  with  it,  and  presently 
blew  it  out  sufficiently,  to  enable  us  to  make  out  the  well-known 
and  welcome  stars  and  stripes.  We  hove  him  to,  by  "hail,"  and 
hauling  down  the  false  colors,  and  hoisting  our  own,  we  sent 
a  boat  on  board  of  him,  and  captured  him.  He  proved  to  be 
the  Joseph  Parke,  of  Boston,  last  from  Pernambuco,  and  six 
days  out,  in  ballast.  The  Parke  had  been  unable  to  procure 
a  return  cargo;  the  merchants  of  Pernambuco  having  heard 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Sumter,  at  Maranham,  in  rather  uncom 
fortable  proximity. 

We  transferred  the  crew  of  the  captured  vessel  to  the  Sum 
ter,  replacing  it  with  a  prize  crew,  and  got  on  board  from  her 
such  articles  of  provisions,  cordage,  and  sails  as  we  required; 
but  instead  of  burning  her,  we  transformed  her,  for  the  present, 
into  a  scout  vessel,  to  assist  us  in  discovering  other  prizes.  I 
sent  Lieutenant  Evans  on  board  to  command  her,  and  gave 
him  a  couple  of  midshipmen,  as  watch  officers.  The  following 
was  his  commission: — 

"SiR: — You  will  take  charge  of  the  prize-brig  Joseph  Parke, 
and  cruise  in  company  with  this  vessel,  until  further  orders. 
During  the  day,  you  will  keep  from  seven  to  eight  miles,  to  the 
westward,  and  to  windward,  and  keep  a  bright  look-out,  from  your 
top-gallant  yard,  for  sails — signalling  to  us,  such  as  you  may  de 
scry.  Toward  evening,  every  day,  you  will  draw  in  toward  this 
vessel,  so  as  to  be  within  three,  or  four  miles  of  her,  at  dark ;  and, 
during  the  night  you  will  keep  close  company  with  her,  to  guard 
against  the  possibility  of  separation.  Should  you,  however,  be 
separated  from  her,  by  any  accident,  you  will  make  the  best  of 
your  way  to  latitude  8°  JST.,  and  longitude  45°  W.,  where  you  will 
await  her  a  reasonable  time.  Should  you  not  join  her  again,  you 
will  make  the  best  of  your  way  to  some  port  in  the  Confederate 
States. " 

In  obedience  to  these  instructions,  the  Parke  drew  off  to  her 
station,  and  letting  our  fires  go  down  on  board  the  Sumter,  we 
put  her  under  sail,  again.  Long  before  night,  the  excitement 
of  the  chase  and  capture  had  died  away,  and  things  had  re 
sumed  their  wonted  course.  The  two  ships  hovered  about 
the  "  crossing,"  for  several  days,  keeping  a  bright  look-out,  but 
nothing  more  appeared;  and  on  the  29th  of  September,  the 
Parke  having  been  called  alongside,  by  signal,  her  prize  crew 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      221 

was  taken  out,  and  the  ship  burned,  after  having  been  made  a 
target,  for  a  few  hours,  for  the  practice  of  the  crew.  It  was 
evidently  no  longer  of  any  use  to  bother  ourselves  about  the 
crossing  of  the  calm-belt,  for,  instead  of  falling  in  with  a  con 
stant  stream  of  the  enemy's  ships,  returning  home,  from  differ- 
ferent  parts  of  the  world,  we  had  been  cruising  in  it,  some 
ten  days,  and  had  sighted  but  a  single  sail!  We  had  kept 
ourselves  between  the  parallels  of  2°  30'  1ST.,  and  9°  30'  K, 
and  between  the  meridians  of  41°  30'  W.,  and  47°  30'  W. ; 
and  if  the  reader  have  any  curiosity  on  the  subject,  by  refer 
ring  to  the  map,  he  will  perceive,  that  the  north-western  diago 
nal  of  the  quadrilateral  figure,  formed  by  these  parallels,  and 
meridians,  is  the  direct  course  between  Cape  St.  Boque,  and 
New  York.  But  the  wary  sea-birds  had,  evidently,  all  taken 
the  alarm,  and  winged  their  way,  home,  by  other  routes.  I 
was  the  more  convinced  of  this,  by  an  intercepted  letter  which 
I  captured  in  the  letter-bag  of  the  Parke,  which  was  written 
by  the  master  of  the  ship,  Asteroid,  to  his  owner,  and  which 
ran  as  follows: — 

"  The  Asteroid  arrived  off  this  port  [Pernambuco],  last  evening, 
seventy-five  days  from  Baker's  Island,  and  came  to  anchor  in  the 
outer  roads,  this  morning.  I  found  yours  of  August  9th,  and  noted 
the  contents,  which,  I  must  say,  have  made  me  rather  blue.  I  think 
you  had  better  insure,  even  at  the  extra  premium,  as  the  Asteroid 
is  not  a  clipper,  and  will  be  a  bon  prize  for  the  Southerners.  I 
shall  sail  this  evening  [September  16th,  three  days  before  the  Joseph 
Parke^\  and  take  a  new  route,  for  Hampton  Roads." 

The  Asteroid  escaped  us,  as  no  doubt  many  more  had  done, 
by  avoiding  the  "beaten  track,"  and  taking  a  new  road  home; 
thus  verifying,  in  a  very  pointed  manner,  the  old  adage,  that 
"the  longest  way  round  is  the  shortest  way  home." 

We  now  made  sail  for  the  West  India  Islands,  designing, 
after  a  short  cruise  among  them,  to  run  into  the  French  island 
of  Martinique,  and  coal.  We  still  kept  along  on  the  beaten 
track  of  homeward-bound  ships,  but  with  little  expectation  of 
making  any  prizes,  and  for  some  days  overhauled  none  but 
neutral  ships.  Many  of  these  had  cargoes  for  the  United 
States,  but  not  having  the  same  motive  to  avoid  me,  that  the 
enemy's  ships  had,  they  were  content  to  travel  the  usual  high 
way.  Although  many  of  them  had  enemy's  property,  on  board, 


222  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

they  were  perfectly  safe  from  molestation — the  Confederate 
States'  Government  having  adopted,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  in 
its  Act  declaring,  that,  by  the  conduct  of  the  enemy,  a  state 
of  war  existed,  the  liberal  principle,  that  "Free  ships  make 
free  goods." 

Among  the  neutrals  overhauled  by  us,  was  an  English  brig 
called  the  Spartan,  from  Eio  Janeiro,  for  St.  Thomas,  in  the 
West  Indies.  We  had  an  exciting  chase  after  this  fellow. 
We  pursued  him,  under  United  States  colors,  and  as  the  wind 
was  blowing  fresh,  and  the  chase  was  a  "  stern-chase,"  it 
proved,  as  usual,  to  be  a  long  one,  although  the  Sumter  was 
doing  her  best,  under  both  steam  and  sail.  John  Bull  evi 
dently  mistook  us  for  the  Yankee  we  pretended  to  be,  and 
seemed  determined  to  prevent  us  from  overhauling  him,  if  pos 
sible.  His  brig,  as  we  soon  discovered,  had  light  heels,  and  he 
made  the  best  possible  use  of  them,  by  giving  her  every  inch 
of  canvas  he  could  spread.  Still,  we  gained  on  him,  and  as  we 
carne  sufficiently  near,  we  gave  him  a  blank  cartridge,  to  make 
him  show  his  colors,  and  heave  to.  He  showed  his  colors  — 
the  English  red  — but  refused  to  heave  to.  The  unprofessional 
reader  may  be  informed,  that  when  a  merchant-ship  is  under 
full  sail,  and  especially  when  she  is  running  before  a  fresh 
breeze,  as  the  Spartan  was,  it  puts  her  to  no  little  inconvenience, 
to  come  to  the  wind.  She  has  to  take  in  her  sails,  one  by  one> 
owing  to  her  being  short-handed,  and  "  the  clewing  up,"  and 
"  hauling  down "  occupy  some  minutes.  The  captain  of  the 
Spartan  was  loth  to  subject  himself  to  this  inconvenience, 
especially  at  the  command  of  the  hated  Yankee.  Coming  up 
a  little  nearer,  we  now  fired  a  shotted  gun  at  him,  taking  care 
not  to  strike  him,  but  throwing  the  shot  so  near  as  to  give  him 
the  benefit  of  its  rather  ominous  music,  as  it  whistled  past. 
As  soon  as  the  smoke  from  the  gun,  which  obscured  him  for  a 
moment,  rolled  away  before  the  breeze,  we  could  see  him  start 
ing  his  "  sheets,"  and  "  halliards,"  and  pretty  soon  the  saucy 
little  Spartan  rounded  to,  with  her  main  top-sail  to  the  mast. 
The  reader  may  be  curious  to  know,  why  I  had  been  so  per 
sistent  in  heaving  to  a  neutral.  The  answer  is,  that  I  was  not 
sure  she  was  neutral.  The  jaunty  little  brig  looked  rather 
more  American,  than  English,  in  all  but  the  flag  that  was  fly- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      223 

ing  at  Tier  peak.  She  had  not  only  the  grace  and  beauty  of 
hull  that  characterize  our  American-built  ships,  but  the  long, 
tapering  spars  on  which  American  ship-masters  especially 
pride  themselves.  She  did,  indeed,  prove  to  be  American,  in 
a  certain  sense,  as  we  found  her  to  hail  from  Halifax,  in  Nova 
Scotia.  The  master  of  the  Spartan  was  in  an  ill-humor  when 
my  boarding- officer  jumped  on  board  of  him.  It  was  difficult 
to  extract  a  civil  answer  from  him.  "  What  is  the  news  ?  " 
said  the  boarding- officer.  "  Capital  news !"  replied  the  mas 
ter  ;  "  you  Yankees  are  getting  whipped  like  h — 11 ;  you  beat 
the  Derby  boys  at  the  Mariassas  races."  "  But  what 's  the  news 
from  Eio?  "  now  inquired  the  supposed  Yankee  boarding-offi 
cer.  "Well,  there  's  good  news  from  that  quarter  too  —  all  the 
Yankee  ships  are  laid  up,  for  want  of  freights."  "  You  are 
rather  hard  upon  us,  my  friend,"  now  rejoined  the  boarding- 
officer  ;  "  why  should  you  take  such  an  interest  in  the  Confed 
erate  cause  ?  "  "  Simply,  because  there  is  a  little  man  fighting 
against  an  overgrown  bully,  and  I  like  pluck." 

The  Spartan  being  bound  to  St.  Thomas,  and  we  ourselves 
intending  to  go,  soon,  into  the  West  Indies,  it  was  highly  im 
portant  that  we  should  preserve  our  incognito,  to  which  end,  I 
had  charged  the  boarding-officer,  to  represent  his  ship  as  a 
Federal  cruiser,  in  search  of  the  Sumter.  The  boarding-officer 
having  done  this,  found  the  master  of  the  Spartan  complimen 
tary  to  the  last ;  for  as  he  was  stepping  over  the  brig's  side, 
into  his  boat,  the  master  said,  "  I  hope  you  will  find  the  Sumter, 
but  I  rather  think  you  will  hunt  for  her,  as  the  man  did  for 
the  tax-collector,  hoping  all  the  time  he  mightn't  find  him." 

The  weather  now,  again,  became  calm,  and  we  had  "  cat's- 
paws  "  from  all  the  points  of  the  compass.  The  breeze,  with 
which  we  had  chased  the  Spartan,  was  a  mere  spasmodic  effort 
of  Nature,  for  we  were  still  in  the  calm-belt,  or,  as  the  sailors 
expressively  call  it,  the  "doldrums."  For  the  next  few  days, 
it  rained  almost  incessantly,  the  heavily  charged  clouds  some 
times  settling  so  low,  as  scarcely  to  sweep  clear  of  our  mast 
heads.  It  did  not  simply  rain ;  the  water  fell  in  torrents,  and 
the  lightning  flashed,  and  the  thunder  rolled,  with  a  magnifi 
cence  and  grandeur  that  were  truly  wonderful  to  witness.  In 
the  intervals  of  these  drenching  rains,  the  clouds,  like  so  many 
15 


224  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

half-wrung  sponges,  would  lift  themselves,  and  move  about 
with  great  rapidity,  in  every  direction  —  now  toward,  and  now 
from,  each  other  —  convolving,  in  the  most  curious  disorder, 
as  though  they  were  so  many  huge,  black  serpents,  writhing 
and  twisting  in  the  'powerful  grasp  of  some  invisible  hand. 
Anon,  a  water-spout  would  appear  upon  the  scene,  with  its 
inverted  cone,  sometimes  travelling  rapidly,  but  more  fre 
quently  at  rest.  At  times,  so  ominous,  and  threatening  would 
be  the  aspect  of  the  heavens,  with  its  armies  of  black  clouds 
in  battle-array,  its  forked  lightning,  and  crashing  thunder,  the 
perfect  stillness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  rapid  flight  of  scared 
water-fowl,  that  a  hurricane  would  seem  imminent,  until  we 
would  cast  our  eyes  upon  the  barometer,  standing  unmoved, 
at  near  the  marking  of  thirty  inches,  amid  all  the  signs,  and 
portents  around  it.  In  half  an  hour,  sometimes,  all  this  para 
phernalia  of  clouds  would  break  in  twain,  and  retreat,  in  oppo 
site  directions,  to  the  horizon,  and  the  sun  would  throw  down 
a  flood  of  golden  light,  and  scalding  heat  upon  our  decks ;  on 
which  would  be  paddling  about  the  half-drowned  sailors.  The 
first  lieutenant  took  advantage  of  these  rains,  to  fill,  anew,  his 
water-tanks,  "  tenting  "  his  awnings,  during  the  heaviest  of  the 
showers,  and  catching  more  water  than  he  needed;  and  the 
sailors  had  another  such  jubilee  of  washing,  as  they  had  had, 
when  we  were  running  along  the  Venezuelan  coast. 

Sunday,  September  29th.  —  Beautiful,  clear  morning,  with  a 
gentle  breeze  from  the  south-east,  and  a  smooth  sea.  At  eleven 
A.  M.,  mustered  the  crew,  and  inspected  the  ship.  Latitude, 
6°  55'  N. ;  longitude,  45°  OS'  W.  Evening  set  in,  squally,  and 
rainy.  Banning  along  to  the  north-west,  under  topsails. 

October  2d. —  This  morning,  when  I  took  my  seat,  at  the 
breakfast-table,  I  was  surprised  to  find  a  very  tempting-look 
ing  dish  of  fried  fish  set  out  before  me,  and  upon  inquiring  of 
my  faithful  steward,  John,  (a  Malayan,  who  had  taken  the  place 
of  Ned,)  to  what  good  fortune  he  was  indebted,  for  the  prize, 
his  little  black  eyes  twinkled,  as  he  said,  "Him  jump  aboard, 
last  night!"  Upon  further  inquiry,  I  found  that  it  was  a 
small  sword-fish,  that  had  honored  us  with  a  visit ;  the  active 
little  creature  having  leaped  no  less  than  fifteen  feet,  to  reach 
the  deck  of  the  Sumter.  It  was  lucky  that  its  keen  spear  did 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       225 

not  come  in  contact  with  any  of  the  crew  during  the  leap  —  a 
loss  of  life  might  have  been  the  consequence.  The  full-grown 
sword-fish  has  been  known  to  pierce  a  ship's  bottom,  floor-tim 
ber  and  all,  with  its  most  formidable  weapon. 

October  1th. —  Weather  clear,  and  beautiful,  with  trade-clouds, 
white  and  fleecy,  and  a  light  breeze  from  the  eastward.  The 
bosom  of  the  gently  heaving  sea  is  scarcely  ruffled.  Schools 
of  fish  are  playing  around  us,  and  the  sailors  have  just  hauled, 
on  board,  a  large  shark,  which  they  have  caught  with  hook 
and  line.  The  sailor  has  a  great  antipathy  to  the  shark, 
regarding  him  as  his  hereditary  enemy.  Accordingly,  the 
monster  receives  no  mercy  when  he  falls  into  Jack's  hands. 
See  how  Jack  is  tormenting  him  now !  and  how  fiercely  the 
monster  is  snapping,  and  grinding  his  teeth  together,  and 
beating  the  deck  with  his  powerful  tail,  as  though  he  would 
crush  in  the  planks.  He  is  tenacious  of  life,  and  will  be  a 
long  time  in  dying,  and,  during  all  this  time,  Jack  will  be  cut 
ting,  and  slashing  him,  without  mercy,  with  his  long  sheath- 
knife.  The  comparatively  calm  sea  is  covered,  in  every  direc 
tion,  for  miles,  with  a  golden  or  straw-colored  dust.  Whence 
comes  it  ?  We  are  four  hundred  miles  from  any  land !  It 
has,  doubtless,  been  dropped  by  the  trade-winds,  as  they  have 
been  neutralized  over  our  heads,  in  this  calm  belt  of  the 
equator,  and,  in  a  future  page,  we  shall  have  further  occasion" 
to  refer  to  it.  We  have  observed,  to-day,  in  latitude  8° ;  the 
longitude  being  46°  58'. 

October  11th. — Morning  clear  and  calm,  after  a  couple  of  days 
of  tempestuous  weather,  during  which  the  barometer  settled  a 
little.  Toward  noon  it  clouded  up  again,  and  there  were 
squally  appearances  in  the  south-east.  The  phenomenon  of  the 
tide-rips  has  reappeared.  Malay  John  was  in  luck,  again, 
this  morning,  a  covey  of  flying-fish  having  fallen  on  the  deck, 
last  night,  during  the  storm.  He  has  served  me  a  plate  full 
of  them  for  breakfast.  The  largest  of  them  are  about  the  size 
of  a  half-grown  Potomac  herring,  and  they  are  somewhat  sim 
ilar  in  taste  —  being  a  delicate,  but  not  highly  flavored  fish. 

October  14th. —  At  noon,  to-day,  we  plotted  precisely  upon 
the  diagonal  between  St.  Roque  and  New  York ;  our  latitude 
being  8°  31',  and  longitude  46°  56'.  We  now  made  more  sail, 


226  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  on  the  17th  of  October  we  had  reached  the  latitude  of 
11°  37'.  From  this  time,  until  the  22d,  we  had  a  constant 
series  of  bad  weather;  the  barometer  settling  to  29.80,  and  the 
wind  blowing  half  a  gale,  most  of  the  time.  Sometimes  the 
wind  would  go  all  around  the  compass,  and  the  weather 
would  change  half  a  dozen  times,  in  twenty-four  hours.  On 
the  last-mentioned  day,  the  weather  became  again  settled,  and 
being  now  in  latitude  14°,  we  had  passed  out  of  the  calm  belt, 
and  began  to  receive  the  first  breathings  of  the  north-east 
trade-wind. 

On  the  24th,  we  chased  and  hove  to  a  French  brig,  called 
La  Mouche  Noire,  from  Nantes,  bound  for  Martinique.  She 
had  been  out  forty-two  days,  had  no  newspapers  on  board,  and 
had  no  news  to  communicate.  We  boarded  her  under  the 
United  States  flag,  and  when  the  boarding-officer  apologized 
to  the  master  for  the  trouble  we  had  given  him,  in  heaving  him 
to,  in  the  exercise  of  our  belligerent  right  of  search,  he  said, 
with  an  admirable  naivete,  he  had  heard  the  United  States  were 
at  war,  but  he  did  not  recollect  with  whom!  Admirable 
Frenchman!  wonderful  simplicity,  to  care  nothing  about  news 
papers,  and  to  know  nothing  about  wars! 

On  the  25th,  we  overhauled  that  rara  avis  in  mare,  a  Prus 
sian  ship.  The  27th  was  Sunday ;  we  had  a  gentle  breeze 
from  the  north-east,  with  a  smooth  sea,  and  were  enjoying  the  fine 
morning,  with  our  awnings  spread,  scarcely  expecting  to  be 
disturbed,  when  the  cry  of  "Sail  ho!"  again  rang  from  the 
mast-head.  We  had  been  making  preparations  for  Sunday 
muster;  Jack  having  already  taken  down  from  its  hiding- 
place  his  Sunday  hat,  and  adjusted  its  ribbons,  and  now  being 
in  the  act  of  "overhauling"  his  bag,  for  the  " mustering-shirt 
and  trousers."  All  these  preparations  were  at  once  sus 
pended,  the  firemen  were  ordered  below,  there  was  a  passing  to 
and  fro  of  engineers,  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  the  welcome 
black  smoke  came  pouring  out  of  the  Sumter's  chimney. 
Bounding  away  over  the  sea,  we  soon  began  to  raise  the  strange 
sail  from  the  deck.  She  was  a  fore-and-aft  schooner  of  that 
peculiar  model  and  rig  already  described  as  belonging  to  the 
New  Englander,  and  nobody  else,  and  we  felt  certain,  at  once, 
that  we  had  flushed  the  enemy.  The  little  craft  was  "close- 


DUEING     THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        227 

hauled,"  or,  may  be,  she  had  the  wind  a  point  free,  which  was 
her  best  point  of  sailing,  had '  the  whitest  kind  of  cotton  can 
vas,  and  carried  very  taunt  gaff-topsails.  We  found  her  ex 
ceedingly  fast,  and  came  up  with  her  very  slowly.  The  chase 
commenced  at  nine  A.  M.,  and  it  was  three  P.  M.  before  we  were 
near  enough  to  heave  her  to  with  the  accustomed  blank  car 
tridge.  At  the  report  of  our  gun  —  the  Confederate  States  flag 
being  at  our  peak  —  the  little  craft,  which  had  probably  been 
in  an  agony  of  apprehension,  for  some  hours  past,  saw  that  her 
fate  was  sealed,  and  without  further  ado,  put  her  helm  down, 
lowered  her  foresail,  hauled  down  her  flying-jib,  drew  her  jib- 
sheet  over  to  windward  —  and  was  hove  to ;  the  stars  and 
stripes  streaming  out  from  her  main-topmast  head.  Upon 
being  boarded,  she  proved  to  be  the  Daniel  Trowbridge,  of  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  last  from  New  York,  and  bound  to  Deme- 
rara,  in  British  Guiana. 

This  was  a  most  opportune  capture  for  us,  for  the  little  craft 
was  laden  with  an  assorted  cargo  of  provisions,  and  our  own 
provisions  had  been  nearly  exhausted.  With  true  Yankee 
thrift,  she  had  economized  even  the  available  space  on  her  deck, 
and  had  a  number  of  sheep,  geese,  and  pigs,  on  board,  for  the 
Demerara  market.  Another  sail  being  discovered,  almost  at 
the  moment  of  this  capture,  we  hastily  threw  a  prize  crew  on 
board  the  Trowbridge,  and  directing  her  to  follow  us,  sped  off 
in  pursuit  of  the  newly  discovered  sail.  It  was  dark  before 
we  came  up  with  this  second  chase.  She  proved  to  be  an 
English  brigantine,  from  Nova  Scotia,  for  Demerara.  We  now 
stood  back  to  rejoin  our  prize,  and  banking  our  fires,  and  hoist 
ing  a  light  at  the  peak,  the  better  to  enable  the  prize  to  keep 
sight  of  us,  during  the  night,  we  lay  to,  until  daylight.  The 
next  day,  and  the  day  after,  were  busy  days,  on  board  the 
Sumter,  for  we  devoted  both  of  them,  to  getting  on  board  pro 
visions,  from  the  prize.  The  weather  proved  propitious,  the 
breeze  being  gentle,  and  the  sea  smooth.  We  hoisted  out  the 
Tallapoosa  —  our  launch  —  and  employed  her,  and  the  quarter- 
boats — the  gig  included,  for  war  admits  of  little  ceremony  — 
in  transporting  barrels,  bales,  boxes,  and  every  other  conceiv 
able  kind  of  package,  to  the  Sumter.  The  paymaster  was  in 
ecstasy,  for,  upon  examination,  he  found  the  Trowbridge^ s  cargo 


228  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

to  be  all  that  he  could  desire — the  beef,  pork,  canvased  hams; 
ship-bread,  fancy  crackers,  cheese,  flour,  everything  being  of 
the  very  best  quality.  We  were,  indeed,  under  many  obliga 
tions  to  our  Connecticut  friends.  To  get  at  the  cargo,  we  were 
obliged  to  throw  overboard  many  articles,  that  we  had  no  use 
for,  and  treated  old  Ocean  to  a  gayly  painted  fleet  of  Connecticut 
woodenware,  buckets,  foot-tubs,  bath-tubs,  wash-tubs,  churns. 
We  found  the  sheep,  pigs,  and  poultry  in  excellent  condition ; 
and  sending  the  butcher  on  board  each  evening,  we  caused  those 
innocents  to  be  slaughtered,  in  sufficient  numbers  to  supply 
all  hands.  Jack  was  in  his  glory.  He  had  passed  suddenly, 
from  mouldy  and  worm-eaten  bread,  and  the  toughest  and 
leanest  of  "  old  horse,"  to  the  enjoyment  of  all  these  luxuries. 
My  Malayan  steward's  eyes  fairly  danced,  as  he  stowed  away 
in  the  cabin  lockers,  sundry  cans  of  preserved  meats,  lobster, 
milk,  and  fruits.  John  was  a  real  artist,  in  his  line,  and  knew 
the  value  of  such  things  ;  and  as  he  busied  himself,  arranging 
his  luxuries,  on  the  different  shelves,  I  could  hear  him  mutter 
ing  to  himself,  "Dem  Connecticut  mans,  bery  good  mans  —  me 
wish  we  find  him  often."  We  laid  in,  from  the  Trowbridge, 
full  five  months'  provisions,  and  getting  on  board,  from,  her, 
besides,  as  much  of  the  live  stock,  as  we  could  manage  to  take 
care  of,  we  delivered  her  to  the  flames,  on  the  morning  of  the 
30th  of  October.  On  the  same  day,  we  chased,  and  boarded 
the  Danish  brig,  Una,  from  Copenhagen,  bound  to  Santa 
Cruz.  Being  sixty-six  days  out,  she  had  no  news  to  communi 
cate.  We  showed  her  the  United  States  colors,  and  when  she 
arrived,  at  Santa  Cruz,  she  reported  that  she  had  fallen  in  with  a 
Federal  cruiser.  The  brig  Spartan,  which  we  boarded,  a  few 
pages  back,  made  the  same  report,  at  St.  Thomas ;  so  that  the 
enemy's  cruisers,  that  were  in  pursuit  of  us,  had  not,  as  yet, 
the  least  idea  that  we  had  returned  to  the  West  Indies. 

For  the  next  few  days,  we  chased  and  overhauled  a  number 
of  ships,  but  they  were  all  neutral.  The  enemy's  West  India 
trade  seemed  to  have  disappeared  almost  entirely.  Many  of  his 
ships  had  been  laid  up,  in  alarm,  in  his  own  ports,  and  a  num 
ber  of  others  had  found  it  more  to  their  advantage,  to  enter 
the  public  service,  as  transports.  The  Federal  Government 
had  already  entered  upon  that  career  of  corrupt,  and  reckless 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      229 

expenditure  which  has  resulted  in  the  most  gigantic  national 
debt  of  modern  times.  The  entire  value  of  a  ship  was  often 
paid  to  her  owners,  for  a  charter-party,  of  a  few  months  only ; 
the  quartermasters,  commissaries,  and  other  public  swindlers 
frequently  dividing  the  spoils,  with  the  lucky  ship-owners- 
Many  indifferent  vessels  were  sold  to  the  Federal  Navy  Depart 
ment,  at  double,  and  treble  their  value,  and  agencies  to  purchase 
such  ships  were  conferred,  by  the  Secretary,  upon  relatives, 
and  other  inexperienced  favorites.  The  corruptions  of  the 
war,  soon  made  the  war  popular,  with  the  great  mass  of  the 
people.  As  has  been  remarked,  in  a  former  page,  many  of 
these  nouveau-riche  men,  whose  love  of  country,  and  hatred  of 
''rebels"  boiled  over,  in  proportion  as  their  pockets  became 
filled,  had  offered  to  sell  themselves,  and  all  they  possessed,  to  the 
writer,  when  he  was  in  the  New  England  States,  as  a  Confeder 
ate  States  agent.  Powder-mills,  manufactories  of  arms  and 
accoutrements,  foundries  for  the  casting  and  boring  of  cannon 
machines  for  rifling  cannon  — all  were  put  at  his  disposal,  by 
patriotic  Yankees,  on  the  very  eve  of  the  war — for  a  con 
sideration. 

November  2d — Morning,  heavy  clouds,  with  rain,  breaking 
away  partially,  toward  noon,  and  giving  us  some  fitful  sun 
shine.  Sail  ho!  at  early  dawn.  Got  up  steam,  and  chased, 
and  at  7  A.  M.  came  up  with,  and  sent  a  boat  on  board  of 
the  English  brigantine,  Falcon,  from  Halifax,  for  Barbadoes. 
Banked  fires.  Latitude  16°  32';  longtitude  56°  55'.  Wore 
ship  to  the  northward,  at  meridian.  Received  some  news 
papers,  by  the  Falcon,  from  which  we  learn,  that  the  enemy's 
cruiser  Keystone  State,  which,  when  last  heard  from,  was  at 
Barbadoes,  had  gone  to  Trinidad,  in  pursuit  of  us.  At  Trini 
dad,  she  lost  the  trail,  and,  instead  of  pursuing  us  to  Parama 
ribo,  and  Maranham,  turned  back  to  the  westward.  We  learn 
from  the  same  papers,  that  the  enemy's  steam-frigate,  Pow- 
hatan,  Lieutenant  Porter,  with  more  sagacity,  pursued  us 
to  Maranham,  arriving  just  one  week  after  our  departure.  At 
a  subsequent  date,  Lieutenant  —  now  Admiral — Porter's  offi 
cial  report  fell  into  my  hands,  and,  plotting  his  track,  I  found 
that,  on  one  occasion,  we  had  been  within  forty  miles  of  each 
other ;  almost  near  enough,  on  a  still  day,  to  see  each  other's 
smoke. 


230  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

November  3d. —  Weather  fine,  with  a  smooth  sea,  and  a  light 
breeze  from  the  north-east.  A  sail  being  reported  from  the 
mast-head,  we  got  up  steam,  and  chased,  and  upon  coming  near 
enough  to  make  out  the  chase,  found  her  to  be  a  large  steamer. 
We  approached  her,  very  warily,  of  course,  until  it  was  dis 
covered  that  she  was  English,  when  we  altered  our  course,  and 
banked  fires.  Our  live-stock  still  gives  us  fresh  provisions, 
and  the  abundant  supply  of  Irish  potatoes,  that  we  received 
on  board,  at  the  same  time,  is  beginning  to  have  a  very  bene 
ficial  effect,  upon  the  health  of  the  crew — some  scorbutic  symp 
toms  having  previously  appeared. 

Nov.  5th.  —  Weather  fine,  with  the  wind  light  from  the  east 
ward,  and  a  smooth  sea.  At  daylight,  a  sail  was  descried  in 
the  north-e<*3t,  to  which  we  immediately  gave  chase.  Coming 
up  with  her,  about  nine  A.  M.,  we  sent  a  boat  on  board  of  her. 
She  proved  to  be  the  English  brigantine,  Rothsay,  from  Ber- 
bice,  on  the  coast  of  Guiana,  bound  for  Liverpool.  Whilst  we 
had  been  pursuing  the  Rothsay,  a  second  sail  had  been  re 
ported.  We  now  pursued  this  second  sail,  and,  coming  up 
with  her,  found  her  to  be  a  French  brigantine,  called  Le 
Pauvre  Orphelin,  from  St.  Pierre  (in  France)  bound  for  Mar 
tinique.  We  had  scarcely  turned  away  from  the  Orphelin, 
before  a  third  sail  was  announced.  This  latter  sail  was  a 
large  ship,  standing,  close  -  hauled,  to  the  N.  1ST.  W.,  and  we 
chased  her  rather  reluctantly,  as  she  led  us  away  from  our 
intended  course.  She,  too,  proved  to  be  neutral,  being  the 
Plover,  from  Barbadoes,  for  London.  The  Sumter  being,  by 
this  time  out  of  breath,  and  no  more  sails  being  reported,  we 
let  the  steam  go  down,  and  gave  her  a  little  rest.  We  ob 
served,  to-day,  in  latitude  17°  10'  N. ;  the  longitude  being 
59°  06'  W.  We  had  shown  the  United  States  colors  to  all 
these  ships  to  preserve  our  incognito,  as  long  as  possible.  We 
found  them  all  impatient,  at  being  "hove  to,"  and  no  doubt 
many  curses  escaped,  sotto  voce,  against  the  d — d  Yankee,  as 
our  boats  shoved  off,  from  their  sides.  We  observed  that 
none  of  them  saluted  the  venerable  "  old  flag,"  which  was  fly 
ing  at  our  peak,  whereas,  whenever  we  had  shown  the  Con 
federate  flag  to  neutrals,  down  went,  at  once,  the  neutral  flag, 
in  compliment  —  showing  the  estimate,  which  generous  sea- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       231 

men,  the  world  over,  put  upon  this  ruthless  war,  which  the 
strong  were  waging  against  the  weak. 

The  6th  of  November  passed  without  incident.  On  the  7th, 
we  overhauled  three  more  neutral  ships — the  English  schooner 
Weymouth,  from  Weymouth,  in  Nova  Scotia,  for  Martinique ; 
an  English  barque,  which  we  refrained  from  boarding,  as  there 
was  no  mistaking  her  bluff  English  bows,  and  stump  top-gal 
lant  masts ;  and  a  French  brig,  called  the  Fleur  de  Bois,  last 
from  Martinique,  and  bound  for  Bordeaux.  In  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  we  made  the  islands,  first  of  Marie  Galante, 
and  then  of  Guadeloupe,  and  the  Saints.  At  ten  p.  M.,  we 
doubled  the  north  end  of  the  island  of  Dominica,  and,  banking 
our  fires,  ran  off  some  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  the  south-west, 
to  throw  ourselves  in  the  track  of  the  enemy's  vessels,  home 
ward  bound  from  the  Windward  Islands.  The  next  day,  after 
overhauling  an  English  brigantine,  from  Demerara,  for  Yar 
mouth,  we  got  up  steam,  and  ran  for  the  island  of  Martinique 
approaching  the  town  of  St.  Pierre  near  enough,  by  eight  P. 
M.,  to  hear  the  evening  gun-fire.  A  number  of  small  schoon 
ers  and  sail-boats  were  plying  along  the  coast,  and  as  night 
threw  her  mantle  over  the  scene,  the  twinkling  lights  of  the 
town  appeared,  one  by  one,  until  there  was  quite  an  illumina 
tion,  relieved  by  the  sombre  back-ground  of  the  mountain. 
The  Sumter,  as  was  usual  with  her,  when  she  had  no  work  in 
hand,  lay  off,  and  on,  under  sail,  all  night.  The  next  morning 
at  daylight,  we  again  got  up  steam,  and  drawing  in  with  the 
coast,  ran  along  down  it,  near  enough  to  enjoy  its  beautiful 
scenery,  with  its  waving  palms,  fields  of  sugar-cane,  and  pic 
turesque  country  houses,  until  we  reached  the  quiet  little  town 
of  Fort  de  France,  where  we  anchored. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  SUMTER  AT  MARTINIQUE  -  PROCEEDS  FROM  FORT  DE 
•  FRANCE  TO  ST.  PIERRE  -  IS  AN  OBJECT  OF  MUCH  CURI 
OSITY  WITH  THE  ISLANDERS  -  NEWS  OF  THE  ARREST  OF 
MESSRS.  MASON  AND  SLIDELL,  ON  BOARD  THE  BRITISH 
MAIL  STEAMER,  THE  TRENT  -  MR.  SEWARD?S  EXTRAOR 
DINARY  COURSE  ON  THE  OCCASION. 


Sumter  having  sailed  from  Maranham,  on  the  15th  of 
September,  and  arrived  at  Martinique,  on  the  9th  of  No 
vember,  had  been  nearly  two  months  at  sea,  during  all  of  which 
time,  she  had  been  actively  cruising  in  the  track  of  the 
enemy's  commerce.  She  had  overhauled  a  great  many  vessels, 
but,  for  reasons  already  explained,  most  of  these  were  neutral. 
But  the  damage  which  she  did  the  enemy's  commerce,  must 
not  be  estimated  by  the  amount  of  property  actually  destroyed. 
She  had  caused  consternation,  and  alarm  among  the  enemy's 
ship-masters,  and  they  were  making,  as  we  have  seen,  long  and 
circuitous  voyages,  to  avoid  her.  Insurance  had  risen  to  a 
high  rate,  and,  for  want  of  freights,  the  enemy's  ships  —  such 
of  them,  at  least,  as  could  not  purchase  those  lucrative  con 
tracts  from  the  Government,  of  which  I  have  spoken  in  a  for 
mer  page  —  were  beginning  to  be  tied  up,  at  his  wharves, 
where  they  must  rot,  unless  they  could  be  sold,  at  a  sacrifice, 
to  neutrals.  As  a  consequence,  the  little  Sumter  was  denounced, 
without  stint,  by  the  Yankee  press.  She  was  called  a  "  pirate," 
and  other  hard  names,  and  the  most  summary  vengeance  was 
denounced  against  her  commander,  and  all  who  served  under 
him.  Venal  scribblers  asserted  all  kinds  of  falsehoods  con 
cerning  him,  and  the  elegant  pages  of  "Journals  of  Civiliza 
tion  "  pandered  to  the  taste  of  the  "  b'hoys,"  in  the  work-shops, 
by  publishing  malicious  caricatures  of  him.  Even  the  Fed 
eral  Government  denounced  him,  in  grave  state  papers  ;  Mr. 

232 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  233 

Welles,  the  Federal  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  forgetting  his  inter 
national  law,  if  he  ever  knew  any,  and  the  courtesies,  and  pro 
prieties  of  official  speech,  and  taking  up  in  his  "annual 
reports,"  the  refrain  of  "pirate."  This  was  all  very  natural, 
however.  Men  will  cry  aloud,  when  they  are  in  pain,  and,  on 
such  occasions,  above  all  others,  they  will  be  very  apt  to  use 
the  language  that  is  most  natural  to  them — be  it  gentle,  or 
ungentle.  Unfortunately  for  the  Great  Eepublic,  political 
power  has  descended  so  low,  that  the  public  officer,  however 
high  his  station,  must,  of  necessity,  be  little  better  than  the 
b'hoy,  from  whom  he  receives  his  power  of  attorney.  When 
mobs  rule,  gentlemen  must  retire  to  private  life.  Accordingly, 
the  Commander  of  the  .Sumter,  who  had  witnessed  the  facile 
descensus  of  which  he  has  spoken,  was  not  at  all  surprised, 
when  he  received  a  batch  of  late  Northern  newspapers,  at  see 
ing  himself  called  hard  names — whether  by  the  mob  or  offi 
cials.  Knowing  his  late  fellow-citizens  well,  he  knew  that  it 
was  of  no  use  for  them  to 

"Strive  to  expel  strong  nature,  'tis  in  vain; 
With  redoubled  force,  she  will  return  again." 

Immediately  after  anchoring,  in  Fort  de  France,  I  sent  a 
lieutenant  on  shore,  to  call  on  the  Governor,  report  our  arri 
val,  and  ask  for  the  usual  hospitalities  of  the  port, —  these  hos 
pitalities  being,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  such  as  Goldsmith  de 
scribed  as  welcoming  him  at  his  inn,  the  more  cheerfully 
rendered,  for  being  paid  for.  I  directed  my  lieutenant  to  use 
rather  the  language  of  demand — courteously,  of  course — than 
of  petition,  for  I  had  seen  the  French  proclamation  of  neu 
trality,  and  knew  that  I  was  entitled,  under  the  orders  of  the 
Emperor,  to  the  same  treatment,  that  a  Federal  cruiser  might 
receive.  I  called,  the  next  day,  on  the  Governor  myself.  I 
found  him  a  very  affable,  and  agreeable  gentleman.  He  was 
a  rear  admiral,  in  the  French  Navy,  and  bore  the  aristocratic 
name  of  Cond^.  Having  observed  a  large  supply  of  excellent 
coal  in  the  government  dock-yard,  as  I  pulled  in  to  the  land 
ing,  I  proposed  to  his  Excellency  that  he  should  supply  me 
from  that  source,  upon  my  paying  cost,  and  expenses.  He 
declined  doing  this,  but  said  that  I  might  have  free  access  to 


234  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  market,  for  this  and  other  supplies.  Mentioning  that  I  had 
a  number  of  prisoners  on  board,  he  at  once  gave  me  permis 
sion  to  land  them,  provided  the  United  States  Consul,  who 
lived  at  St.  Pierre,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  island, 
would  consent  to  become  responsible  for  their  maintenance 
during  their  stay  in  the  island.  There  being  no  difference  of 
opinion  between  the  Governor  and  myself,  as  to  our  respective 
rights  and  duties,  our  business-matters  were  soon  arranged, 
and  an  agreeable  chat  of  half  an  hour  ensued,  on  general 
topics,  when  I  withdrew,  much  pleased  with  my  visit. 

Keturning  on  board  the  Sumter,  I  dispatched  the  paymaster 
to  St.  Pierre  —  there  was  a  small  passenger-steamer  plying 
between  the  two  ports  —  to  contract  for  coal  and  some  articles 
of  clothing  for  the  crew.  Of  provisions  we  had  plenty,  as  the 
reader  has  seen.  Lieutenant  Chapman  accompanied  him,  and 
I  sent  up,  also,  the  masters  of  the  two  captured  ships,  that 
were  on  board,  that  they  might  see  their  Consul  and  arrange 
for  their  release. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  I  went  on  shore,  with  Mr. 
Guerin,  a  French  gentleman,  who  had  been  educated  in  the 
United  States,  and  who  had  called  on  board  to  see  me,  to  the 
Governor's  mass.  In  this  burning  climate  the  church-hours 
are  early,  and  we  found  ourselves  comfortably  seated  in  our 
pews  as  early  as  eight  o'clock.  The  building  was  spacious 
and  well  ventilated.  The  Governor  and  his  staff  entered 
punctually  at  the  hour,  as  did,  also,  a  detachment  of  troops  — 
the  latter  taking  their  stations,  in  double  lines,  in  the  main 
aiale.  A  military  band  gave  us  excellent  sacred  music  from 
the  choir.  The  whole  service  was  concluded  in  three-quar 
ters  of  an  hour.  The  whites  and  blacks  occupied  pews  pro 
miscuously,  as  at  Paramaribo,  though  there  was  no  social 
admixture  of  races  visible.  1  mean  to  say  that  the  pews  were 
mixed,  though  the  people  were  not  —  each  pew  was  all  white 
or  all  black;  the  mulattoes,  and  others  of  mixed  blood,  being 
counted  as  blacks.  I  returned  on  board  for  "  muster,"  which 
took  place  at  the  usual  hour  of  eleven  o'clock.  Already  the 
ship  was  full  of  visitors,  and  I  was  struck  with  the  absorbed 
attention  with  which  they  witnessed  the  calling  of  the  names 
of  the  crew,  and  the  reading  of  the  articles  of  war  by  the 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       235 

clerk.  They  were  evidently  not  prepared  for  so  interesting 
a  spectacle.  The  officers  were  all  dressed  in  bright  and  new 
uniforms  of  navy  blue  —  we  had  not  yet  been  put  in  gray 
along  with  the  army  —  the  gorgeous  epaulettes  of  the  lieu 
tenants  flashing  in  the  sun;  and  the  midshipmen  rejoicing  in 
their  gold-embroidered  anchors  and  stars.  The  men  attracted 
no  less  attention  than  the  officers,  with  their  lithe  and  active 
forms  and  bronzed  countenances,  heavy,  well-kept  beards,  and 
whitest  of  duck  frocks  and  trousers.  One  of  my  visitors, 
turning  to  me,  after  the  muster  was  over,  said,  pleasantly,  in 
allusion  to  the  denunciations  of  us  by  the  Yankee  news 
papers,  which  he  had  been  reading,  "  Ces  hommes  sont  des 
pirates  bien  polls,  Monsieur  Capitaine" 

In  the  afternoon,  one  watch  of  the  crew  was  permitted  to 
visit  the  shore,  on  liberty.  To  each  seaman  was  given  a  sover 
eign,  for  pocket-money.  They  waked  up  the  echoes  of  the 
quaint  old  town,  drank  dry  all  the  grog-shops,  fagged  out  the 
fiddlers,  with  the  constant  music  that  was  demanded  of  them, 
and  "turned  up  Jack"  generally;  coming  off,  the  next  morn 
ing,  looking  rather  solemn  and  seedy,  and  not  quite  so  polis  as 
when  the  Frenchman  had  seen  them  the  day  before.  The  United 
States  Consul  having  come  down  from  St.  Pierre  to  receive  his 
imprisoned  countrymen,  himself,  I  caused  them  all  —  except 
three  of  them,  who  had  signed  articles  for  service  on  board  the 
Sumter — to  be  parolled  and  sent  on  shore  to  him.  Before 
landing  them,  I  caused  them  to  be  mustered  on  the  quarter 
deck,  and  questioned  them,  in  person,  as  to  the  treatment  they 
had  received  on  board — addressing  myself,  especially,  to  the 
two  masters.  They  replied,  without  exception,  that  they  had 
been  well  treated,  and  thanked  me  for  my  kindness.  From  the 
next  batch  of  Northern  newspapers  I  captured,  I  learned  that 
some  of  these  fellows  had  been  telling  wonderful  stories,  about 
the  hardships  they  had  endured  on  board  the  " pirate  "  jSumter.  It 
will  not  be  very  difficult  for  the  reader,  if  he  have  any  knowl 
edge  of  the  sailor-character,  to  imagine  how  these  falsehoods 
had  been  wheedled  out  of  them.  The  whole  country  of  the 
enemy  was  on  the  qui  vive  for  excitement.  The  Yankee  was 
more  greedy  for  news  than  the  old  Athenian.  The  war  had 
been  a  god-send  for  newspaperdom.  The  more  extraordinary 


236  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

were  the  stories  that  were  told  by  the  venal  and  corrupt  news 
papers,  the  more  greedily  were  they  devoured  by  the  craving 
and  prurient  multitude.  The  consequence  was,  a  race  between 
the  newspaper  reporters  after  the  sensational,  without  the  least 
regard  to  the  truth.  The  moment  a  sailor  landed,  who  had 
been  a  prisoner  on  board  the  Sumter,  he  was  surrounded  by 
these  vampires  of  the  press,  who  drank  him  and  greenbacked 
him  until  parturition  was  comparatively  easy.  The  next  morn 
ing,  the  cry  of  "NEWS  FROM  THE  PIRATE  SUMTER"  rang 
sharp  and  clear  upon  the  streets,  from  the  throats  of  the  news 
boys,  and  Jack  found  himself  a  hero  and  in  print!  He  had 
actually  been  on  board  the  "  pirate,"  and  escaped  to  tell  the 
tale!  More  drinks,  and  more  greenbacks  now  followed  from 
his  admiring  countrymen.  Your  old  salt  has  an  eye  to  fun,  as 
well  as  drinks,  and  when  it  was  noised  about,  among  the  sail 
ors,  that  some  cock-and-a-bull  story  or  other,  about  the  Sumter, 
was  as  good  as  "fractional"  for  drinks,  the  thing  ran  like  wild 
fire,  and  every  sailor  who  landed,  thereafter,  from  that  famous 
craft,  made  his  way  straight  to  a  newspaper  office,  in  quest  of 
a  reporter,  drinks,  and  greenbacks.  Such  is  the  stuff  out  of 
which  a  good  deal  of  the  Yankee  histories  of  the  late  war  will 
be  made. 

My  paymaster,  and  lieutenant  returned,  in  good  time,  from 
St.  Pierre,  and  reported  that  they  had  found  an  abundance  of 
excellent  coal,  at  reasonable  rates,  in  the  market,  but  that  the 
Collector  of  the  Customs  had  interposed,  to  prevent  it  from 
being  sold  to  them.  Knowing  that  this  officer  had  acted  with 
out  authority,  I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Governor,  reminding 
him  of  the  conversation  we  had  had  the  day  before,  and  ask 
ing  him  for  the  necessary  order  to  overrule  the  action  of  his 
subordinate.  My  messenger  brought  back  with  him  the  fol 
lowing  reply : — 

FORT  DE  FRANCE,  November  12,  1861. 
To  THE  CAPTAIN: — 

I  have  the  honor  to  send  you  the  enclosed  letter,  which  I  ask  yon 
to  hand  to  the  Collector  of  Customs,  at  St.  Pierre,  in  which  I  re 
quest  him  to  permit  you  to  embark  freely,  as  much  coal  as  you  wish 
to  purchase,  in  the  market.  *  *  * 

With  the  expression  of  my  highest  regard  for  the  Captain, 

MAUSSION  DE  CONDE. 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      237 

I  remained  a  few  days  longer,  at  Fort  de  France,  for  the  con 
venience  of  watering  ship,  from  the  public  reservoir,  and  to 
enable  the  rest  of  my  crew  to  have  their  run  on  shore.  Unless 
Jack  has  his  periodical  frolic,  he  is  very  apt  to  become  moody, 
and  discontented ;  and  my  sailors  had  now  been  cooped  up,  in 
their  ship,  a  couple  of  months.  This  giving  of  "  liberty "  to 
them  is  a  little  troublesome,  to  be  sure,  as  some  of  them  will 
come  off  drunk,  and  noisy,  and  others,  overstaying  their  time, 
have  to  be  hunted  up,  in  the  grog-shops,  and  other  sailor 
haunts,  and  brought  off  by  force.  My  men  behaved  tolerably 
well,  on  the  present  occasion.  No  complaint  came  to  me  from 
the  shore,  though  a  good  many  "bills,"  for  "nights'  lodgings," 
and  "drinks,"  followed  them  on  board.  Poor  Jack!  how 
strong  upon  him  is  the  thirst  for  drink !  We  had  an  illustra 
tion  of  this,  whilst  we  were  lying  at  Fort  de  France.  It  was 
about  nine  P.  M.,  and  I  was  below  in  my  cabin,  making  prepara 
tions  to  retire.  Presently,  I  heard  a  plunge  into  the  water,  a 
hail,  and  almost  simultaneously,  a  shot  fired  from  one  of  the 
sentinels'  rifles.  The  boatswain's-mate's  whistle  now  sounded, 
as  a  boat  "  was  called  away,"  and  a  rapid  shuffling  of  feet  was 
heard  overhead,  as  the  boat  was  being  lowered.  Upon  reach 
ing  the  deck,  I  found  that  one  of  the  firemen,  who  had  come 
off  from  "  liberty,"  a  little  tight,  had  jumped  overboard,  and, 
in  defiance  of  the  hail,  and  shot  of  the  sentinel,  struck  out, 
lustily,  for  the  shore.  The  moon  was  shining  brightly,  and  an 
amusing  scene  now  occurred.  The  boat  was  in  hot  pursuit, 
and  soon  came  upon  the  swimmer ;  but  the  latter,  who  dived 
like  a  duck,  had  no  notion  of  being  taken.  As  the  boat  would 
come  up  with  him,  and  "  back  all,"  for  the  purpose  of  picking 
him  up,  he  would  dive  under  her  bottom,  and  presently  would 
be  seen,  either  abeam,  or  astern,  "  striking  out,"  like  a  good 
fellow,  again.  By  the  time  the  boat  could  turn,  and  get  head 
way  once  more,  the  swimmer  would  have  some  yards  the  start 
of  her,  and  when  she  again  came  up  with  him,  the  same  tactics 
would  follow.  The  crew,  hearing  what  was  going  on,  had  all 
turned  out  of  their  hammocks,  and  come  on  deck  to  witness 
the  fun ;  and  fun  it  really  was  for  some  minutes,  as  the  doub 
ling,  and  diving,  and  twisting,  and  turning  went  on  —  the  boat 
now  being  sure  she  had  him,  and  now  sure  she  had  n't.  The 


238  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

fellow  finally  escaped,  and  probably  a  more  chop-fallen  boat's 
crew  never  returned  alongside  of  a  ship,  than  was  the  Sumter's 
that  night.  An  officer  was  now  sent  on  shore  in  pursuit  of 
the  fugitive.  He  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  him.  In  half 
an  hour  after  the  performance  of  his  clever  feat,  the  fireman 
was  lying  —  dead  drunk  —  in  one  of  the  cabarets,  in  the  sailor 
quarter  of  the  town.  He  had  had  no  intention  of  deserting, 
but  had  braved  the  sentinel's  bullet,  the  shark  —  which 
abounds  in  these  waters  —  and  discipline  —  all  for  the  sake  of 
a  glass  of  grog  I 

Our  time  was  made  remarkably  pleasant,  during  our  stay ; 
the  inhabitants  showing  us  every  mark  of  respect  and  polite 
ness,  and  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  a»d  of  a  couple  of  small 
French  vessels  of  war,  in  the  port,  extending  to  us  the  cour 
tesies  of  their  clubs,  and  mess-rooms.  I  declined  all  invita 
tions,  myself,  but  my  officers  frequently  dined  on  shore;  and 
on  the  evening  before  our  departure,  they  returned  the  hospi 
talities  of  their  friends,  by  an  elegant  supper  in  the  ward 
room,  at  which  the  festivities  were  kept  up  to  a  late  hour. 
Eiding,  and  breakfast-parties,  in  the  country,  were  frequent, 
and  bright  eyes,  peeping  out  of  pretty  French  bonnets,  shone 
benignantly  upon  my  young  "pirates."  The  war  was  fre 
quently  the  topic  of  conversation,  when  such  expressions  as 
"les  barbares  du  Nordf"  would  escape,  not  unmusically,  from 
the  prettiest  of  pouting  lips.  I  passed  several  agreeable  even 
ings,  at  the  hospitable  mansion  of  my  friend,  Mr.  Guerin,  the 
ladies  of  whose  family  were  accomplished  musicians.  The 
sailor  is,  above  all  others  of  his  sex,  susceptible  of  female  in 
fluences.  The  difference  arises,  naturally,  out  of  his  mode  of 
life,  which  removes  him  so  often,  and  so  long,  from  the  affec 
tions,  and  refinements  of  home.  After  roughing  it,  for  months, 
upon  the  deep,  in  contact  only  with  coarse  male  creatures,  how 
delightful  I  found  it  to  sink  into  a  luxurious  seat,  by  the  side 
of  a  pretty  woman,  and  listen  to  the  sweet  notes  of  her  guitar, 
accompanied  by  the  sweeter  notes,  still,  of  her  voice,  as  she 
warbled,  rather  than  sang  some  lay  of  the  sea. 

In  these  delightful  tropical  climates,  night  is  turned  into 
day.  The  sun,  beating  down  his  fierce  rays  upon  heated  walls 
and  streets,  drives  all  but  the  busy  merchant  and  the  laborer 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        239 

in-doors  during  the  day.  Windows  are  raised,  blinds  closed 
find  all  the  members  of  the  household,  not  compelled  to  exer 
tion,  betake  themselves  to  their  fauteuils,  and  luxurious  ham 
mocks.  Dinner  is  partaken  of  at  five  or  six  o'clock,  in  the 
afternoon.  When  the  sun  goes  down,  and  the  shades  of  even 
ing  begin  to  fall,  and  the  first  gentle  stirring  of  the  trees  and 
shrubbery,  by  the  land  breeze  begins  to  awaken  the  katydid, 
and  the  myriads  of  other  insects,  which  have  been  dozing  in 
the  heat,  the  human  world  is  also  awakened.  The  lazy  beauty 
now  arises  from  her  couch,  and  seeking  her  bath-room,  and 
tire-woman,  begins  to  prepare  for  the  duties  of  the  day.  She  is 
coiffed,  and  arranged  for  conquest,  and  sallies  forth  to  the  Place 
d'Armes,  to  listen  to  the  music  of  the  military  bands,  if  there 
be  no  other  special  entertainment  on  hand.  The  Place  cVArmes 
of  Fort  de  France  is  charmingly  situated,  on  the  very  margin 
of  the  bay,  where,  in  the  intervals  of  the  music,  or  of  the  hum 
of  conversation,  the  ripple  of  the  tide  beats  time,  as  it  breaks 
upon  the  smooth,  pebbly  beach.  Ships  are  anchored  in  front, 
and  far  away  to  the  left,  rises  a  range  of  blue,  and  misty  hills, 
which  are  pointed  out  to  the  stranger,  as  the  birth-place  of  the 
Empress  Josephine.  The  statue  of  the  Empress  also  adorns 
the  grounds,  and  the  inhabitants  are  fond  of  referring  to  her 
history.  I  was  quite  surprised  at  the  throng  that  the  quiet 
little  town  of  Fort  de  France  was  capable  of  turning  out,  upon 
the  Place  dArmes ;  and  even  more  at  the  quality,  than  the 
quantity  of  the  throng.  What  with  military  and  naval  offi 
cers,  in  their  gay  uniforms,  the  multitudes  of  well-dressed 
men  and  women,  the  ecclesiastics  in  the  habits  of  their  several 
orders,  the  flower-girls,  the  venders  of  fruits,  sherbets,  and  ice 
creams — for  the  universal  Yankee  has  invaded  the  colony 
with  his  ice-ships  —  and  the  delightful  music  of  the  bands,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  delightful  place,  in  which  to 
while  away  an  hour. 

Whilst  we  were  still  at  Fort  de  France,  a  rather  startling 
piece  of  intelligence  reached  us.  A  vessel  came  in,  from  St. 
Thomas,  and  brought  the  news,  that  the  English  mail-steamer, 
Trent,  had  arrived  there  from  Havana,  and  reported  that  Messrs. 
Mason  and  Slidell  had  been  forcibly  taken  out  of  her,  by  the 

United  States  steamer,  San  Jacinto,  Captain  Wilkes.     A  few 
16 


240  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

days  afterward,  1  received  a  French  newspaper,  giving  a  de 
tailed  account  of  the  affair.  It  was  indeed  a  very  extraordi 
nary  proceeding,  and  could  not  fail  to  attract  much  attention. 
I  had  known  friend  Wilkes,  in  former  years,  and  gave  him 
credit  for  more  sagacity,  than  this  act  of  his  seemed  to  indi 
cate.  "A  little  learning  is  a  dangerous  thing,"  and  the  Fed 
eral  Captain  had  read,  it  would  seem,  just  enough  of  interna 
tional  law  to  get  himself  into  trouble,  instead  of  keeping  him 
self  out  of  it.  He  had  read  of  "contraband  persons,"  and  of 
"  enemy's  despatches,"  and  how  it  was  prohibited  to  neutrals,  to 
carry  either ;  but  he  had  failed  to  take  notice  of  a  very  impor 
tant  distinction,  to  wit,  that  the  neutral  vessel,  on  the  present 
occasion,  was  bound  from  one  neutral  port  to  another ;  and 
that,  as  between  neutral  ports,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  con 
traband  of  war ;  for  the  simple  reason  that  contraband  of  war 
is  a  person,  or  thing,  going  to,  or  from  an  enemy's  country. 
I  was  glad  to  hear  this  news,  of  course.  The  Great  Eepublic 
would  have  to  stand  up  to  its  work,  and  Great  Britain  would 
be  no  less  bound  to  demand  a  retraxit.  If  things  came  to  a  dead 
lock,  we  might  have  an  ally,  in  the  war,  sooner  than  we  expected. 
It  would  be  a  curious  revolution  of  the  wheel  of  fortune  I 
thought,  to  have  John  Bull  helping  us  to  beat  the  Yankee,  on 
a  point  —  to  wit,  the  right  of  self-government  —  on  which  we 
had  helped  the  Yankee  to  beat  Bull,  less  than  a  century  be 
fore.  I  will  ask  the  reader's  permission,  to  dispose  of  this 
little  quarrel  between  Bull  and  the  Yankee,  to  avoid  the  ne 
cessity  of  again  recurring  to  it ;  although  at  the  expense  of  a 
slight  anachronism. 

When  the  news  of  Wilkes'  exploit  reached  the  United 
States,  the  b'hoys  went  into  ecstasies.  Such  a  shouting,  and 
throwing  up  of  caps  had  never  been  heard  of  before.  The 
multitude,  who  were,  of  course,  incapable  of  reasoning  upon  the 
act,  only  knew  that  England  had  been  bearded  and  insulted ; 
but  that  was  enough.  Their  national  antipathies,  and  their 
ridiculous  self-conceit  had  both  been  pandered  to.  The  news 
papers  were  filled  with  laudatory  editorials,  and  "plate,"  and 
"resolutions."  were  showered  upon  unfortunate  friend  Wilkes, 
without  mercy.  If  he  had  been  an  American  Nelson,  return 
ing  from  an  American  Nile,  or  Trafalgar,  he  could  not  have 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN     THE    STATES.      241 

been  received  with  more  honor.  State  legislatures  bowed 
down  before  him,  and  even  the  American  Congress  —  the 
House  of  Representatives ;  the  Senate  had  not  quite  lost  its 
wits  —  gave  him  a  vote  of  thanks.  It  was  not,  perhaps,  so 
much  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  multitude  should  go  mad, 
with  joy,  for  multitudes,  everywhere,  are  composed  of  unrea 
soning  animals,  but  men,  who  should  have  known  better,  per 
mitted  themselves  to  be  carried  away  by  the  popular  halluci 
nation.  The  Executive  Government  approved  of  Captain 
Wilkes'  conduct  —  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  whose  insane 
hatred  of  England  was  quite  remarkable,  making  haste  to 
write  the  Captain  a  congratulatory  letter.  But  an  awful 
collapse  was  at  hand.  Mr.  Seward,  as  though  he  already 
heard  the  ominous  rumbling  of  the  distant  English  thunder, 
which  was,  anon,  to  break  over  his  head,  in  tones  that  would 
startle  him,  on  the  30th  of  November  —  the  outrage  had  been 
committed  on  the  7th, —  wrote,  as  follows,  to  his  faithful  senti 
nel,  at  the  Court  of  London,  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams. 

"We  have  done  nothing,  on  the  subject,  to  anticipate  the  dis 
cussion,  and  we  have  not  furnished  you  with  any  explanation. 
We  adhere  to  that  course  now,  because  we  think  it  more  prudent, 
that  the  ground  taken  by  the  British  Government  should  be  first 
made  known  to  us,  here.  It  is  proper,  however,  that  you  should 
know  one  fact,  in  the  case,  without  indicating  that  we  attach  much 
importance  to  it,  namely,  that  in  the  capture  of  Messrs.  Mason  and 
Slidell,  on  board  a  British  vessel,  Captain  Wilkes  having  acted 
without  any  instructions  from  the  Government,  the  subject  is 
therefore  free  from  the  embarrassment,  which  might  have  resulted, 
if  the  act  had  been  especially  directed  by  us." 

If  no  "  explanation  "  had  been  thought  of  by  Mr.  Seward, 
up  to  this  time,  it  was  high  time  that  he  was  getting  one  ready, 
for,  on  the  same  day,  on  which  the  above  despatch  was  written, 
Lord  John  Russell,  then  charged  with  the  duties  of  the  foreign 
office,  in  England,  under  the  administration  of  Lord  Palmerston, 
wrote  as  follows,  to  Lord  Lyons,  his  Minister  at  Washington : 

"  Her  Majesty's  Government,  bearing  in  mind  the  friendly  rela 
tions  which  have  long  subsisted  between  Great  Britain,  and  the 
United  States,  are  willing  to  believe,  that  the  United  States  naval 
officer  who  committed  the  aggression,  was  not  acting  in  compli 
ance  with  any  authority  from  his  Government,  or  that,  if  he  con 
ceived  himself  to  be  so  authorized,  he  greatly  misunderstood  the 


242  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

instructions,  which  he  had  received.  For  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  must  be  fully  aware,  that  the  British  Government 
could  not  allow  such  an  affront  to  the  national  honor,  to  pass  with 
out  full  reparation,  and  her  Majesty's  Government  are  unwilling 
to  believe  that  it  could  be  the  deliberate  intention  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  unnecessarily  to  force  into  discussion, 
between  the  two  Governments,  a  question  of  so  grave  a  character,' 
and  with  regard  to  which,  the  whole  British  nation  would  be  sure 
to  entertain  such  unanimity  of  feeling.  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
therefore,  trust  that,  when  this  matter  shall  have  been  brought 
under  the  consideration  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
that  Government  will,  of  its  own  accord,  offer  to  the  British  Gov 
ernment  such  redress  as  alone,  could  satisfy  the  British  nation, 
namely,  the  liberation^  of  the  four  gentlemen  [the  two  Secretaries 
of  Legation  were  also  captured],  and  their  delivery  to  your  lord 
ship,  in  order  that  they  may  again  be  placed  under  British  protec 
tion,  and  a  suitable  apology  for  the  aggression,  which  has  been 
committed.  Should  these  terms  not  be  offered,  by  Mr.  Seward, 
you  will  propose  them  to  him." 

Mr.  Seward  had  no  notion  of  proposing  any  terms  to  Lord 
Lyons.  The  shouts  of  the  b'hoys  had  scarcely  yet  ceased  to 
ring  in  his  ears,  and  it  would  be  an  awkward  step  to  take. 
Besides,  he  could  have  no  terms  to  offer,  for  the  Government 
had.  in  fact,  approved  of  Captain  Wilkes'  act,  through  its  Sec 
retary  of  the  Navy.  The  back  door,  which  Mr.  Seward  inti 
mated  to  Mr.  Adams  was  open  for  retreat,  when  he  told  him, 
that  Captain  Wilkes'  act  had  not  been  authorized  by  the  Gov 
ernment,  was  not  honorably  open,  for  the  act  had  afterward 
been  approved  by  the  Government,  and  this  amounted  to  the 
same  thing.  Later  on  the  same  day  on  which  Earl  Eussell 
wrote  his  despatch  to  Lord  Lyons  he  added  a  postscript  to  it,  as 
follows :  — 

"In  my  previous  despatch  of  this  date,  I  have  instructed  you,  by 
command  of  her  Majesty,  to  make  certain  demands  of  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States.  Should  Mr.  Seward  ask  for  delay,  in 
•order  that  this  grave  and  painful  matter  should  be  deliberately  con 
sidered,  you  will  consent  to  a  delay,  not  exceeding  seven  days.  If, 
at  the  end  of  that  time,  no  answer  is  given,  or  if  any  other  answer 
is  given,  except  that  of  a  compliance  with  the  demands  of  her 
Majesty's  Government,  ydur  lordship  is  instructed  to  leave  Wash 
ington,  with  all  the  members  of  your  legation,  bringing  with  you 
the  archives  of  the  legation,  and  to  repair  immediately  to  London. 
If,  however,  you  should  be  of  opinion  that  the  requirements  of  her 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      243 

Majesty's  Government  are  substantially  complied  with,  you  may 
report  the  facts  to  her  Majesty's  Government,  for  their  considera 
tion,  and  remain  at  your  post,  until  you  receive  further  orders." 

This  was  indeed  bringing  matters  to  a  focus.  Mr.  Seward 
was  required  to  liberate  the  prisoners,  and  make  an  apol 
ogy,  and  that  within  seven  days.  This  was  putting  it  rather 
offensively.  It  is  bad  enough  to  make  a  man  apologize, 
especially,  if  he  has  been  ''blowing"  a  short  while  before,  but 
to  tell  him  that  he  must  do  it  at  once,  that  was,  indeed,  rubbing 
the  humiliation  in.  And  then,  where  was  the  Congress,  and 
the  Massachusetts  legislature,  and  Mr.  Secretary  Welles,  and 
all  the  "plate,"  and  all  the  "resolutions"?  Posterity  will 
wonder,  when  it  comes  to  read  the  elaborate,  and  lengthy  de 
spatch,  which  Mr.  Seward  prepared  on  this  occasion,  how  it  was 
possible  for  him  to  prepare  it  in  seven  days.  But  it  will  won 
der  still  more,  after  having  patiently  waded  through  it,  to  find 
how  little  it  contains.  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of 
giving  a  few  of  its  choicest  paragraphs  to  the  reader.  Do  not 
start !  gentle  reader,  the  paragraphs  will  be  short ;  but  short 
as  they  are,  you  shall  have  the  gist  of  this  seven  days'  labor, 
of  the  American  diplomatist.  David  wrote  seven  penitential 
psalms.  I  wonder  if  Lord  John  Russell  had  a  little  fun  in  his 
eye,  when  he  gave  Mr.  Seward  just  seven  days  for  his  peniten 
tial  performance.  But  to  the  paragraphs.  Mr.  Seward  is 
addressing  himself,  the  reader  will  observe,  to  Lord  Lyons. 
After  stating  the  case,  he  proceeds :  — 

"  Your  lordship  will  now  perceive,  that  the  case  before  us,  in 
stead  of  presenting  a  merely  flagrant  act  of  violence,  on  the  part  of 
Captain  Wilkes,  as  might  well  be  inferred,  from  the  incomplete 
statement  of  it,  that  went  up  to  the  British  Government,  was 
undertaken  as  a  simple,  legal,  and  customary  belligerent  proceeding, 
by  Captain  Wilkes,  to  arrest  and  capture  a  neutral  vessel,  engaged 
in  carrying  contraband  of  war,  for  the  uses  and  benefit  of  the  in 
surgents." 

This  point  was  so  utterly  untenable,  that  it  is  astonishing 
that  Mr.  Seward  should  have  thought  of  defending  it.  If  it 
were  defensible,  he  ought  not  to  have  given  up  the  prisoners, 
or  made  an  apology;  for  the  law  is  clear,  that  contraband  of 


244  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

war  may  be  seized,  and  taken  out  of  a  neutral  vessel,  on  the 
high  seas.  It  was  not  because  contraband  of  war  had  been 
taken  out  of  one  of  their  vessels,  that  Great  Britain  demanded 
an  apology,  but  because  persons,  and  things,  not  contraband  of 
war,  under  the  circumstances  under  which  they  were  found, 
had  been  taken  out.  If  the  Trent  had  been  overhauled  in  the 
act  of  sailing  from  one  of  the  Confederate  ports,  blockaded  or 
not  blockaded,  with  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  and  their  de 
spatches  on  board,  and  the  San  Jancinto  had  taken  them  out  of 
her,  permitting  the  ship  to  proceed  on  her  voyage,  Great  Bri 
tain  would  never  have  thought  of  complaining  —  waiving,  for 
the  sake  of  the  present  argument,  the  diplomatic  character  of 
the  passengers.  And  why  would  she  not  have  complained  ? 
Simply,  because  one  of  her  ships  had  been  found  with  con 
traband  of  war,  on  board,  and  the  least  penalty,  namely,  the 
seizure  of  the  contraband,  that  the  laws  of  war  imposed  upon 
her,  had  been  exacted.  But  her  ship  the  Trent,  neither  having 
sailed  from,  or  being  bound  for  a  Confederate  port,  it  matters 
not  whom,  or  what  she  might  have  on  board,  the  question  of 
contraband  could  not  arise,  at  all;  for,  as  we  have  seen,  it  is 
of  the  essence  of  contraband,  that  the  person,  or  thing  should  be 
going  to,  or  from  an  enemy's  port.  Wilkes'  act  being  utterly 
and  entirely  indefensible,  the  Federal  Government  should  have 
saved  its  honor,  the  moment  the  affair  came  to  its  notice,  by  a 
frank  disavowal  of  it.  But,  as  we  have  seen,  the  b'hoys  had 
shouted;  Mr.  Welles  had  spoken  approvingly;  Congress  had 
resolved  that  their  officer  was  deserving  of  thanks,  and  even 
Mr.  Seward,  himself,  had  gloried  over  the  capture  of  "rebels," 
and  "traitors;"  the  said  "rebels,"  and  "traitors"  having  fre 
quently,  in  former  years,  snubbed,  and  humbled  him  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States.  Hence  the  indecent  language,  in 
which  he  now  spoke  of  them.  The  reader,  having  seen  that 
Mr.  Seward  justified  Captain  Wilkes'  conduct,  as  a  "simple, 
legal,  and  customary  belligerent  proceeding,  to  arrest  and  cap 
ture  a  neutral  vessel  engaged  in  carrying  contraband  of  war, 
for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  insurgents,"  he  will  be  curious 
to  know,  on  what  ground  it  was,  that  Mr.  Seward  based  his 
apology.  This  ground  was  curious  enough.  It  was,  not  that 
Captain  Wilkes  had  gone  too  far,  but  that  he  had  not  gone  far 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      245 

enough.  If,  said  he,  Captain  Wilkes  had  taken  the  Trent  into 
port,  for  adjudication,  instead  of  letting  her  go,  his  justification 
would  be  complete,  and  there  would  be  no  apology  to  make. 
Adjudication  presupposes  something  to  adjudicate;  but  if 
there  was  no  contraband  of  war,  on  board  the  Trent,  what  was 
there  to  adjudicate?  The  British  Government  did  not  com 
plain,  that  the  question  had  not  been  presented  for  adjudica 
tion  to  the  proper  prize  tribunals,  but  that  their  vessel  had 
been  boarded,  and  outraged,  without  there  being  any  grounds 
for  adjudication,  at  all.  If  the  Trent  had  been  taken  into  port, 
a  prize-court  must  have  liberated  the  prisoners.  It  would 
then,  if  not  before,  have  been  apparent,  that  there  was  no 
ground  for  the  seizure.  The  act  still  remaining  to  be  atoned 
for,  what  was  there  to  be  gained,  by  sending  the  vessel  in?  It 
is  not  denied  that,  as  a  rule,  neutrals  are  entitled  to  have  their 
vessels,  when  captured,  sent  in  for  adjudication,  but  Mr. 
Seward  knew,  very  well,  that  no  question  of  this  nature  had 
arisen,  between  the  British  Government  and  himself,  and  he 
was  only  trifling  with  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  when  he 
endeavored  to  turn  the  issue  in  this  direction. 

One  cannot  help  sympathizing  with  a  diplomatist,  who  be 
ing  required  to  eat  a  certain  amount  of  dirt,  gags  at  it,  so  pain 
fully,  and  yet  pretends,  all  the  while,  that  he  really  likes  it,  as 
Mr.  Seward  does  in  the  following  paragraph  :  — 

"I  have  not  been  unaware  that,  in  examining  this  question,  I 
have  fallen  into  an  argument,  for  what  seems  to  be  the  British  side 
of  it,  against  my  own  country  [what  a  deal  of  humiliation  it  would 
have  saved  his  country,  if  he  had  fallen  into  this  train  of  argument, 
before  the  dirt-pie  had  been  presented  to  him].  But  I  am  relieved 
from  all  embarrassment,  on  that  subject.  I  had  hardly  fallen  into 
that  line  of  argument,  when  I  discovered,  that  I  was  really  defend 
ing  and  maintaining,  not  an  exclusively  British  interest,  but  an  old, 
honored,  and  cherished  American  cause,  not  upon  British  authori 
ties,  but  upon  principles  that  constitute  a  large  portion  of  the  dis 
tinctive  policy,  by  which  the  United  States  have  developed  the 
resources  of  a  continent,  and  thus  becoming  a  considerable  mari 
time  power,  have  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  many  nations." 

Like  an  adroit  circus-man,  the  venerable  Federal  Secretary 
of  State  has  now  gotten  upon  the  backs  of  two  ponies.  He 
continues :  — 


246  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  These  principles  were  laid  down,  for  us,  by  James  Madison,  in 
1804  ;  when  Secretary  of  State,  in  the  administration  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  in  instructions  given  to  James  Monroe,  our  minister  to 
England." 

These  instructions  had  relation  to  the  old  dispute,  between 
the  two  Governments,  about  the  impressment  of  seamen  from 
American  ships,  and  were  as  follows:  — 

"  Whenever  property  found  in  a  neutral  vessel  is  supposed  to  be 
liable,  on  any  ground,  to  capture  and  condemnation,  the  rule  in  all 
cases,  is,  that  the  question  shall  not  be  decided  by  the  captor,  but 
be  carried  before  a  legal  tribunal,  where  a  regular  trial  may  be  had, 
and  where  the  captor  himself  is  liable  for  damages,  for  an  abuse  of 
his  power.  Can  it  be  reasonable  then,  or  just,  that  a  belligerent 
commander,  who  is  thus  restricted,  and  thus  responsible,  in  a  case 
of  mere  property,  of  trivial  amount,  should  be  permitted,  without 
recurring  to  any  tribunal,  whatever,  to  examine  the  crew  of  a  neu 
tral  vessel,  to  decide  the  important  question  of  their  respective  alle 
giances,  and  to  carry  that  decision  into  execution,  by  forcing  every 
individual,  he  may  choose,  into  a  service  abhorrent  to  his  feelings, 
cutting  him  off  from  his  most  tender  connections,  exposing  his 
mind  and  person  to  the  most  humiliating  discipline,  and  his  life, 
itself,  to  the  greatest  danger.  Reason,  justice,  and  humanity  unite 
in  protesting  against  so  extravagant  a  proceeding." 

Mr.  Seward  after  thus  quoting,  continues :  — 

"  If  I  decide  this  case  in  favor  of  my  own  Government,  I  must 
disavow  its  most  cherished  principles,  and  reverse,  and  forever 
abandon  its  essential  policy.  The  country  cannot  afford  the  sacri 
fice.  If  I  maintain  these  principles,  and  adhere  to  that  policy,  I 
must  surrender  the  case  itself.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  this 
Government  could  not  deny  the  justice  of  the  claim  presented  to 
us,  in  this  respect,  upon  its  merits.  We  are  asked  to  do  to  the 
British  nation,  just  what  we  have  always  insisted,  all  nations 
ought  to  do  to  us." 

That  is  "  coming  down  with  the  corn,"  now,  handsomely, 
but  in  view  of  the  antecedents  of  the  question,  and  of  the 
"  seven  days' "  pressure  under  which  Mr.  Seward's  despatch 
was  written,  one  cannot  help  pitying  Mr.  Seward.  We  not 
only  pity  him,  but  he  absolutely  surprises  us  by  the  fertility 
of  his  imagination,  in  discovering  any  resemblance  between 
the  Madison  precedent,  and  the  case  he  had  in  hand.  The 
British  Government  was  not  insisting  that  Mr.  Seward  should 
send  the  Trent  in  for  adjudication.  It  did  not  mean  that  there 
should  be  any  adjudication  about  the  matter,  except  such  as  it 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        247 

had  itself  already  passed  upon  the  case.  Had  it  not  said  to  its 
minister,  at  Washington,  "  If,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  no  answer 
is  given,  or,  if  any  other  answer  is  given,  except  that  of  a  com 
pliance  with  the  demands  of  her  Majesty 's  Government,  your  lord 
ship  is  instructed  to  leave  Washington,  &c.  "  ?  To  be  logical, 
Mr.  Seward  should  have  said,  "  Our  officer  having  made  a  mis 
take,  by  doing  a  right  thing,  in  a  wrong  way,  namely,  by  seiz 
ing  contraband  of  war,  on  board  a  neutral  ship,  without  send 
ing  the  ship  in,  for  adjudication,  we  will  send  the  prisoners 
back  to  the  Trent,  if  you  will  send  the  Trent  into  one  of  our 
ports  for  adjudication."  But  Mr.  Seward  knew  better  than  to 
say  any  such  thing,  for  the  simple  reason,  that  this  was  not 
the  thing  which  was  demanded  of  him,  although  he  had  written 
a  lengthy  despatch  to  prove  that  it  was. 

I  was  in  Europe  when  Mr.  Se ward's  despatch  arrived  there. 
Every  one  was  astonished,  both  at  the  paper,  and  the  act  of 
humiliation  performed  by  it.  The  act  needed  not  to  be  hu 
miliating.  A  great  wrong  had  been  done  a  neutral.  It  could 
be  neither  justified,  nor  palliated.  A  statesman,  at  the  head  of 
the  Federal  State  Department,  would  have  made  haste  to  atone 
for  it,  before  any  demand  for  reparation  could  be  made.  To 
pander  to  a  vitiated  public  taste,  and  gain  a  little  temporary 
eclat,  by  appearing  to  beard  the  British  lion,  hoping  that  the 
lion  would  submit,  in  silence  to  the  indignity,  Mr.  Seward 
committed  one  of  those  blunders  which  was  equivalent  to  a 
great  crime,  since  it  humiliated  an  entire  people,  and  put  on 
record  against  them  one  of  those  damaging  pages  that  histo 
rians  cannot,  if  they  would,  forget.  The  following  were  the 
closing  lines  of  this  famous  despatch:  — 

"  The  four  persons  in  question  are  now  held  in  military  custody, 
at  Fort  Warren,  in  the  State  of  Massachusetts.  They  will  be 
cheerfully  liberated.  Your  lordship  will  please  indicate  a  time,  and 
place,  for  receiving  them." 

When  I  read  this  paragraph,  I  experienced  two  sen 
sations —  one,  of  disappointment  at  the  loss  of  an  ally, 
with  whose  aid  we  would  be  sure  to  gain  the  independence 
for  which  we  were  struggling,  and  one,  of  mortification,  that 
an  American  nation  had  been  so  greatly  humbled,  before  an 
European  Power;  for  though  the  Federal  States  were  my 


248  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

enemies,  as  between  them  and  foreign  nations,  I  could  not  but 
feel  something  like  family  attachment.  Whilst  I  would 
humble  them,  and  whip  them  into  a  sense  of  justice  and  decent 
behavior,  myself,  I  was  loth  to  see  strangers  kick  them,  and 
themselves  submit  to  the  kicking. 

So  very  one-sided  was  the  question,  which  Mr.  Seward  had 
permitted  himself  to  argue,  with  so  much  zeal,  and  so  little 
discrimination,  that  all  the  principal  nations  of  Europe  ral 
lied,  as  if  by  common  consent,  to  the  side  of  Great  Britain. 
Russia,  France,  Spain,  and  other  Powers,  all  took  the  same 
view  of  the  case  that  Earl  Eussell  had  done,  and  made  haste, 
through  their  respective  ministers  at  Washington,  so  to  ex 
press  themselves.  I  will  let  France  speak  for  them  all.  The 
reasons  which  influenced  the  action  of  the  French  Government 
are  thus  assigned :  — 

"  The  desire  to  contribute  to  prevent  a  conflict,  perhaps  immi 
nent,  between  two  Powers,  for  which  the  French  Government  is 
animated  with  sentiments  equally  friendly,  and  the  duty  to  uphold, 
for  the  purpose  of  placing  the  right  of  its  own  flag  under  shelter 
from  any  attack,  certain  principles  essential  to  the  security  of  neu 
trals,  have,  after  mature  reflection,  convinced  it,  that  it  could  not, 
under  the  circumstances,  remain  entirely  silent." 

The  French  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs  then  goes  on  to 
examine  the  arguments  which  could  be  set  up  in  defence  of 
the  Federal  Captain,  concluding  as  follows : — 

"  There  remains,  therefore,  to  invoke,  in  explanation  of  their  cap 
ture,  only  the  pretext  that  they  were  the  bearers  of  official  des 
patches  from  the  enemy  ;  but  this  is  the  moment  to  recall  a  circum 
stance,  that  governs  all  this  aifair,  and  which  renders  the  conduct 
of  the  American  cruiser  unjustifiable.  The  Trent  was  not  destined 
to  a  point  belonging  to  one  of  the  belligerents.  .  She  was  carrying  to 
a  neutral  country  her  cargo  and  her  passengers ;  and  moreover,  it 
was  in  a  neutral  port  that  they  were  taken.  The  Cabinet  at  Wash 
ington  could  not,  without  striking  a  blow  at  principles,  which  all 
neutral  nations  are  alike  interested  in  holding  in  respect,  nor  with 
out  taking  the  attitude  of  contradiction  to  its  own  course,  up  to  this 
time,  give  its  approbation  to  the  proceedings  of  the  commander  of 
the  San  Jacinto.  In  this  state  of  things,  it  evidently  should  not, 
according  to  our  views,  hesitate  about  the  determination  to  be 
taken." 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      249 

The  excuse  which  I  have  to  offer  to  the  reader,  for  per 
mitting  so  much  of  my  space  to  be  occupied  with  this  "affair," 
is,  that  it  deeply  interested  every  Confederate  States  naval 
officer,  afloat  at  the  time.  I,  myself,  made  several  pas 
sages,  in  neutral  vessels,  between  neutral  ports,  and  might 
have  been  captured  with  as  much  propriety,  even  when  pass 
ing  from  Dover  to  Calais,  as  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell  had 
been. 

On  the  13th  of  November,  my  water-tanks  being  full,  and  my 
crew  having  all  returned  from  "liberty"  —  none  of  them  hav 
ing  shown  any  disposition  to  desert — we  got  up  steam,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  the  town  of  St.  Pierre,  for  the  purpose  of  coaling ; 
arriving  at  the  early  hour  of  8  A.  M.,  and  anchoring  at  the 
man-of-war  anchorage,  south  of  the  town.  I  immediately  dis 
patched  a  lieutenant  to  call  on  the  military  commandant,  accom 
panied  by  the  paymaster,  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  coaling.  St.  Pierre  was  quite  a  different  place,  from  the 
quiet  old  town  we  had  left.  A  number  of  merchant- ships 
were  anchored  in  the  harbor,  and  there  was  quite  an  air  of  stir, 
and  thrift,  about  the  quays.  Busy  commerce  was  carrying  on 
her  exchanges,  and  with  commerce  there  is  always  life.  There 
were  not  so  many  idle  people  here,  to  be  awakened  from  their 
noon-tide  slumbers,  by  the  katydid,  as  in  Fort  de  France.  A 
number  of  visitors  carne  off,  at  once,  to  see  us;  rumor  having 
preceded  us,  and  blown  the  trumpet  of  our  fame,  much  more 
than  we  deserved.  Among  the  rest,  there  were  several  custom 
house  officers,  but  if  these  had  any  office  of  espionage  to  per 
form,  they  performed  it,  so  delicately,  as  not  to  give  offence. 
Indeed  they  took  pains  to  explain  to  us,  that  they  had  only 
come  on  board  out  of  civility,  and  as  a  mere  matter  of  curi 
osity.  I  never  permit  myself  to  be  out-done  in  politeness,  and 
treated  them  with  all  consideration. 

The  Collector  of  the  Customs  gave  prompt  obedience  to  the 
Governor's  despatch  —  commanding  him  not  to  throw  any  ob 
stacle  in  the  way  of  our  coaling  —  by  withdrawing  the  inter 
dict  of  sale  which  he  had  put  upon  the  coal-merchants;  and 
the  paymaster  returning,  after  a  short  absence,  with  news  that 
he  had  made  satisfactory  arrangements  with  the  said  merchants, 
the  ship  was  warped  up  to  the  coal-depot,  and  some  thirty  tons 


250  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  coal  received,  on  board,  the  same  afternoon.  This  was  very 
satisfactory  progress.  We  sent  down  the  fore-yard,  for  repairs, 
and  the  engineer  finding  some  good  machinists  on  shore,  with 
more  facilities  in  the  way  of  shop,  and  tools,  than  he  had  ex 
pected,  took  some  of  his  own  jobs,  of  which  there  are  always 
more  or  less,  in  a  steamer,  on  shore. 

As  the  sun  dipped  his  broad  red  disk  into  the  sea,  I  landed 
with  my  clerk,  and  we  took  a  delightful  evening  stroll,  along 
one  of  the  country  roads,  leading  to  the  northern  end  of  the 
island,  and  winding,  occasionally,  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
the  beach.  The  air  was  soft,  and  filled  with  perfume,  and  we 
were  much  interested  in  inspecting  the  low- roofed  and  red-tiled 
country  houses,  and  their  half-naked  inmates,  of  all  colors,  that 
presented  themselves,  from  time  to  time,  as  we  strolled  on. 
We  were  here,  as  we  had  been  in  Maranham,  objects  of  much 
curiosity,  and  the  curiosity  was  evinced  in  the  same  way,  re 
spectfully.  Wherever  we  stopped  for  water — for  walking  in 
this  sultry  climate  produces  constant  thirst — the  coolest  "mon 
keys  " — a  sort  of  porous  jug,  or  jar —  and  calabashes,  were  handed 
us,  often  accompanied  by  fruits  and  an  invitation  to  be  seated. 
Fields  of  sugar-cane  stretched  away  on  either  hand,  and  an 
elaborate  cultivation  seemed  everywhere  to  prevail.  The 
island  of  Martinique  is  mountainous,  and  all  mountainous 
countries  are  beautiful,  where  vegetation  abounds.  Within 
the  tropics,  when  the  soil  is  good,  vegetation  runs  riot  in  very 
wantonness ;  and  so  it  did  here.  The  eye  was  constantly  charmed 
with  a  great  variety  of  shade  and  forest  trees,  of  new  and 
beautiful  foliage,  and  with  shrubs,  and  flowers,  without  num 
ber,  ever  forming  new  combinations,  and  new  groups,  as  the 
road  meandered  now  through  a  plane,  and  now  through  a 
rocky  ravine,  up  whose  precipitous  sides  a  goat  could  scarcely 
clamber. 

"  As  the  shades  of  eve  came  slowly  down, 
The  hills  were  clothed  with  deeper  brown," 

and  the  twinkle  of  the  lantern  at  the  Sumter's  peak  denoting 
that  her  Captain  was  out  of  the  ship,  caught  my  eye,  at  one  of 
the  turnings  of  the  road,  and  reminded  me,  that  we  had  wan 
dered  far  enough.  We  retraced  our  steps  just  in  time  to 
escape  a  shower,  and  sat  down,  upon  our  arrival  on  board,  to 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       251 

the  evening's  repast,  which  John  had  prepared  for  us,  with 
appetites  much  invigorated  by  the  exercise.  We  found  the 
market-place,  situated  near  the  ship,  both  upon  landing  and 
returning,  filled  with  a  curious  throng,  gazing  eagerly  upon 
the  Sumter.  This  throng  seemed  never  to  abate  during  our 
stay  —  it  was  the  first  thing  seen  in  the  morning,  and  the  last 
thing  at  night.  The  next  morning,  John  brought  me  off  a 
French  newspaper;  for  St.  Pierre  is  sufficiently  large,  and 
prosperous,  to  indulge  in  a  tri-weekly.  With  true  island  mar 
vel,  a  column  was  devoted  to  the  Sumter,  predicating  of  her, 
many  curious  exploits,  and  cunning  devices  by  means  of 
which  she  had  escaped  from  the  enemy,  of  which  the  little 
craft  had  never  heard,  and  affirming,  as  a  fact  beyond  dispute, 
that  her  Commander  was  a  Frenchman,  he  having  served,  in 
former  years,  as  a  lieutenant  on  board  of  the  French  brig-of- 
war  Mercure!  I  felt  duly  grateful  for  the  compliment,  for  a 
compliment  indeed  it  was,  to  be  claimed  as  a  Frenchman,  by  a 
Frenchman — the  little  foible  of  Gallic  vanity  considered. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

ARRIVAL   AT    ST.    PIERRE   OF   THE  ENEMY?S    STEAM-SLOOP 

IROQUOIS HOW    SHE    VIOLATES    THE    NEUTRALITY    OF 

THE  PORT ARRIVAL  OF  THE  FRENCH  STEAMER-OF-WAR 

ACHERON THE    IROQUOIS    BLOCKADES    THE  SUMTER 

CORRESPONDENCE   WITH    THE    GOVERNOR ESCAPE   OF 

THE    SUMTER. 

MANY  rumors  were  now  afloat  as  to  the  prospective  pre 
sence,  at  Martinique,  of  the  enemy's  ships  of  war.  It 
was  known  that  the  enemy's  steam-sloop,  Iroquois,  Cap 
tain  James  S.  Palmer,  had  been  at  the  island  of  Trinidad, 
on  the  second  of  the  then  current  month  of  November,  whence 
she  had  returned  to  St.  Thomas  —  this  neutral  island  being 
unscrupulously  used  by  the  enemy,  as  a  regular  naval  station, 
at  which  there  was  always  at  anchor  one  or  more  of  his  ships 
of  war,  and  where  he  had  a  coal-depot.  St.  Thomas  was  a  free 
port,  and  an  important  centre  of  trade,  both  for  the  West  India 
Islands  and  the  Spanish  Main,  and  had  the  advantage,  besides, 
of  being  a  general  rendezvous  of  the  mail-steamers  that  plied 
in  those  seas.  One  of  these  steamers,  bound  to  St.  Thomas, 
had  touched  at  Martinique,  soon  after  the  jSumter1s  arrival 
there,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  we  might  expect  the  presence 
of  the  enemy  very  soon.  I  used  every  possible  diligence  to 
avoid  being  blockaded  by  the  enemy,  and  twenty-four  hours 
more  would  have  enabled  me  to  accomplish  my  purpose,  but 
the  Fates  would  have  it  otherwise ;  for  at  about  two  P.  M.,  on 
the  very  next  day  after  the  delightful  evening's  stroll  de 
scribed  in  the  last  chapter,  the  Iroquois  appeared  off  the  north 
end  of  the  island.  She  had  purposely  approached  the  island 
on  the  side  opposite  to  that  on  which  the  town  of  St.  Pierre 
lies,  the  better  to  keep  herself  out  of  sight,  until  the  last  mo 
ment;  and  when  she  did  corne  in  sight,  it  was  ludicrous  to 

252 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  253 

witness  her  appearance.  Her  commander's  idea  seemingly 
was,  that  the  moment  the  Sumter  caught  sight  of  him,  she 
would,  if  he  were  recognized,  immediately  attempt  to  escape. 
Hence  it  was  necessary  to  surprise  her;  and  to  this  end,  he  had 
made  some  most  ludicrous  attempts  to  disguise  his  ship.  The 
Danish  colors  were  flying  from  his  peak,  his  yards  were  hang 
ing,  some  this  way,  some  that,  and  his  guns  had  all  been  run 
in,  and  his  ports  closed.  But  the  finely  proportioned,  taunt, 
saucy-looking  Iroquois,  looked  no  more  like  a  merchant-ship, 
for  this  disguise,  than  a  gay  Lothario  would  look  like  a  saint, 
by  donning  a  cassock.  The  very  disguise  only  made  the  cheat 
more  apparent.  We  caught  sight  of  the  enemy  first.  He  was 
crawling  slowly  from  behind  the  land,  which  had  hidden  him 
from  view,  and  we  could  see  a  number  of  curious  human 
forms,  above  his  rail,  bending  eagerly  in  our  direction.  The 
quarter-deck,  in  particular,  was  filled  with  officers,  and  we  were 
near  enough  to  see  that  some  of  these  had  telescopes  in  their 
hands,  with  which  they  were  scanning  the  shipping  in  the  har 
bor.  We  had  a  small  Confederate  States  flag  flying,  and  it  was 
amusing  to  witness  the  movements  on  board  the  Iroquois,  the 
moment  this  was  discovered.  A  rapid  passing  to  and  fro  of 
officers  was  observable,  as  if  orders  were  being  carried,  in  a 
great  hurry,  and  the  steamer,  which  had  been  hitherto  cau 
tiously  creeping  along,  as  a  stealthy  tiger  might  be  supposed 
to  skirt  a  jungle,  in  which  he  had  scented,  but  not  yet  seen  a 
human  victim,  sprang  forward  under  a  full  head  of  steam.  At 
the  same  moment,  down  came  the  Danish  and  up  went  the 
United  States  flag.  "There  she  comes,  with  a  bone  in  her 
mouth !  "  said  the  old  quartermaster  on  the  look-out ;  and,  no 
doubt,  Captain  Palmer  thought  to  see,  every  moment,  the  little 
Sumter  flying  from  her  anchors.  But  the  Sumter  went  on  coal 
ing,  and  receiving  on  board  some  rum  and  sugar,  as  though  no 
enemy  were  in  sight,  and  at  nine  P.  M.  was  ready  for  sea.  The 
men  were  given  their  hammocks,  as  usual,  and  I  turned  in, 
myself,  at  my  usual  hour,  not  dreaming  that  the  Iroquois  would 
cut  up  such  antics  during  the  night  as  she  did. 

During  the  afternoon,  she  had  run  into  the  harbor, —  without 
anchoring,  however,  —  and  sent  a  boat  on  shore  to  communi 
cate,  probably,  with  her  consul,  and  receive  any  intelligence 


254  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

lie  might  have  to  communicate.  She  then  steamed  off,  seaward, 
a  mile,  or  two,  and  moved  to  and  fro,  in  front  of  the  port  until 
dark.  At  half-past  one  o'clock,  the  officer  of  the  deck  came 
down  in  great  haste,  to  say,  that  the  Iroquois  had  again  entered 
the  harbor,  and  was  steaming  directly  for  us.  I  ordered  him 
to  get  the  men  immediately  to  their  quarters,  and  followed  him 
on  deck,  as  soon  as  I  could  throw  on  a  necessary  garment  or 
two.  In  a  very  few  minutes,  the  battery  had  been  cast  loose, 
the  decks  lighted,  and  the  other  preparations  usual  for  battle 
made.  It  was  moonlight,  and  the  movements  of  the  enemy 
could  be  distinctly  seen.  He  came  along,  under  low  steam, 
but,  so  steadily,  and  aiming  so  directly  for  us,  that  I  could 
not  doubt  it  was  his  intention  to  board  us.  The  men  were 
called  to  "repel  boarders;"  and  for  a  moment  or  two,  a  pin 
might  have  been  heard  to  drop,  on  the  Sumter's  deck,  so  silent 
was  the  harbor,  and  so  still  was  the  scene  on  board  both 
ships.  Presently,  however,  a  couple  of  strokes  on  the  enemy's 
steam  gong  were  heard,  and,  in  a  moment  more,  he  sheered 
a  little,  and  lay  off  our  quarter,  motionless.  It  was  as  though 
a  great  sea-monster  had  crawled  in  under  cover  of  the  night, 
and  was  eying  its  prey,  and  licking  its  chops,  in  anticipation 
of  a  delicious  repast.  After  a  few  minutes  of  apparent  hesita 
tion,  and  doubt,  the  gong  was  again  struck,  and  the  leviathan  — 
for  such  the  Iroquois  appeared  alongside  the  little  Sumter — 
moving  in  a  slow,  and  graceful  curve,  turned,  and  went  back 
whence  it  came.  This  operation,  much  to  my  astonishment, 
was  repeated  several  times  during  the  night.  Captain  Palmer 
was  evidently  in  great  tribulation.  He  had  found  the  hated 
"pirate"  at  last  —  so  called  by  his  own  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  by  his  own  Secretary  of  State.  Captain  Wilkes  had  just 
set  him  a  glorious  example  of  a  disregard  of  neutral  rights ; 
and  the  seven  days'  penitential  psalms  had  not  yet  been  ordered 
to  be  written.  If  a  ship  might  be  violated,  why  not  territory  ? 
Besides,  the  press,  the  press !  a  rabid,  and  infuriate  press  was 
thundering  in  the  ears  of  the  luckless  Federal  Captain. 
Honors  were  before  him,  terrors  behind  him !  But  there 
loomed  up,  high  above  the  Sumter,  the  mountains  of  the 
French  island  of  Martinique.  Nations,  like  individuals,  some 
times  know  whom  to  kick — though  they  have  occasionally  to 


DURING     THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      255 

take  the  kicking  back,  as  we  have  just  seen.  It  might  do, 
doubtless  thought  Captain  Palmer,  to  kick  some  small  power, 
but  France !  there  was  the  rub.  If  the  Sumter  were  only  in 
Bahia,  where  the  Florida  afterward  was,  how  easily  and 
securely  the  kicking  might  be  done  ?  A  gallant  captain,  with 
a  heavy  ship,  might  run  into  her,  cut  her  down  to  the  water's 
edge,  fire  into  her  crew,  struggling  in  the  water,  killing,  and 
wounding,  and  drowning  a  great  many  of  them,  and  bear  off 
his  prize  in  triumph !  And  then,  Mr.  Seward,  if  he  should  be 
called  upon,  not  by  Brazil  alone,  but  by  the  sentiment  of  all 
mankind,  to  make  restitution  of  the  ship,  could  he  not  have 
her  run  into,  by  accident,  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  sunk  ;  and 
would  not  this  be  another  feather  in  his  diplomatic  cap  — 
Yankee  feather  though  it  might  be  ?  What  is  a  diplomat 
fit  for,  unless  he  can  be  a  little  cunning,  upon  occasion? 
The  b'hoys  will  shout  for  him,  if  history  does  not.  The 
reader  need  no  longer  wonder  at  the  "backing  and  filling  "  of  the 
Iroquvis,  around  the  little  Sumter;  or  at  the  sleepless  night 
passed  by  Captain  Palmer. 

The  next  morning,  the  Governor  having  heard  of  what  had 
been  done ;  how,  the  neutral  waters  of  France  had  been  vio 
lated  by  manoeuvre  and  by  menace,  though  the  actual  attack 
had  been  withheld,  sent  up  from  Fort  de  France  the  stearner- 
of-war  Acheron,  Captain  Duchatel,  with  orders  to  Captain 
Palmer,  either  to  anchor,  if  he  desired  to  enter  the  harbor,  or 
to  withdraw  beyond  the  marine  league,  if  it  was  his  object  to 
blockade  the  Sumter  ;  annexing  to  his  anchoring,  if  he  should 
choose  this  alternative,  the  condition  imposed  by  the  laws  of 
nations,  of  giving  the  Sumter  twenty-four  hours  the  start,  in 
case  she  should  desire  to  proceed  to  sea.  Soon  after  the  Ache 
ron  came  to  anchor,  the  Iroquois  herself  ran  in  and  anchored. 
The  French  boat  then  communicated  with  her,  when  she  im 
mediately  hove  up  her  anchor  again!  She  had  committed 
herself  to  the  twenty-four  hours'  rule  the  moment  she  dropped 
her  anchor;  but  being  ignorant  of  the  rule,  she  had  not  hesi 
tated  to  get  her  anchor  again,  the  moment  that  she  was  in 
formed  of  it,  and  to  claim  that  she  was  not  bound  by  her  mis 
take.  I  did  not  insist  upon  the  point.  The  Iroquois  now 
withdrew  beyond  the  marine  league,  by  day,  but,  by  night, 
17 


256  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

invariably  crept  in,  a  mile  or  two  nearer,  fearing  that  she 
might  lose  sight  of  me,  and  that  I  might  thus  be  enabled  to 
escape.  She  kept  up  a  constant  communication,  too,  with  the 
shore,  both  by  means  of  her  own  boats,  and  those  from  the 
shore,  in  violation  of  the  restraints  imposed  upon  her  by  the 
laws  of  nations — these  laws  requiring,  that  if  she  would  com 
municate,  she  must  anchor ;  when,  of  course,  the  twenty-four 
hours'  rule  would  attach.  I  had  written  a  letter  to  the  Gov 
ernor,  informing  him  of  the  conduct  of  Captain  Palmer,  on 
the  first  night  after  his  arrival,  and  claiming  the  neutral 
protection  to  which  I  was  entitled.  His  Excellency  having 
replied  to  this  letter,  through  Captain  Duchatel,  in  a  man 
ner  but  little  satisfactory  to  me.  I  addressed  him,  through 
that  officer,  the  following,  in  rejoinder:  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,") 
ST.  PIERRE,  November  22,  1861.         J 

SIR:  —  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  yesterday, 
in  which  you  communicate  to  me  the  views  of  the  Governor  of 
Martinique,  relative  to  the  protection  of  my  right  of  asylum,  in  the 
waters  of  this  island ;  and  I  regret  to  say,  that  those  views  do  not 
appear  to  me  to  come  up  to  the  requirements  of  the  international 
code.  The  Governor  says,  that  "  it  does  not  enter  into  his  intentions, 
to  exercise  toward  the  Iroquois,  either  by  night,  or  by  day,  so  active 
a  surveillance  as  you  [I]  desire  " ;  and  you  tell  me,  that  I  ought  to 
have  "  confidence  in  the  strict  execution  of  a  promise,  made  by  a  com 
mander  in  the  military  marine  of  the  American  Union,  so  long  as 
he  has  not  shown  to  me  the  evidence  that  this  engagement  has  not 
been  scrupulously  fulfilled."  It  would  appear  from  these  expres 
sions,  that  the  only  protection  I  am  to  receive  against  the  blockade 
of  the  enemy,  is  a  simple  promise  exacted  by  you,  from  that  enemy, 
that  he  will  keep  himself  without  the  marine  league,  the  Gover 
nor,  in  the  meantime,  exercising  no  watch,  by  night  or  by  day,  to 
see  whether  this  promise  is  complied  with.  In  addition  to  the  vio 
lations  of  neutrality  reported  by  me,  yesterday,  I  have,  this  morning, 
to  report,  that  one  of  my  officers  being  on  shore,  in  the  northern 
environs  of  the  town,  last  night,  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock, 
saw  two  boats,  each  pulling  eight  oars,  the  men  dressed  in  dark 
blue  clothing,  with  the  caps  usually  worn  by  the  sailors  of  the 
Federal  Navy,  pulling  quietly  in  toward  the  beach ;  and  that  he 
distinctly  heard  a  conversation,  in  English,  between  them  —  one  of 
them  saying  to  the  other,  "  Look  Harry  !  there  she  is,  I  see  her," — 
in  allusion,  doubtless,  to  this  ship.  These  boats  are  neither  more 
nor  less  than  scout,  or  sentinel  boats,  sent  to  watch  the  movements, 
within  neutral  waters,  of  their  enemy.  Now,  with  all  due  defer 
ence  to  his  Excellency,  I  cannot  see  the  difference  between  the  vio- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      257 

lation  of  the  neutrality  of  these  waters,  by  the  enemy's  boats,  and 
by  his  ship ;  and  if  no  surveillance  is  to  be  exercised,  either  by 
night  or  by  day,  I  am  receiving  very  much  such  protection  as  the 
wolf  would  accord  to  the  lamb. 

It  is  an  act  of  war  for  the  enemy  to  approach  me,  with  his  boats, 
for  the  purpose  of  reconnoissance,  or  watch,  and  especially  during 
the  night,  and  I  have  the  same  right  to  demand  that  he  keep  his 
boats  beyond  the  marine  league,  as  that  he  keep  his  ship,  at  that 
distance.  Nor  am  I  willing  to  rely  upon  his  promise,  that  he  will 
not  infringe  my  rights,  in  this  particular.  If  France  owes  me  pro 
tection,  it  is  her  duty  to  accord  it  to  me,  herself,  and  not  remit  me 
to  the  good  faith,  or  bad  faith,  of  my  enemy;  in  other  words,  I 
respectfully  suggest,  that  it  is  her  duty,  to  exercise  surveillance 
over  her  own  waters,  both  "  by  night,  and  by  day,"  when  one  bel 
ligerent  is  blockading  another,  in  those  waters.  I  have,  therefore, 
respectfully  to  request,  that  you  will  keep  a  watch,  by  means  of 
guard  boats,  at  both  points  of  the  harbor,  to  prevent  a  repetition 
of  the  hostile  act,  which  was  committed  against  me  last  night ;  or 
if  you  will  not  do  this,  that  you  will  permit  me  to  arm  boats,  and 
capture  the  enemy,  when  so  approaching  me.  It  would  seem  quite 
plain,  either  that  I  should  be  protected,  or  be  permitted  to  protect 
myself.  Further:  it  is  in  plain  violation  of  neutrality  for  the  enemy 
to  be  in  daily  communication  with  the  shore,  whether  by  means  of 
his  own  boats,  or  boats  from  the  shore.  If  he  needs  supplies,  it  is 
his  duty  to  come  in  for  them ;  and  if  he  comes  in,  he  must  anchor ; 
and  if  he  anchors,  he  must  accept  the  condition  of  remaining  twenty- 
four  hours  after  my  departure.  It  is  a  mere  subterfuge  for  him  to 
remain  in  the  offing,  and  supply  himself  with  all  he  needs,  besides 
reconnoitring,  me  closely,  by  means  of  his  boats,  and  I  protest 
against  this  act  also.  I  trust  you  will  excuse  me,  for  having  occu 
pied  so  much  of  your  time,  by  so  lengthy  a  communication,  but  I 
deem  it  my  duty  to  place  myself  right,  upon  the  record,  in  this  mat 
ter.  I  shall  seize  an  early  opportunity  to  sail  from  these  waters, 
and  if  I  shall  be  brought  to  a  bloody  conflict,  with  an  enemy,  of 
twice  my  force,  by  means  of  signals  given  to  him,  in  the  waters  of 
France,  either  by  his  own  boats,  or  others,  I  wish  my  Government 
to  know,  that  I  protested  against  the  unfriendly  ground  assumed 
by  the  Governor  of  Martinique,  that  '  it  does  not  enter  into  his 
intentions,  to  exercise  toward  the  froquois,  either  by  night,  or  by 
day,  so  active  a  surveillance  as  you  [I]  desire.' 

MR.  DUCHATEL,  commanding  H.  I.  F.  M's  steamer  Acheron." 

As  the  lawyers  say,  "I  took  nothing  by  my  motion."  with 
Governor  Conde\  The  United  States  were  strong  at  sea,  and 
the  Confederate  States  weak,  and  this  difference  was  sufficient 
to  insure  the  ruling  against  me  of  all  but  the  plainest  points, 
about  which  there  could  be  no  dispute,  either  of  principle,  or 
of  fact.  Whilst  the  Governor  would  probably  have  protected 


258  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

me,  by  force,  if  necessary,  against  an  actual  assault,  by  the  Iro 
quois,  he  had  not  the  moral  courage  to  risk  the  ire  of  his  mas 
ter,  by  offending  the  Great  Kepublic,  on  a  point  about  which 
there  could  be  any  question. 

The  Iroquois  was  very  much  in  earnest  in  endeavoring  to 
capture  me,  and  Captain  Palmer  spent  many  sleepless  nights, 
and  labored  very  zealously  to  accomplish  his  object ;  notwith 
standing  which,  when  my  escape  became  known  to  his  coun 
trymen,  he  had  all  Yankeeland  down  on  him.  It  was  charged, 
among  other  things,  by  one  indignant  Yankee  captain,  that 
Palmer  and  myself  had  been  school-mates,  and  that  treachery 
had  done  the  work.  I  must  do  my  late  opponent  the  justice 
to  say,  that  he  did  all  that  vigilance  and  skill  could  do,  and  a 
great  deal  more,  than  the  laws  of  war  authorized  him  to  do. 
He  made  a  free  use  of  the  neutral  territory,  and  of  his  own 
merchant-ships  that  were  within  its  waters.  He  had  left  St. 
Thomas  in  a  great  hurry,  upon  getting  news  of  the  Sumter, 
without  waiting  to  coal.  In  a  day  or  two  after  his  arrival  at 
St.  Pierre,  he  chartered  a  Yankee  schooner,  and  sent  her  to  St. 
Thomas,  for  a  supply  of  coal ;  and  taking  virtual  possession 
of  another  —  a  small  lumber  schooner,  from  Maine,  that  lay 
discharging  her  cargo,  a  short  distance  from  the  Sumter — he 
used  her  as  a  signal,  and  look-out  ship.  Sending  his  pilot  on 
shore,  he  arranged  with  the  Yankee  master — one  of  your 
long,  lean,  slab-sided  fellows,  that  looked  like  the  planks  he 
handled — a  set  of  signals,  by  which  the  Sumter  was  to  be 
circumvented. 

The  anchorage  of  St.  Pierre  is  a  wide,  open  bay,  with  an 
exit  around  half  the  points  of  the  compass.  The  Iroquois,  as 
she  kept  watch  and  ward  over  the  Sumter,  generally  lay  off 
the  centre  of  this  sheet  of  water.  As  the  Sumter  might  run 
out  either  north  of  her,  or  south  of  her,  it  was  highly  impor 
tant  that  the  Iroquois  should  know,  as  promptly  as  possible, 
which  of  the  passages  the  little  craft  intended  to  take.  To 
this  end,  the  signals  were  arranged.  Certain  lights  were  to 
be  exhibited,  in  certain  positions,  on  board  the  Yankee 
schooner,  to  indicate  to  her  consort,  that  the  Sumter  was 
under  way,  and  the  course  she  was  running.  I  knew  nothing, 
positively,  of  this  arrangement.  I  only  knew  that  the  pilot 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.      259 

of  the  Iroquois  had  frequently  been  seen  on  board  the  Yankee. 
To  the  mind  of  a  seaman,  the  rest  followed,  as  a  matter  of 
course.  I  could  not  know  what  the  precise  signals  were,  but 
I  knew  what  signals  I  should  require  to  be  made  to  me,  if  I 
were  in  Captain  Palmer's  place.  As  the  sequel  will  prove,  I 
judged  correctly. 

I  now  communicated  my  suspicions  to  the  Governor,  and 
requested  him  to  have  a  guard  stationed  near  the  schooner, 
to  prevent  this  contemplated  breach  of  neutrality.  But  the 
Governor  paid  no  more  attention  to  this  complaint,  than  to 
the  others  I  had  made.  It  was  quite  evident  that  I  must  ex 
pect  to  take  care  of  myself,  without  the  exercise  of  any  sur 
veillance,  "by  night  or  by  day,"  by  Monsieur  Conde.  This 
being  the  case,  I  bethought  myself  of  turning  the  enemy's 
signals  to  my  own  account,  and  the  reader  will  see,  by  and 
by,  how  this  was  accomplished. 

In  the  meantime,  the  plot  was  thickening,  and  becoming 
very  interesting,  as  well  to  the  islanders,  as  to  ourselves.  Not 
only  was  the  town  agog,  but  the  simple  country  people,  hav 
ing  heard  what  was  going  on,  and  that  a  naval  combat  was 
expected,  came  in,  in  great  numbers,  to  see  the  show.  The 
crowd  increased,  daily,  in  the  market-place,  and  it  was  won 
derful  to  witness  the  patience  of  these  people.  They  would 
come  down  to  the  beach,  and  gaze  at  us  for  hours,  together, 
seeming  never  to  grow  weary  of  the  sight.  Two  parties  were 
formed,  the  Sumter  party,  and  the  Iroquois  party ;  the  former 
composed  of  the  whites,  with  a  small  sprinkling  of  blacks ; 
the  latter  of  the  blacks,  with  a  small  sprinkling  of  whites. 
The  Governor,  himself,  came  up  from  Fort  de  France,  in  a 
little  sail- schooner  of  war,  which  he  used  as  a  yacht.  The 
Mayor,  and  sundry  councilmen,  came  off  to  see  me,  and  talk 
over  the  crisis.  The  young  men  boarded  me  in  scores,  and 
volunteered  to  help  me  whip  the  barbare.  I  had  no  thought 
of  fighting,  but  of  running ;  but  of  course  I  did  not  tell  them  so 
—  I  should  have  lost  the  French  nationality,  they  had  con 
ferred  upon  me. 

The  Iroquois  had  arrived,  on  the  14th  of  November.  It  was 
now  the  23d,  and  I  had  waited  all  this  time,  for  a  dark  night ; 
the  moon  not  only  persisting  in  shining,  but  the  stars  looking, 


260  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  thought,  unusually  bright.  Yenus  was  still  three  hours 
high,  at  sunset,  and  looked  provokingly  beautiful,  and  bril 
liant,  shedding  as  much  light  as  a  miniature  moon.  To-night 
— the  23d — the  moon  would  not  rise  until  seven  minutes  past 
eleven,  and  this  would  be  ample  time,  in  which  to  escape,  or 
be  captured.  I  had  some  anxiety  about  the  weather,  however, 
independently  of  the  phase  of  the  moon,  as  in  this  climate  of 
the  gods,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  dark  night,  if  the  sky  be 
clear.  The  morning  of  the  28d  of  November  dawned  pro 
vokingly  clear.  It  clouded  a  little  toward  noon,  but,  long 
before  sunset,  the  clouds  had  blown  off,  and  the  afternoon  be 
came  as  bright,  and  beautiful,  as  the  most  ardent  lover  of 
nature  in  her  smiling  moods,  could  desire.  But  time  pressed, 
and  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  be  moving.  Messengers 
had  been  sent  hither,  and  thither,  by  the  enemy,  to  hunt  up  a 
reinforcement  of  gun-boats,  and  if  several  of  these  should  ar 
rive,  escape  would  be  almost  out  of  the  question.  Fortune 
had  favored  us,  thus  far,  but  we  must  now  help  ourselves. 
The  Iroquois  was  not  only  twice  as  heavy  as  the  Sumter,  in 
men,  and  metal,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  but  she  had  as  much 
as  two  or  three  knots,  the  hour,  the  speed  of  her.  We  must 
escape,  if  at  all,  unseen  of  the  enemy,  and  as  the  latter  drew 
close  in  with  the  harbor,  every  night,  in  fraud  of  the  promise 
he  had  made,  and  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  war,  this  would 
be  difficult  to  do.  Eunning  all  these  reasons  rapidly  through 
my  mind,  I  resolved  to  make  the  attempt,  without  further 
delay. 

I  gave  orders  to  the  first  lieutenant,  to  see  that  every  person 
belonging  to  the  ship  was  on  board,  at  sundown,  and  directed 
him  to  make  all  the  necessary  preparations  for  getting  his  anchor, 
and  putting  the  ship  under  steam,  at  eight  p.  M.  —  the  hour 
of  gun-fire ;  the  gun  at  the  garrison  to  be  the  signal  for  mov 
ing.  The  ship  was  put  in  her  best  sailing  trim,  by  removing 
some  barrels  of  wet  provisions  aft,  on  the  quarter-deck ;  use 
less  spars  were  sent  down  from  aloft,  and  the  sails  all  "mended," 
that  is,  snugly  furled.  Every  man  was  assigned  his  station,  and 
the  crew  were  all  to  be  at  quarters,  a  few  minutes  before  the 
appointed  hour  of  moving.  I  well  recollect  the  tout  ensemble 
of  that  scene.  The  waters  of  the  bay  were  of  glassy  smooth- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      261 

ness.  The  sun  had  gone  down  in  a  sky  so  clear,  that  there  was 
not  a  cloud  to  make  a  bank  of  violets,  or  a  golden  pyramid  of. 
Twilight  had  come  and  gone ;  the  insects  were  in  full  chorus  — 
we  were  lying  within  a  hundred  yards  of  the  shore  —  and  night, 
friendly,  and  at  the  same  time  unfriendly,  had  thrown  no  more 
than  a  semi-transparent  mantle  over  the  face  of  nature. 

The  market-place,  as  though  it  had  some  secret  sympathy 
with  what  was  to  happen,  was  more  densely  thronged  than 
ever,  the  hum  of  voices  being  quite  audible.  The  muffled 
windlass  on  board  the  Sumter  was  quietly  heaving  up  her  an 
chor.  It  is  already  up,  and  the  "  cat  hooked,"  and  the  men 
"  walking  away  with  the  cat."  The  engineer  is  standing,  lever 
in  hand,  ready  to  start  the  engine,  and  a  seaman,  with  an 
uplifted  axe,  is  standing  near  the  taffarel,  to  cut  the  sternfast. 
One  minute  more  and  the  gun  will  fire !  Every  one  is  listen 
ing  eagerly  for  the  sound.  The  Iroquois  is  quite  visible,  through 
our  glasses,  watching  for  the  Sumter,  like  the  spider  for  the 
fly.  A  flash  !  and  the  almost  simultaneous  boom  of  the  eight 
o'clock  gun,  and,  without  one  word  being  uttered  on  board  the 
Sumter,  the  axe  descends  upon  the  fast,  the  engineer's  lever  is 
turned,  and  the  ship  bounds  forward,  under  a  full  head  of 
steam. 

A  prolonged,  and  deafening  cheer  at  once  arose  from  the 
assembled  multitude,  in  the  market-place.  Skilful  and  trusty 
helmsmen,  under  the  direction  of  the  "master,"  bring  the  Sum- 
ter's  head  around  to  the  south,  where  they  hold  it,  so  steadily, 
that  she  does  not  swerve  a  hair's  breadth.  There  is  not  a  light 
visible  on  board.  The  lantern  in  the  captain's  cabin  has  a 
jacket  on  it,  and  even  the  binnacle  is  screened,  so  that  no  one 
but  the  old  quartermaster  at  the  "  con "  can  see  the  light,  or 
the  compass.  The  French  steamer-of-war,  Acheron,  lay  almost 
directly  in  our  course,  and,  as  we  bounded  past  her,  nearly 
grazing  her  guns,  officers  and  men  rushed  to  the  side,  and  in 
momentary  forgetfulness  of  their  neutrality,  waved  hats  and 
hands  at  us.  As  the  reader  may  suppose,  I  had  stationed  a 
quick- sighted  and  active  young  officer,  to  look  out  for  the  sig« 
nals,  which  I  knew  the  Yankee  schooner  was  to  make.  This 
young  officer  now  came  running  aft  to  me,  and  said,  "I  see 
them,  sir!  I  see  them  ! — look,  sir,  there  are  two  red  lights,  one 


262  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

above  the  other,  at  the  Yankee  schooner's  mast-head."  Sure 
enough,  there  were  the  lights ;  and  I  knew  as  well  as  the 
exhibitor  of  them,  what  they  meant  to  say  to  the  Iroquois,  viz. : 
"  Look  out  for  the  Sumter,  she  is  under  way,  standing  south  1 " 

I  ran  a  few  hundred  yards  farther,  on  my  present  course, 
and  then  stopped.  The  island  of  Martinique  is  mountainous, 
and  near  the  south  end  of  the  town,  where  I  now  was,  the 
mountains  run  abruptly  into  the  sea,  and  cast  quite  a  shadow 
upon  the  waters,  for  some  distance  out.  I  had  the  advantage 
of  operating  within  this  shadow.  I  now  directed  my  glass 
toward  the  Iroquois.  I  have  said  that  Captain  Palmer  was 
anxious  to  catch  me,  and  judging  by  the  speed  which  the  Iro 
quois  was  now  making,  toward  the  south,  in  obedience  to  her 
signals,  his  anxiety  had  not  been  at  all  abated  by  his  patient 
watching  of  nine  days.  I  now  did,  what  poor  Reynard  some 
times  does,  when  he  is  hard  pressed  by  the  hounds  —  I  doubled. 
Whilst  the  Iroquois  was  driving,  like  mad,  under  all  steam,  for 

the  south,  wondering,  no  doubt,  at  every  step,  what  the  d 1 

had  become  of  the  Sumter,  this  little  craft  was  doing  her  level- 
best,  for  the  north  end  of  the  island.  It  is  safe  to  say,  that, 
the  next  morning,  the  two  vessels  were  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  apart !  Poor  Palmer !  he,  no  doubt,  looked  haggard 
and  careworn,  when  his  steward  handed  him  his  dressing- 
gown,  and  called  him  for  breakfast  on  the  24th  of  November ; 
the  yell  of  Action's  hounds  must  have  sounded  awfully  dis 
tinct  in  his  ears.  I  was  duly  thankful  to  the  slab-sided  lum 
berman,  and  to  Governor  Conde — the  one  for  violating,  and 
the  other  for  permitting  the  violation  of  the  neutral  waters  of 
France — the  signals  were  of  vast  service  to  me. 

Various  little  contre-temps  occurred  on  board  the  Sumter,  on 
this  night's  run.  We  were  obliged  to  stop  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
precious  minutes,  opposite  the  very  town,  as  we  were  retracing 
our  steps  to  the  northward,  to  permit  the  engineer  to  cool  the 
bearings  of  his  shaft,  which  had  become  heated  by  a  little 
eccentricity  of  movement.  And  poor  D.,  a  hitherto-favorite 
quartermaster,  lost  his  prestige,  entirely,  with  the  crew,  on  this 
night.  D.  had  been  famous  for  his  sharp  sight.  It  was,  in 
deed,  wonderful.  When  nobody  else  in  the  ship?could  "  make 
out "  a  distant  sail,  D.  was  always  sent  aloft,  glass  in  hand,  to 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       263 

tell  us  all  about  her.  As  a  matter  of  course,  when  the  ques 
tion  came  to  be  discussed,  as  to  who  the  look-out  should  be, 
on  the  occasion  of  running  by  the  enemy,  I  thought  of  D.  He 
was,  accordingly,  stationed  on  the  forecastle,  with  the  best 
night-glass  in  the  ship.  Poor  D. !  if  he  saw  one  Iroquois,  that 
night,  he  must  have  seen  fifty.  Once,  he  reported  her  lying 
right  "  athwart  our  fore-foot,"  and  I  even  stopped  the  engine, 
on  his  report,  and  went  forward,  myself,  to  look  for  her.  She 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen.  Now  she  was  bearing  down  upon 
our  bow,  and  now  upon  our  quarter.  I  was  obliged  to  degrade 
him,  in  the  first  ten  minutes  of  the  run ;  and,  from  that  time, 
onward,  he  never  heard  the  last  of  the  Iroquois.  The  young 
foretop-rnen,  in  particular,  whose  duty  it  was  to  take  the  regular 
look-out  aloft,  and  who  had  become  jealous  of  his  being  sent 
up  to  their  stations,  so  often,  to  make  out  sails,  which  they 
could  give  no  account  of,  were  never  tired  of  poking  fun  at 
him,  and  asking  him  about  the  Iroquois. 

The  first  half  hour's  run  was  a  very  anxious  one  for  us, 
as  the  reader  may  suppose.  We  could  not  know,  of  course, 
at  what  moment  the  Iroquois,  becoming  sensible  of  her  error, 
might  retrace  her  steps.  It  was  a  marvel,  indeed,  that  she  had 
not  seen  us.  Our  chimney  was  vomiting  forth  dense  volumes 
of  black  smoke,  that  ought  to  have  betrayed  us,  even  if  our  hull 
had  been  invisible.  I  was  quite  relieved,  therefore,  as  I  saw 
the  lights  of  the  town  fading,  gradually,  in  the  distance,  and 
no  pursuer  near;  and  when  a  friendly  rain  squall  overtook  us, 
and  enveloping  us  in  its  folds,  travelled  along  with  us,  for 
some  distance,  I  felt  assured  that  our  run  had  been  a  success. 
Coming  up  with  the  south  end  of  the  island  of  Dominica,  we 
hauled  in  for  the  coast,  and  ran  along  it,  at  a  distance  of  four 
or  five  miles.  It  was  now  half-past  eleven,  and  the  moon  had 
risen.  The  sea  continued  smooth,  and  nothing  could  exceed 
the  beauty  of  that  night-scene,  as  we  ran  along  this  picturesque 
coast.  The  chief  feature  of  the  landscape  was  its  weird-like 
expression,  and  aspect  of  most  profound  repose.  Mountain, 
hill,  and  valley  lay  slumbering  in  the  moonlight;  no  living 
thing,  except  ourselves,  and  now  and  then,  a  coasting  vessel 
close  in  with  the  land,  that  seemed  also  to  be  asleep,  being 
Been.  Even  the  town  of  Rousseau,  whose  white  walls  we  could 


264  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

see  shimmering  in  the  moonlight,  seemed  more  like  a  city  of 
the  dead,  than  of  the  living.  Not  a  solitary  light  twinkled 
from  a  window.  To  add  to  the  illusion,  wreaths  of  mist  lay 
upon  the  mountain-sides,  and  overhung  the  valleys,  almost  as 
white,  and  solemn  looking  as  winding-sheets. 

We  came  up  with  the  north  end  of  Dominica,  at  about  two 
A.  M.,  and  a  notable  change  now  took  place,  in  the  weather. 
Dense,  black  clouds  rolled  up,  from  every  direction,  and  amid 
the  crashing,  and  rattling  of  thunder,  and  rapid,  and  blinding 
lightning,  the  rain  began  to  fall  in  torrents.  I  desired  to 
double  the  north  end  of  the  island,  and  to  enable  me  to  do  this, 
I  endeavored,  in  sea  phrase,  to  "hold  on  to  the  land."  The 
weather  was  so  thick,  and  dark,  at  times,  that  we  could  scarcely 
see  the  length  of  the  ship,  and  we  were  obliged  often  to  slow 
down,  and  even  stop  the  engine.  For  an  hour  or  two,  we 
literally  groped  our  way,  like  a  blind  man;  an  occasional  flash 
of  lightning  being  our  only  guide.  Presently  the  water  began 
to  whiten,  and  we  were  startled  to  find  that  we  were  running 
on  shore,  in  Prince  Rupert's  Bay,  instead  of  having  doubled 
the  end  of  the  island,  as  we  had  supposed.  We  hauled  out  in  a 
hurry.  It  was  broad  daylight,  before  we  were  through  the 
passage,  when  we  were  struck  by  a  strong  northeaster,  blow 
ing  almost  a  gale.  I  now  drew  aft  the  try-sail  sheets,  and 
heading  the  ship  to  the  N.  1ST.  W.,  went  below  and  turned  in, 
after,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  an  eventful  night.  The  sailor 
has  one  advantage  over  the  soldier.  He  has  always  a  dry 
hammock,  and  a  comfortable  roof  over  his  head;  and  the 
reader  may  imagine  how  I  enjoyed  both  of  these  luxuries,  as 
stripping  off  my  wet  clothing,  I  consigned  my  weary  head  to 
my  pillow,  and  permitted  myself  to  be  sung  to  sleep  by  the 
lullaby  chanted  by  the  storm. 

We  learned  from  the  Yankee  papers,  subsequently  captured, 
that  the  Dacolah,  one  of  the  enemy's  fast  steam-sloops,  of  the 
class  of  the  Iroquois,  arrived  at  St.  Pierre,  the  day  after  we 
"left" — time  enough  to  condole  with  her  consort,  on  the  un 
toward  event.  In  due  time,  Captain  Palmer  was  deprived  of 
his  command — the  Naval  Department  of  the  Federal  Grovern- 
inent  obeying  the  insane  clamors  of  the  "unwashed,"  as  often 
as  heads  were  called  for. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     265 

The  day  after  our  escape  from  Martinique  was  Sunday,  and 
we  made  it,  emphatically,  a  day  of  rest  —  even  the  Sunday 
muster  being  omitted,  in  consideration  of  the  crew  having 
been  kept  up  nearly  all  the  preceding  night.  I  slept  late, 
nothing  having  been  seen  to  render  it  necessary  to  call  me. 
When  I  came  on  deck,  the  weather  still  looked  angry,  with  a 
dense  bank  of  rain-clouds  hanging  over  the  islands  we  had 
left,  and  the  stiff  northeaster  blowing  as  freshly  as  before. 
We  were  now  running  by  the  island  of  Deseada,  distant  about 
ten  miles.  At  noon  we  observed  in  latitude  16°  12',  and,  dur 
ing  the  day,  we  showed  the  French  colors  to  a  French  bark, 
running  for  Guadeloupe,  and  to  a  Swedish  brig  standing  in  for 
the  islands.  Being  in  the  track  of  commerce,  and  the  night 
being  dark,  we  carried,  for  the  first  time,  our  side-lights,  to 
guard  against  collision.  It  was  a  delightful  sensation  to  breathe 
the  free  air  of  heaven,  and  to  feel  the  roll  of  the  sea  once  more ; 
and  as  I  sat  that  evening,  in  the  midst  of  my  officers,  and 
smoked  my  accustomed  cigar,  I  realized  the  sense  of  freedom, 
expressed  by  the  poet,  in  the  couplet, — 

"  Far  as  the  breeze  can  bear,  the  billow  foam, 
Survey  our  empire,  and  behold  our  home! " 

We  had  no  occasion,  here,  to  discuss  jurisdictions,  or  talk 
about  marine  leagues;  or  be  bothered  by  Iroquois,  or  bam 
boozled  by  French  governors. 

Monday,  November  25th. —  Morning  clear,  with  trade-clouds 
and  a  fresh  breeze.  We  are  still  holding  on  to  our  steam,  and 
are  pushing  our  way  to  the  eastward ;  my  intention  being  to 
cross  the  Atlantic,  and  see  what  can  be  accomplished  in  Euro 
pean  waters.  We  may  be  able  to  exchange  the  Sumter  for  a 
better  ship.  At  seven,  this  morning,  we  gave  chase  to  a 
Yankee-looking  hermaphrodite  brig.  We  showed  her  the 
United  States  colors,  and  were  disappointed  to  see  her  hoist 
the  English  red  in  reply.  In  the  afternoon,  a  large  ship  was 
descried  running  down  in  our  direction.  When  she  approached 
sufficiently  near,  we  hoisted  again  the  United  States  colors, 
and  hove  her  to  with  a  gun.  As  she  rounded  to  the  wind,  in 
obedience  to  the  signal,  the  stars  and  stripes  were  run  up  to 
her  peak.  The  wind  was  blowing  quite  fresh,  but  the  master 
and  his  papers  were  soon  brought  on  board,  when  it  appeared 


266  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

that  our  prize  was  the  ship  Montmorency,  of  Bath,  Maine,  from 
Newport,  in  Wales,  and  bound  to  St.  Thomas,  with  a  cargo  of 
coal,  for  the  English  mail-steamers  rendezvousing  at  that 
island.  Her  cargo  being  properly  documented,  as  English 
property,  we  could  not  destroy  her,  but  put  her  under  a  ransom 
bond,  for  her  supposed  value,  and  released  her.  We  received 
on  board  from  her,  however,  some  cordage  and  paints ;  and 
Captain  Brown  was  civil  enough  to  send  me  on  board,  with  his 
compliments,  some  bottles  of  port  wine  and  a  box  of  excellent 
cigars.  The  master  and  crew  were  parolled,  not  to  serve 
against  the  Confederate  States  during  the  war,  unless  ex 
changed. 

I  began,  now,  to  find  that  the  Yankee  masters,  mates,  and 
sailors  rather  liked  being  parolled ;  they  would  sometimes  re 
mind  us  of  it,  if  they  thought  we  were  in  danger  of  forgetting 
it.  It  saved  them  from  being  conscripted,  unless  the  enemy 
was  willing  first  to  exchange  them;  and  nothing  went  so  hard 
with  the  enemy  as  to  exchange  a  prisoner.  With  cold-blooded 
cruelty,  the  enemy  had  already  counted  his  chances  of  success, 
as  based  upon  the  relative  numbers  of  the  two  combatants,  and 
found  that,  by  killing  a  given  number  of  our  prisoners  by  long 
confinement  —  the  same  number  of  his  being  killed  by  us,  by 
the  same  process — he  could  beat  us!  In  pursuance  of  this 
diabolical  policy,  he  threw  every  possible  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  exchanges,  and  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  war  put  a 
stop  to  them  nearly  entirely.  Our  prisons  were  crowded  with 
his  captured  soldiers.  We  were  hard  pressed  for  provisions, 
and  found  it  difficult  to  feed  them,  and  we  were  even  destitute 
of  medicines  and  hospital  stores,  owing  to  the  barbarous  nature 
of  the  war  that  was  being  made  upon  us.  Not  even  a  bottle 
of  quinine  or  an  ounce  of  calomel  was  allowed  to  cross  the 
border,  if  the  enemy  could  prevent  it.  With  a  full  knowledge 
of  these  facts,  he  permitted  his  soldiers  to  sigh  and  weep  away 
their  lives  in  a  hopeless  captivity — coolly  "calculating,"  that 
one  Confederate  life  was  worth,  when  weighed  in  the  balance 
of  final  success,  from  three  to  four  of  the  lives  of  his  own  men  1 

The  enemy,  since  the  war,  has  become  alarmed  at  the  atro 
city  of  his  conduct,  and  at  the  judgment  which  posterity  will 
be  likely  to  pass  upon  it,  and  has  set  himself  at  work,  to  fal- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      267 

sify  history,  with  his  usual  disregard  of  truth.  Committees 
have  been  raised,  in  the  Federal  Congress,  composed  of  un 
scrupulous  partisans,  whose  sole  object  it  was,  to  prepare  the 
false  material,  with  which  to  mislead  the  future  historian. 
Perjured  witnesses  have  been  brought  before  these  committees, 
and  their  testimony  recorded  as  truth.  To  show  the  partisan 
nature  of  these  committees,  when  it  was  moved  by  some  mem 
ber — Northern  member,  of  course,  for  there  are  no  Southern 
members,  at  this  present  writing,  in  the  Eump  Parliament — 
to  extend  the  inquiry,  so  as  to  embrace  the  treatment  of 
Southern  prisoners,  in  Northern  prisons,  the  amendment  was 
rejected !  It  was  not  the  truth,  but  falsehood  that  was  wanted. 
Fortunately  for  the  Southern  people,  there  is  one  little  record 
which  it  is  impossible  to  obliterate.  More  men  perished  in 
Northern  prisons,  where  food  and  medicines  were  abundant,  than 
in  Southern  prisons,  where  they  were  deficient  —  and  this,  too, 
though  the  South  held  the  greater  number  of  prisoners.  See  report 
of  Secretary  Stanton. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  SUMTEK  PURSUES  HER  VOYAGE  ACEOSS  THE  AT 
LANTIC CAPTURE  AND  BURNING  OF  THE  ARCADE, 

VIGILANT,  AND  EBENEZER  DODGE A  LEAKY  SHIP, 

AND  A  GALE AN  ALARM  OF  FIRE. 

THE  morning  of  the  26th  of  November  dawned  clear,  with 
the  wind  more  moderate,  and  a  smoother  sea.  A  ship  of 
war  being  seen  to  windward,  running  down  in  our  direction, 
we  beat  to  quarters,  and  hoisted  the  U.  S.  colors.  She  was  a 
heavy  ship,  but  being  a  sailing  vessel,  we  had  nothing  to  fear, 
even  if  she  should  prove  to  be  an  enemy.  Indeed,  it  would  have 
been  only  sport  for  us,  to  fall  in  with  one  of  the  enemy's  old  time 
sailing-frigates.  Our  agile  little  steamer,  with  her  single  long- 
range  gun,  could  have  knocked  her  into  pie,  as  the  printers 
say,  before  the  majestic  old  thing  could  turn  round.  It  was 
in  the  morning  watch,  when  holystones  and  sand,  and  scrub 
bing-brushes  and  soap  were  the  order  of  the  hour,  and  we 
surprised  the  stranger,  consequently,  in  her  morning  disha 
bille,  for  her  rigging  was  filled  with  scrubbed  hammocks,  and 
a  number  of  well-filled  clothes-lines  were  stretched  between 
her  main  and  mizzen  shrouds.  She  proved  to  be  Spanish  ;  and 
was  steering  apparently  for  the  island  of  Cuba.  We  observed 
to-day  in  latitude  20°  V ;  the  longitude,  as  told  by  our  faith 
ful  chronometer,  being  57°  12'. 

By  the  way,  one  of  my  amusements,  now,  was  to  wind  and 
compare  a  number  of  chronometers,  daily.  The  nautical  in 
struments  were  almost  the  only  things,  except  provisions,  and 
clothing  for  the  crew,  that  we  could  remove  from  our  prizes. 
I  never  permitted  any  other  species  of  property  to  be  brought 
on  board.  We  had  no  room  for  it,  and  could  not  have  disposed 
of  it,  except  by  violating  the  laws  of  neutral  nations,  and  con 
verting  our  ship  into  a  trader;  neither  one  of  which  comported 
with  the  duties  which  I  had  in  hand,  viz.,  the  rapid  destruc- 

268 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  269 

tion  of  the  enemy's  commerce.  I  should  have  had  no  objec 
tion  to  receiving,  on  deposit,  for  safe  keeping,  any  funds  that 
I  might  have  found  on  board  the  said  prizes,  but  the  beggarly 
Yankee  masters  never  carried  any.  A  few  hundred  dollars 
for  ship's  expenses  was  all  that  was  ever  found,  and  sometimes 
not  even  this — the  master  having,  generally,  an  order  on  his 
consignee,  for  what  moneys  he  might  need.  I  sometimes 
captured  these  orders,  and  a  stray  bill  of  exchange  for  a 
small  amount,  but  of  course  I  could  make  no  use  of  them. 
The  steamship  has  not  only  revolutionized  commerce,  and 
war,  but  exchanges.  Long  before  the  arrival  of  the  tardy 
sailing-ship,  at  her  destined  port,  with  her  ponderous  cargo, 
the  nimble  mail-steamer  deposits  a  duplicate  of  her  invoice, 
and  bill  of  lading,  with  the  merchant  to  whom  she  is  consigned ; 
and  when  the  ship  has  landed  her  cargo,  the  same,  or  another 
steamer,  takes  back  a  bill  of  exchange,  for  the  payment  of 
the  freight. 

The  masters  of  my  prizes  frequently  remonstrated  against 
my  capturing  their  chronometers ;  in  some  instances  claiming 
them  as  their  own  individual  property.  When  they  would 
talk  to  me  about  private  property,  I  would  ask  to  whom  their 
ships  belonged  —  whether  to  a  private  person,  or  the  Govern 
ment  ?  They  at  once  saw  the  drift  of  the  question,  and  there 
was  an  end  of  the  argument.  I  was  making  war  upon  the 
enemy's  commerce  —  and  especially  upon  the  ship,  the  vehicle 
of  commerce,  and  the  means  and  appliances  by  which  she  was 
navigated.  If  her  chronometers,  sextants,  telescopes,  and  charts 
were  left  in  possession  of  the  master,  they  would  be  transferred 
to,  and  used  in  the  navigation  of  some  other  ship.  The  fact 
that  these  instruments  belonged  to  other  parties,  than  the  ship 
owners,  could  not  make  the  least  difference  —  ship  and  instru 
ments  were  all  private  property,  alike,  and  alike  subject  to 
capture.  Silly  newspaper  editors  have  published  a  good  deal 
of  nonsense,  mixed  with  a  good  deal  of  malice,  on  this  subject. 
It  is  only  their  nonsense  that  I  propose  to  correct  —  their  abuse 
was  something  to  be  expected  under  the  circumstances.  Being 
dependent  upon  the  patronage  of  ship-owners  and  ship-masters, 
for  the  prosperity  of  their  papers,  abuse  of  the  jSumter,  during 
the  war,  came  as  naturally  to  them,  as  whittling  a  stick. 


270  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

No  prisoner  of  mine  was  ever  disturbed  in  the  possession 
of  his  strictly  personal  effects.  Under  this  head  were  included 
his  watch,  and  his  jewelry,  as  well  as  his  wardrobe.  Every 
boarding-officer  had  orders  to  respect  these,  nor  do  I  believe 
that  the  orders  were  ever  violated.  I  will  not  detain  the 
reader  to  contrast  this  conduct,  with  the  shameful  house-burn 
ings,  robberies,  and  pilferings,  by  both  officers  and  men,  that 
accompanied  the  march  of  the  enemy's  armies,  through  the 
Southern  States.  It  would  be  well  for  human  nature,  if  the 
record  made  by  these  men,  lost  to  every  sense  of  manliness 
and  shame,  could  be  obliterated;  but  as  the  wicked  deeds  of 
men  live  after  them,  our  common  history,  and  our  common 
race  will  long  have  to  bear  the  disgrace  of  their  acts. 

Soon  after  passing  the  Spanish  ship,  sail  ho !  was  cried  from 
the  mast-head,  in  a  sharp,  energetic  voice,  as  though  the  look 
out  had,  this  time,  scented  real  game.  The  chase  was  one  of 
those  well-known  schooners,  twice  before  described  in  these 
pages,  as  being  unmistakable  —  hence  the  energy  that  had 
been  thrown  into  the  voice  of  the  look-out.  She  soon  came 
in  sight  from  the  deck,  when  we  gave  chase.  In  a  couple  of 
hours  we  had  come  up  with,  and  hove  her  to,  with  a  gun. 
She  proved  to  be  the  Arcade,  from  Portland,  Me.,  with  a  load  of 
staves,  bound  to  Guadeloupe,  where  she  intended  to  exchange 
her  staves  for  rum  and  sugar.  The  owner  of  the  staves  had 
not  thought  it  worth  while  to  certify,  that  his  property  was 
neutral,  and  so  we  had  no  difficulty  with  the  papers.  We  had 
not  made  much  of  a  prize.  The  little  craft  was  sailed  too 
economically  to  afford  us  even  a  spare  barrel  of  provisions. 
The  number  of  mouths  on  board  were  few,  and  the  rations  had 
been  carefully  adjusted  to  the  mouths.  And  so,  having  noth 
ing  to  transfer  to  the  Sumter,  except  the  master  and  crew,  we 
applied  the  torch  to  her,  in  a  very  few  minutes.  The  staves 
being  well  seasoned,  she  made  a  beautiful  bonfire,  and  lighted 
us  over  the  seas,  some  hours  after  dark. 

During  the  night,  the  wind  lulled,  and  became  variable,  and 
we  hauled  down  the  fore  and  aft  sails,  and  brought  the  ship's 
head  to  the  north-east.  The  prize  had  no  newspapers  on  board, 
but  we  learned  from  the  master,  that  the  great  naval  expedi 
tion,  which  the  enemy  had  been  sometime  in  preparing,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      271 

about  which  there  had  been  no  little  mystery,  had  at  last  struck 
at  Port  Eoyal,  in  South  Carolina.  An  immense  fleet  of  ships 
of  war,  with  thirty -three  transports,  and  an  army  of  15,000 
men,  had  been  sent  to  capture  a  couple  of  mud  forts,  armed 
with  24  and  32-pounders,  and  garrisoned  with  three  or  four 
hundred  raw  troops.  Our  next  batch  of  newspapers  from 
New  York,  brought  us  the  despatches  of  Commodore  Dupont, 
the  commander  of  this  expedition,  exceeding  in  volume  any 
thing  that  Nelson  or  Collingwood  had  ever  written.  Plates, 
and  diagrams  showed  how  the  approaches  had  been  buoyed, 
and  the  order  of  battle  was  described,  with  minute  prolixity. 
I  cannot  forbear  giving  to  the  reader,  the  names  of  the  ships, 
that  participated  in  this  great  naval  victory,  with  their  loss  in 
killed  and  wounded,  after  an  engagement  that  lasted  four  mor 
tal  hours.  The  ships  were  the  Wdbash,  the  Susquehanna,  the 
Mohican,  the  Seminole,  the  Pawnee,  the  Unadilla,  the  Ottawa, 
the  Pembina,  the  Isaac  Smith,  the  Bienville,  the  Seneca,  the 
Curlew,  the  Penguin,  the  Augusta,  the  R.  B.  Forbes,  the  Poca- 
hontas,  the  Mercury,  the  Vandalia,  and  the  Vixen — total  19. 
The  killed  were  8 — not  quite  half  a  man  apiece;  and  the  seri 
ously  wounded  6! 

November  27th. —  Morning  thick,  with  heavy  clouds  and  rain, 
clearing  as  the  day  advanced.  Afternoon  clear,  bright  weather, 
with  a  deep  blue  sea,  and  the  trade-wind  blowing  half  a  gale 
from  the  north-east.  At  six  P.  M.,  put  all  sail  on  the  ship,  and 
let  the  steam  go  down.  "We  had  already  consumed  half  our 
fuel,  and  it  became  necessary  to  make  the  rest  of  our  way  to 
Europe  under  sail.  Our  boilers  had  been  leaking  for  several 
days,  and  the  engineer  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to 
repair  them.  The  weather  is  sensibly  changing  in  tempera 
ture.  We  are  in  latitude  22°  22',  and  the  thermometer  has 
gone  down  to  78° — for  the  first  time,  in  five  months.  We 
have  crossed,  to-day,  the  track  of  the  homeward-bound  ships, 
both  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  Cape  Horn,  but  have 
seen  no  sail.  We  cannot  delay  to  cruise  in  this  track,  as  we 
have  barely  water  enough,  on  board,  to  last  us  across  the 
Atlantic. 

November  28th. —  Weather  changeable,  and  squally  —  wind 
frequently  shifting  during  the  day,  giving  indications  of  om 
18 


272  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

approach  to  the  northern  limit  of  the  trade-wind,  crossing 
which  we  shall  pass  into  the  variables. 

November  29th. —  Thick,  ugly  weather  —  this  terra  ugly  being 
very  expressive  in  the  seaman's  vocabulary.  The  wind  is 
veering,  as  before,  blowing  half  a  gale,  all  the  time,  and  a  cold 
rain  is  pouring  down,  at  intervals,  causing  the  sailors  to  haul 
on  their  woollen  jackets,  and  hunt  up  their  long-neglected 
soa'westers.  We  observed  in  latitude  25°  51'  to-day;  the 
longitude  being  57°  36'. 

November  30th. —  The  morning  has  dawned  bright,  and  beau 
tiful,  with  a  perfectly  clear  sky.  The  boisterous  wind  of  yes 
terday  has  disappeared,  and  we  have  nearly  a  calm — the  sea 
wearing  its  darkest  tint  of  azure.  We  are,  in  fact,  in  the  calm- 
belt  of  Cancer,  and  having  no  fuel  to  spare,  we  must  be  con 
tent  to  creep  through  it  under  sail,  as  best  we  may.  A  sail 
has  been  reported  from  aloft.  It  is  a  long  way  off,  and  we  for 
bear  to  chase. 

December  1st. —  Another  beautiful,  bright,  morning,  with  a 
glassy  sea,  and  a  calm.  This  being  the  first  of  the  month,  the 
sailors  are  drawing  their  clothing,  and  "small  stores"  from  the 
paymaster,  under  the  supervision  of  the  officers  of  the  differ 
ent  divisions.  The  paymaster's  steward  is  the  shopman,  on 
the  occasion,  and  he  is  "serving"  a  jacket  to  one,  a  shirt  to 
another,  and  a  pair  of  shoes  to  a  third.  His  assortment  is  quite 
varied,  for  besides  the  requisite  clothing,  he  has  tobacco,  and 
pepper,  and  mustard;  needles,  thimbles,  tape,  thread,  and  spool- 
cotton;  ribbons,  buttons,  jack-knives,  &c.  Jack  is  not  allowed 
to  indulge  in  all  these  luxuries,  ad  lib.  He  is  like  a  school 
boy,  under  the  care  of  his  preceptor;  he  must  have  his  wants 
approved  by  the  officer  of  the  division  to  which  he  belongs. 
To  enable  this  officer  to  act  understandingly,  Jack  spreads  out 
-his  wardrobe  before  him,  every  month.  If  he  is  deficient  a 
shirt,  or  a  pair  of  trousers,  he  is  permitted  to  draw  them ;  if  he 
has  plenty,  and  still  desires  more,  his  extravagance  is  checked. 
These  articles  are  all  charged  to  him,  at  cost,  with  the  addi 
tion  of  a  small  percentage,  to  save  the  Government  from  loss. 
When  the  monthly  requisitions  are  all  complete,  they  are 
taken  to  the  Captain,  for  his  approval,  who  occasionally  runs 
his  jpencil  through  a  third,  or  a  fourth  pound  of  tobacco,  when 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      273 

an  inveterate  old  chewer,  or  smoker  is  using  the  weed  to 
excess;  he  rarely  interferes  in  other  respects.  On  the  present 
occasion,  woollen  garments  are  in  demand;  Jack,  with  a  pru 
dent  forethought,  preparing  himself  for  the  approaching  change 
in  the  climate.  Much  of  the  clothing,  which  the  sailor  wears, 
is  made  up  with  his  own  hands.  He  is  entirely  independent 
of  the  other  sex,  in  this  respect,  and  soon  becomes  very  expert 
with  the  needle. 

The  3d  of  December  brought  us  another  prize.  The  wind 
was  light  from  the  south-east,  and  the  stranger  was  standing 
in  our  direction.  -This  was  fortunate,  as  we  might  hope  to 
capture  him  by  stratagem,  without  the  use  of  steam.  The 
Sumter,  when  not  under  steam,  and  with  her  smoke-stack 
lowered,  might  be  taken  for  a  clumsy-looking  bark.  Throw 
ing  a  spare  sail  over  the  lowered  smoke-stack,  to  prevent  it 
from  betraying  us,  we  hoisted  the  French  flag,  and  stood  on 
our  course,  apparently  unconscious  of  the  approaching  stranger. 
We  were  running  free,  with  the  starboard  studding-sails  set, 
and  when  the  stranger,  who,  by  this  time,  had  hoisted  the 
United  States  colors,  crossed  our  bows,  we  suddenly  took  in 
all  the  studding-sails,  braced  sharp  up,  tacked,  and  fired  a  gun, 
at  the  same  moment.  The  stranger  at  once  hauled  up  his 
courses,  and  backed  his  main-topsail.  He  was  already  under 
our  guns.  The  clumsy  appearance  of  the  Sumter,  and  the 
French  flag  had  deceived  him.  The  prize  proved  to  be  the 
Vigilant,  a  fine  new  ship,  from  Bath,  Maine,  bound  to  the 
guano  island  of  Sombrero,  in  the  West  Indies;  some  New 
Yorkers  having  made  a  lodgment  on  this  barren  little  island, 
and  being  then  engaged  in  working  it  for  certain  phosphates 
of  lime,  which  they  called  mineral  guano.  We  captured 
a  rifled  9-pounder  gun,  with  a  supply  of  fixed  ammunition, 
on  board  the  Vigilant,  and  some  small  arms.  We  fired  the 
ship  at  three  P.  M.,  and  made  sail  on  our  course.  The  most 
welcome  part  of  this  capture  was  a  large  batch  of  New 
York  newspapers,  as  late  as  the  21st  of  November.  The 
Yankees  of  that  ilk  had  heard  of  the  blockade  of  the  "Pirate 
Sumter"  by  the  Iroquois,  but  they  had  n't  heard  of  Captain 
Palmer's  rueful  breakfast  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of 
November. 


274  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

These  papers  brought  us  a  graphic  description  of  the  gallant 
ram  exploit,  of  Commodore  Hollins,  of  the  Confederate  Navy, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  12th  of  October.  This 
exploit  is  remarkable  as  being  the  first  practical  application  of 
the  iron-clad  ram  to  the  purposes  of  war.  Some  ingenious 
steamboat-men,  in  New  Orleans,  with  the  consent  of  the  Navy 
Department,  had  converted  the  hull  of  a  steam-tug  into  an  iron 
clad,  by  means  of  bars  of  railroad  iron  fastened  to  the  hull  of 
the  boat,  and  to  a  frame- work  above  the  deck  fitted  to  receive 
them ;  a  stout  iron  prow  being  secured  to  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
several  feet  below  the  water-line.  In  this  curious  nondescript, 
which  the  enemy  likened  to  a  smoking  mud-turtle,  the  gallant 
Commodore  assaulted  the  enemy's  fleet,  lying  at  the  old  anchor 
age  of  the  Sumter,  at  the  ''Head  of  the  Passes,"  consisting  of 
the  Richmond,  Vincennes,  Preble,  and  Water  Witch.  The  assault 
was  made  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  caused  great  con 
sternation  and  alarm  among  the  enemy.  The  Richmond,  lying 
higher  up  the  Pass  than  the  other  ships,  was  first  assaulted  — 
some  of  her  planks  being  started,  below  the  water-line,  by  the 
concussion  of  the  ram,  though  the  blow  was  broken  by  a  coal- 
schooner,  which,  fortunately  for  her,  was  lying  alongside.  As 
the  ram  drew  off,  a  broadside  of  the  Richmond's  guns  was 
fired  into  her,  without  effect.  After  this  harmless  broadside, 
the  ships  all  got  under  way,  in  great  haste,  and  fled  down  the 
Pass,  the  ram  pursuing  them,  but  Hollins  was  unable,  from  the 
effect  of  the  current,  and  the  speed  of  the  fleeing  ships,  to  get 
another  blow  at  them.  The  Richmond  and  the  Vincennes 
grounded,  for  a  short  time,  on  the  bar,  in  their  hurry  to  get  out, 
but  the  former  was  soon  got  afloat  again.  In  the  confusion  and 
panic  of  the  moment,  the  Vincennes  was  abandoned  by  her  cap 
tain,  who  left  a  slow  match  burning.  Commodore  Hollins,  finding 
that  nothing  more  could  be  accomplished,  threw  a  few  shells  at 
the  alarmed  fleet,  and  withdrew.  The  Vincennes,  not  blowing 
up,  and  the  enemy  recovering  from  his  panic,  her  captain  was 
ordered  to  return  to  her,  and  she  was  finally  saved  with  the 
rest  of  the  fleet.  This  little  experiment  was  the  avant  courier 
of  a  great  change,  in  naval  warfare  —  especially  for  harbor  and 
coast  defence.  The  enemy,  with  his  abundant  resources,  greatly 
improved  upon  it,  and  his  "monitor"  system  was  the  result. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      275 

December  4th. — Weather  clear,  and  becoming  cool  —  ther 
mometer,  76°.  We  have  run  some  140  miles  to  the  eastward, 
during  the  last  twenty-four  hours,  under  sail,  and  as  we  are 
dragging  our  propeller  through  the  water,  I  need  not  tell  the 
reader  what  a  smacking  breeze  we  have  had.  It  is  delightful  to 
be  making  so  much  easting,  under  sail,  after  having  been  buffeted 
so  spitefully,  by  the  east  wind,  for  the  last  five  months,  when 
ever  we  have  turned  our  head  in  that  direction.  Ten  of  the 
crew  of  the  Vigilant  are  blacks,  and  as  our  ship  is  leaking  so 
badly  that  the  constant  pumping  is  fagging  to  the  crew,  I  have 
set  the  blacks  at  the  pumps,  with  their  own  consent.  The  fact 
is,  some  of  these  fellows,  who  are  runaway  slaves,  have  already 
recognized  "master,"  and  whenever  I  pass  them,  grin  pleasantly, 
and  show  the  whites  of  their  eyes.  They  are  agreeably  disap 
pointed,  that  they  are  not  "  drawn,  hung,  and  quartered,"  and 
rather  enjoy  the  change  to  the  Sumter,  where  they  have  plenty 
of  time  to  bask  in  the  sun,  and  the  greasiest  of  pork  and  beans 
without  stint.  In  arranging  the  Vigilant s  crew  into  messes,  a 
white  bean  and  a  black  bean  have  been  placed,  side  by  side, 
at  the  mess-cloth,  my  first  lieutenant  naturally  concluding,  that 
the  white  sailors  of  the  Yankee  ship  would  like  to  be  near 
their  colored  brethren.  Caesar  and  Pompey,  having  an  eye  to 
fun,  enjoy  this  arrangement  hugely,  and  my  own  crew  are  not 
a  little  amused,  as  the  boatswain  pipes  to  dinner,  to  see  the 
gravity  with  which  the  darkies  take  their  seats  by  the  side  of 
their  white  comrades.  This  was  the  only  mark  of  "citizen 
ship,"  however,  which  I  bestowed  upon  these  sons  of  Ham.  I 
never  regarded  them  as  prisoners  of  war  —  always  discharging 
them,  when  the  other  prisoners  were  discharged,  without  put 
ting  them  under  parole. 

December  6th. — Weather  thick  and  ugly  —  the  wind  hauling  to 
the  north,  and  blowing  very  fresh  for  a  while.  Reefed  the  top 
sails.  At  noon,  the  weather  was  so  thick,  that  no  observations 
could  be  had  for  fixing  the  position  of  the  ship  —  latitude,  by 
dead  reckoning,  30°  19';  longitude  53°  02'.  During  the  after 
noon  and  night,  it  blew  a  gale  from  X.  E.  to  E.  X.  E.  Furled 
the  mainsail,  and  set  the  reefed  trysail  instead ;  and  the  wind 
still  increasing,  before  morning  we  hauled  up  and  furled  the  fore 
sail.  For  the  next  two  or  three  days,  we  had  a  series  of  east- 


276  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

erly  gales,  compelling  me  to  run  somewhat  farther  north  than 
I  had  intended.  We  carried  very  short  sail,  and  most  of  the 
time  we  were  shut  down  below — that  is,  such  of  the  crew  as 
were  not  on  watch  — with  tarpaulin-covered  hatches,  and  a  cold, 
driving  rain  falling  almost  incessantly.  What  with  the  howl 
ing  of  the  gale,  as  it  tears  through  the  rigging,  the  rolling  and 
pitching  of  the  ship,  in  the  confused,  irregular  sea,  and  the  jog, 
jog,  jog  of  the  pumps,  through  half  the  night,  I  have  had  but 
little  rest. 

December  8th. —  This  is  an  anniversary  with  me.  On  this 
day,  fifteen  years  ago,  the  United  States  brig- of- war  Somers,  of 
which  I  was  the  commander,  was  capsized  and  sunk,  off  Yera 
Cruz,  having  half  her  crew,  of  120  officers  and  men,  drowned. 
It  occurred  during  the  Mexican  war.  I  was  left  alone  to  block 
ade  the  port  of  Yera  Cruz — Commodore  Connor,  the  com 
mander  of  the  squadron,  having  gone  with  his  other  ships  on 
an  expedition  to  Tampico.  There  being  every  appearance  of 
a  norther  on  that  eventful  morning,  I  was  still  at  my  anchors, 
under  Isla  Verde,  or  Green  Island,  where  I  had  sought  refuge 
the  preceding  night.  Suddenly  a  sail  was  reported,  running 
down  the  northern  coast,  as  though  she  would  force  the  block 
ade.  It  would  never  do  to  permit  this;  and  so  the  little 
tSomers — these  ten-gun  brigs  were  called  coffins  in  that  day  — 
was  gotten  under  way,  and  under  her  topsails  and  courses,  com 
menced  beating  up  the  coast,  to  intercept  the  stranger.  I  had 
gone  below,  for  a  moment,  when  the  officer  of  the  deck,  com 
ing  to  the  companion-way,  called  to  me,  and  said  that  "  the 
water  looked  black  and  roughened  ahead,  as  though  more  wind 
than  usual  was  coming."  I  sprang  upon  deck,  and  saw,  at  the 
first  glance,  that  a  norther  was  upon  us.  I  immediately  ordered 
everything  clewed  down  and  brailed  up,  but  before  the  order 
could  be  executed,  the  gale  came  sweeping  on  with  the  fury  of 
a  whirlwind,  and  in  less  time  than  I  have  been  describing  the 
event,  the  little  craft  was  thrown  on  her  beam-ends,  her  masts 
and  sails  lying  flat  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  the  water 
pouring  in  at  every  hatchway  and  scuttle.  I  clambered  to  the 
weather  side  of  the  ship,  and  seeing  that  she  must  go  down  in 
a  few  minutes,  set  my  first  lieutenant  at  work  to  extricate  the 
only  boat  that  was  available  —  the  weather-quarter  boat,  all 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       277 

the  others  being  submerged — from  her  fastenings,  to  save  as 
much  life  as  possible.  This  was  fortunately  done,  and  the  boat 
being  put  in  charge  of  a  midshipman,  the  non-combatant  offi 
cers,  as  the  surgeon  and  paymaster ;  the  midshipmen,  and  such 
of  the  boys  of  the  ship  as  could  not  swim,  were  permitted  to 
get  into  her.  So  perfect  was  the  discipline,  though  death, 
within  the  next  ten  minutes,  stared  every  man  in  the  face,  that 
there  was  no  rush  for  this  boat.  A  large  man  was  even 
ordered  out  of  her,  to  make  room  for  two  lads,  who  could  not 
swim,  and  he  obeyed  the  order  as  a  matter  of  course!  This 
boat  having  shoved  off  from  the  sinking  ship,  the  order  was 
given,  "Every  man  save  himself,  who  can!"  whereupon  there 
was  a  simultaneous  plunge  into  the  now  raging  sea,  of  a  hun 
dred  men  and  more,  each  struggling  for  his  life.  The  ship 
sank  out  of  sight  in  a  moment  afterward.  We  were  in  twenty 
fathoms  of  water.  Divesting  myself  of  all  my  clothing,  ex 
cept  my  shirt  and  drawers,  I  plunged  into  the  sea  with  the 
rest,  and,  being  a  good  swimmer,  struck,  out  for  and  reached 
a  piece  of  grating,  which  had  floated  away  from  the  ship  as 
she  went  down.  Swimming  along,  with  one  arm  resting  on 
this  grating,  I  felt  one  of  rny  feet  touch  something,  and,  at  the 
same  moment,  heard  a  voice  exclaiming,  "  It  is  I,  Captain  ;  it  is 
Parker,  the  second  lieutenant  —  give  me  a  part  of  your  grating, 
I  am  a  good  swimmer,  and  we  shall  get  along  the  better  toge 
ther."  I,  accordingly,  shared  my  grating  with  Parker,  and  we 
both  struck  out,  manfully,  for  the  shore,  distant  no  more  than 
about  a  mile ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  now  raging  gale  was 
sweeping  down  parallel  with  the  coast,  and  we  were  compelled 
to  swim  at  right  angles  with  the  waves  and  the  wind,  if  we  would 
save  ourselves ;  for  once  swept  past  the  coast  of  the  island, 
and  the  open  sea  lay  before  us,  whence  there  was  no  rescue ! 
As  we  would  rise  upon  the  top  of  a  wave,  and  get  a  view 
of  the  "promised  land,"  the  reader  may  imagine  how  anxious 
our  consultations  were,  as  to  whether  we  were  gaining,  or  los 
ing  ground !  In  the  meantime,  the  boat,  which  had  shoved 
off  from  the  ship,  as  described,  had  reached  the  island,  half- 
swamped,  and  discharging  her  passengers,  and  freeing  herself 
from  water  as  soon  as  possible,  pushed  out  again  into  the 
raging  caldron  of  waters,  under  the  gallant  midshipman,  who 


278  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

had  charge  of  her,  in  the  endeavor  to  rescue  some  of  the 
drowning  crew.  She  came,  by  the  merest  accident,  upon  Par 
ker  and  myself!  We  were  hauled  into  her  more  dead  than 
alive,  and  after  she  had  picked  up  two,  or  three  others  —  all 
that  could  now  be  seen  —  she  again  returned  to  the  shore.  My 
first  lieutenant,  Mr.  G.  L.  Claiborne,  was  saved,  as  by  a 
miracle,  being  dashed  on  shore  —  he  having  struck  out,  in  the 
opposite  direction,  for  the  mainland — between  two  ledges  of 
rock,  separated  only  by  a  span  of  sand  beach.  If  he  had 
been  driven  upon  the  rocks,  instead  of  the  beach,  he  must 
have  been  instantly  dashed  in  pieces.  The  reader  will,  per 
haps,  pardon  me,  for  having  remembered  these  eventful  scenes 
of  my  life,  as  I  wrote  in  my  journal,  on  board  the  leaky  little 
Sumter,  amid  the  howling  of  another  gale,  the  "  eighth  day  of 
December."11 

On  this  eighth  day  of  December,  1861,  however,  the  record 
is  very  different,  it  being  as  follows :  "  At  ten  A.  M.  descried  a 
sail  from  the  deck,  startlingly  close  to  ;  so  thick  has  been  the 
weather.  The  stranger  being  a  bark,  taunt-rigged,  with  sky- 
sail  poles,  and  under  top-sails,  we  mistook  him  at  first  for 
a  cruiser,  and  raised  our  smoke-stack,  and  started  the  fires  in 
the  furnaces.  Having  done  this,  we  approached  him  some 
what  cautiously,  keeping  the  weather-gauge  of  him,  and 
showed  him  the  United  States  colors.  He  soon  hoisted  the 
same.  Getting  a  nearer  view  of  him,  we  now  discovered  him 
to  be  a  whaler.  The  engineer  at  once  discontinued  his  "  firing 
up,"  and  the  smoke-stack  was  again  lowered,  to  its  accustomed 
place.  Upon  being  boarded,  the  bark  proved  to  be  the 
Eben.  Dodge,  twelve  days  out,  from  New  Bedford,  and  bound 
on  a  whaling  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  She  had  experi 
enced  a  heavy  gale,  had  sprung  some  of  her  spars,  and  was 
leaking  badly  —  hence  the  easy  sail  she  had  been  under.  Al 
though  the  sea  was  still  very  rough,  and  the  weather  lowering, 
we  got  on  board  from  the  prize,  some  water,  and  provisions, 
clothing,  and  small  stores.  The  supply  of  pea-jackets,  whalers' 
boots,  and  flannel  over-shirts,  which  our  paymaster  had  been 
unable  to  procure  in  the  West  Indies,  was  particularly  accept 
able  to  us,  battling,  as  wre  now  were,  with  the  gales  of  the 
North  Atlantic,  in  the  month  of  December.  We  brought 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     279 

away  from  her,  also,  two  of  her  fine  whale-boats,  so  valuable 
in  rough  weather ;  making  room  for  them  on  deck,  by  the  side 
of  the  Sumter's  launch.  The  crew  of  the  Dodge,  consisting  of 
twenty-two  persons,  made  a  considerable  addition  to  our  small 
community.  We  fired  the  prize  at  half-past  six,  p.  M.,  as  the 
shades  of  evening  were  closing  in,  and  made  sail  on  our  course. 
The  flames  burned  red  and  lurid  in  the  murky  atmosphere, 
like  some  Jack-o'-lantern  ;  now  appearing,  and  now  disappear 
ing,  as  the  doomed  ship  rose  upon  the  top,  or  descended  into 
the  abyss  of  the  waves. 

Having  now  forty-three  prisoners  on  board,  and  there  never 
being,  at  one  time,  so  many  of  the  Sumter's  crew  on  watch,  it 
became  necessary  for  me  to  think  of  precautions.  It  would 
be  easy  for  forty-three  courageous  men,  to  rise  upon  a  smaller 
number,  sleeping  carelessly  about  the  decks,  and  wrest  from 
them  the  command  of  the  ship.  Hitherto  1  had  given  the 
prisoners  the  run  of  the  ship,  putting  no  more  restrictions 
upon  them,  than  upon  my  own  men,  but  this  could  no  longer 
be.  I  therefore  directed  my  first  lieutenant  to  put  one-half 
of  the  prisoners  in  single  irons — that  is,  with  manacles  on  the 
wrists  only  —  alternately,  for  twenty-four  hours  at  a  time. 
The  prisoners,  themselves,  seeing  the  necessity  of  this  precau 
tion,  submitted  cheerfully  to  the  restraint  —  for  as  such  only 
they  viewed  it  —  and  not  as  an  indignity. 

We  received  another  supply  of  late  newspapers,  by  the 
Dodge.  They  were  still  filled  with  jubilations  over  Dupont's 
great  naval  victory.  We  learned,  too,  that  New  England  had 
been  keeping,  with  more  than  usual  piety  and  pomp,  the  great 
National  festival  of  "  Thanksgiving,"  which  the  Puritan  has 
substituted  for  the  Christian  Christmas.  The  pulpit  thundered 
war  and  glory,  the  press  dilated  upon  the  wealth  and  resources 
of  the  Universal  Yankee  Nation,  and  hecatombs  of  fat  pigs 
and  turkeys  fed  the  hungry  multitudes — pulpit,  press,  pig, 
and  turkey,  all  thanking  God,  that  the  Puritan  is  "not  like 
unto  other  men." 

December  10th.  —  The  weather  remains  still  unsettled.  The 
wind,  during  the  last  five  or  six  days,  has  gone  twice  around 
the  compass,  never  stopping  in  the  west,  but  lingering  in  the 
east.  The  barometer  has  been  in  a  constant  state  of  fluctua 
tion,  and  there  will,  doubtless,  be  a  grand  climax  before  the 


280  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

atmosphere  regains  its  equilibrium.  These  easterly  winds  are 
retarding  our  passage  very  much,  and  taxing  our  patience. 
Observed,  to-day,  in  latitude  32°  39' ;  the  longitude  being 
49°  57'. 

The  next  day,  the  weather  culminated,  sure  enough,  in  a 
gale.  The  barometer  began  to  settle,  in  the  morning  watch, 
and  dense  black  clouds,  looking  ragged  and  windy,  soon 
obscured  the  sun,  and  spread  an  ominous  pall  over  the  entire 
heavens.  I  at  once  put  the  ship  under  easy  sail ;  that  is  to 
say,  clewed  up  everything  but  the  topsails  and  trysails,  and 
awaited  the  further  progress  of  the  storm.  The  wind  was  as 
yet  light,  but  the  barometer,  which  had  stood  at  29°  70'  at 
eight  o'clock,  had  fallen  to  29°  59'  by  two  P.  M.  The  dense 
canopy  of  clouds  now  settled  lower  and  lower,  circumscribing 
more  and  more  our  horizon,  and  presently  fitful  gusts  of  wind 
would  strike  the  sails,  pressing  the  ship  over  a  little.  It  wag 
time  to  reef.  All  hands  were  turned  up,  and  the  close  reefs 
were  taken,  both  in  topsails  and  trysails ;  the  jib  hauled  down 
and  stowed,  and  the  top-gallant  yards  sent  down  from  aloft. 
The  squalls  increasing  in  frequency  and  force,  the  gale  became 
fully  developed  by  three  P.  M.  The  wind,  which  we  first  took 
from  about  B.  S.  E.,  backed  to  the  N.  E.,  but  did  not  remain 
long  in  that  quarter,  returning  to  east.  It  now  began  to  blow 
furiously  from  this  latter  quarter,  the  squalls  being  accom 
panied  by  a  driving,  blinding  rain ;  the  barometer  going  down, 
ominously  down,  all  the  while. 

As  the  night  closed  in,  an  awful  scene  presented  itself.  The 
aspect  of  the  heavens  was  terrific.  The  black  clouds  over 
head  were  advancing  and  retreating  like  squadrons  of  oppos 
ing  armies,  whilst  loud  peals  of  thunder,  and  blinding  flashes 
of  lightning  that  would  now  and  then  run  down  the  con 
ductor,  and  hiss  as  they  leaped  into  the  sea,  added  to  the  ele 
mental  strife.  A  streaming  scud,  which  you  could  almost 
touch  with  your  hand,  was  meanwhile  hurrying  past,  screech 
ing  and  screaming,  like  so  many  demons,  as  it  rushed  through 
the  rigging.  The  sea  was  mountainous,  and  would  now  and 
then  strike  the  little  Sumter  with  such  force  as  to  make  her 
tremble  in  every  fibre  of  her  frame.  I  had  remained  on  deck 
during  most  of  the  first  watch,  looking  anxiously  on,  to  see 
what  sort  of  weather  we  were  going  to  make.  The  ship 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     281 

behaved  nobly,  but  I  had  no  confidence  in  her  strength.  Her 
upper  works,  in  particular,  were  very  defective.  Her  bends, 
above  the  main  deck,  were  composed  of  light  pine  stanchions  and 
inch  plank,  somewhat  strengthened  in  the  bows.  Seeing  the 
fury  of  the  gale,  and  that  the  barometer  was  still  settling,  I 
went  below  about  midnight,  and  turned  in  to  get  a  little  rest, 
with  many  misgivings.  I  had  scarcely  fallen  into  an  uneasy 
slumber,  when  an  old  quartermaster,  looking  himself  like  the 
demon  of  the  storm,  with  his  dishevelled  hair  and  beard  drip 
ping  water,  and  his  eyes  blinking  in  the  light  of  his  lantern, 
shook  my  cot.  and  said,  "  We  Ve  stove  in  the  starboard  bow- 
port,  sir,  and  the  gun-deck  is  all  afloat  with  water ! "  Here 
was  what  I  had  feared ;  unless  we  could  keep  the  water  out  of 
the  bet  ween- decks,  all  the  upper  works,  arid  the  masts  along 
with  them,  would  be  gone  in  a  trice.  I  hurried  at  once  to  the 
scene  of  disaster,  but  before  I  could  reach  it,  my  energetic  and 
skilful  first  lieutenant  had  already,  by  the  aid  of  some  planks 
and  spare  spars,  erected  a  barricade  that  would  be  likely  to 
answer  our  purpose. 

The  gale  lulled  somewhat  in  an  hour  or  two  afterward, 
and  I  now  got  some  sleep.  I  was  on  deck  again,  however, 
at  daylight.  The  same  thick  gloom  overspread  the  heavens, 
the  scud  was  flying  as  furiously,  and  as  low  as  before,  and  the 
gale  was  raging  as  fiercely  as  ever.  But  we  had  one  great 
comfort,  and  that  was  daylight.  We  could  see  the  ship  and 
the  heavens  —  there  was  nothing  else  visible  —  and  this  alone 
divested  the  gale  of  half  its  terrors.  At  last,  at  six  A.M.,  the 
barometer  reached  its  lowest  point,  29.32,  which,  in  the  lati 
tude  we  were  in,  was  a  very  low  barometer.  Any  one  who 
has  watched  a  barometer  under  similar  circumstances,  will 
understand  the  satisfaction  with  which  I  saw  the  little  tell-tale 
begin  to  rise.  It  whispered  to  me  as  intelligibly  as  if  it  had 
been  a  living  thing,  "the  gale  is  broken!"  We  had  been 
lying  to,  all  this  time,  under  a  close-reefed  main-topsail.  We 
now  bore  up  under  a  reefed  foresail,  and  kept  the  ship  on  her 
course,  east  by  south.  She  scudded  as  beautifully  as  she  had 
lain  to,  darting  ahead  like  an  arrow,  on  the  tops  of  the  huge 
waves  that  followed  her  like  so  many  hungry  wolves,  and 
shaking  the  foam  and  spray  from  her  bows,  as  if  in  disdain 
and  contempt  of  the  lately  howling  storm. 


282  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

December  13th.  —  Weather  clear,  with  passing  clouds.  Wind 
fresh  from  the  south-west,  but  abating,  with  a  rapidly  rising 
barometer.  The  cyclone,  for  such  evidently  the  late  gale  was, 
had  a  diameter  of  from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hun 
dred  miles.  We  took  it  in  its  northern  hemisphere — the 
gale  travelling  north.  Hence  it  passed  over  us  in  nearly  its 
entire  diameter  —  the  vortex  at  no  great  distance  from  us. 
Observed  in  latitude  33°  23';  the  longitude  being  47°  03'. 
Repairing  damages.  The  ship  leaks  so  badly  as  to  require  to 
be  pumped  out  twice  in  each  watch.  During  the  heaviest  of 
the  gale,  the  masters  and  mates  of  the  captured  ships  offered 
their  services,  like  gallant  men,  to  assist  in  taking  care  of  the 
ship.  We  thanked  them,  but  were  sufficiently  strong-handed 
ourselves. 

December  I&h.  —  We  had  an  alarm  of  fire  on  the  berth  deck 
last  night.  The  fire-bell,  sounded  suddenly  in  a  sleeping  city, 
has  a  startling  effect  upon  the  aroused  sleepers,  but  he  who 
has  not  heard  it,  can  have  no  conception  of  the  knell-like 
sound  of  the  cry  of  fire  !  shouted  from  the  lungs  of  an  alarmed 
sailor  on  board  a  ship,  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  any  land. 
It  is  the  suddenness  with  which  the  idea  of  danger  presents 
itself,  quite  as  much  as  the  extent  of  the  danger,  which  intimi 
dates.  Hence  the  panics  which  often  ensue,  when  a  ship  is 
discovered  to  be  on  fire.  Ships  of  war,  as  a  rule,  are  not  the 
subjects  of  panics.  Discipline  keeps  all  the  passions  and 
emotions  under  control,  as  well  those  which  arise  from  fear,  as 
from  lawlessness.  We  had  no  panic  on  board  the  Sumter, 
although  appearances  were  sufficiently  alarming  for  a  few 
moments.  A  smoke  was  suddenly  seen  arising  through  one 
of  the  ventilators  forward,  in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night,  when 
except  the  sentry's  lantern  and  the  lamp  in  the  binnacle, 
there  should  be  no  other  fire  in  the  ship.  The  midshipman 
of  the  watch,  upon  rushing  below,  found  one  of  the  prisoners' 
mattresses  on  fire.  The  flames  were  soon  smothered,  and  the 
whole  danger  was  over  before  the  ship's  crew  were  fairly 
aroused.  Some  prisoner,  in  violation  of  orders,  had  lighted 
his  pipe  for  a  smoke,  after  hours,  and  probably  gone  to  sleep 
with  it  in  his  mouth.  The  prisoner  could  not  be  identified, 
but  there  were  two  sentinels  on  post,  and  these  in  due  time 
paid  the  penalty  of  their  neglect. 


CHAPTEK   XXII. 

VOYAGE    ACROSS    THE    ATLANTIC    PURSUED CHRISTMAS- 
DAY   ON   BOARD  THE    SUMTER CAPE    FLY-AWAY,  AND 

THE    CURIOUS    ILLUSION    PRODUCED    BY  IT THE   SUM 
TER    PASSES    FROM     THE    DESERT    PARTS    OF    THE    SEA, 

INTO  A  TRACT  OF    COMMERCE    ONCE    MORE BOARDS  A 

LARGE    FLEET    OF    SHIPS    IN    ONE    DAY,    BUT    FINDS    NO 
ENEMY   AMONG    THEM ARRIVAL    AT    CADIZ. 

THE  punishment  administered  to  the  two  delinquent  sen 
tinels  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  had  the  most  salutary 
effect.  Seamen  are  very  much  like  children,  requiring  the 
reins  to  be  tightened  upon  them  from  time  to  time.  I  made 
it  a  rule  on  board  the  Sumter,  that  punishment  should  follow 
the  offence,  with  promptitude,  and  certainty,  rather  than  sever 
ity  ;  and  this  excellent  rule  had  already  performed  marvels,  in 
the  matter  of  disciplining  my  ship. 

Sunday,  December  15th.  —  A  fine  bright  morning,  with  a 
moderate  breeze  from  the  north-west,  and  the  weather  just 
cool  enough  to  be  delightfully  bracing.  We  mustered  the 
crew  this  morning,  and  read  the  articles  of  war  for  the  first 
time  in  three  weeks,  owing  to  the  bad  weather.  I  did  not 
inspect  the  ship  below,  according  to  custom,  the  sea  being  still 
rough,  and  the  water  ankle-deep  on  the  gun-deck  in  conse 
quence.  Our  new  prisoners  always  looked  upon  the  muster 
ceremonies  on  board  the  Sumter,  with  curiosity,  as  though 
they  were  surprised  to  find  so  much  order  and  discipline,  and 
so  much  attention  to  dress  and  ceremony,  on  board  the  "pi 
rate"  of  which  they  had  read,  and  whose  "cut"  they  had  so 
often  admired,  in  their  truth-loving  and  truth-telling  newspa 
pers.  The  latitude,  to-day,  is  34°,  and  the  longitude  42°  05'. 

We  were  quite  surprised  to  find  so  much  bad  weather  in 

283 


284  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  parallel,  on  which,  we  were  crossing  the  Atlantic.  I  had 
purposely  chosen  this  parallel,  that  my  little  cock-boat  of  a 
ship  might  not  be  knocked  in  pieces,  by  the  storms  of  the 
North  Atlantic,  and  yet  the  reader  has  seen  how  roughly  we 
have  been  handled.  Nor  were  the  fates  more  propitious  for 
the  next  few  days.  Gale  followed  gale,  with  angry  skies,  and 
cloud  and  rain ;  there  sometimes  being  lightning  around  the 
entire  horizon,  with  now  rolling,  now  crashing  thunder.  I 
had  intended  when  I  left  the  West  Indies  to  touch  at  Fayal, 
in  the  Azores,  for  coal  and  water,  but  I  found  these  islands  so 
guarded  and  defended,  by  the  Genius  of  the  storm,  that  it 
would  require  several  days  of  patience  and  toil,  to  enable  me 
to  reach  an  anchorage  in  one  of  them.  I  therefore  determined 
to  pass  them,  and  haul  up  for  the  southern  coast  of  Spain, 
running  finally  into  Cadiz. 

Christmas  day  was  passed  by  "us  on  the  lonely  sea,  in  as 
doleful  a  manner  as  can  well  be  conceived.  The  weather  is 
thus  described  in  my  journal.  "Thermometer  63°;  barometer 
29.80.  Heavy  rain  squalls  —  weather  dirty,  with  lightning  all 
around  the  horizon,  indicating  a  change  of  wind  at  any  mo 
ment.  Under  short  sail  during  the  night."  The  only  other 
record  of  the  day  was  that  we  "  spliced  the  main  brace ; "  that 
is,  gave  Jack  an  extra  glass  of  grog.  Groups  of  idle  sailors 
layabout  the  decks,  "overhauling  a  range  of  their  memories;" 
how  they  had  spent  the  last  Christmas-day,  in  some  "  Wapping," 
or  "Wide  Water  street/' with  the  brimming  goblet  in  hand, 
and  the  merry  music  of  the  dance  sounding  in  their  ears.  Nor 
were  the  memories  of  the  officers  idle.  They  clasped  in  fancy 
their  loved  ones,  now  sad  and  lonely,  to  their  bosoms  once 
more,  and  listened  to  the  prattle  of  the  little  ones  they  had  left 
behind.  Not  the  least  curious  of  the  changes  that  had  taken 
place  since  the  last  Christmas  day,  was  the  change  in  their 
own  official  positions.  They  were,  most  of  them,  on  that  day, 
afloat  under  the  "  old  flag."  That  flag  now  looked  to  them 
strange  and  foreign.  They  had  some  of  their  own  countrymen 
on  board;  not,  as  of  yore,  as  welcome  visitors,  but  as  prisoners. 
These,  too,  wore  a  changed  aspect  —  enemy,  instead  of  friend, 
being  written  upon  their  faces.  The  two  "rival  nations," 
spoken  of  by  De  Tocqueville,  stood  face  to  face.  Nature  is 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      285 

stronger  than  man.  She  will  not  permit  her  laws  to  be  vio 
lated  with  impunity,  and  if  this  war  does  not  separate  these 
two  nations,  other  wars  will.  If  we  succeed  in  preserving  the 
principle  of  State  sovereignty  —  the  only  principle  which  can 
save  this  whole  country,  North  and  South,  from  utter  wreck 
and  ruin  —  all  will  be  well,  whatever  combinations  of  par 
ticular  States  may  be  made,  from  time  to  time.  The  States 
being  free,  liberty  will  be  saved,  and  they  will  gravitate  natu 
rally,  like  unto  like  —  the  Puritan  clinging  to  the  Puritan,  and 
the  Cavalier  to  the  Cavalier.  But  if  this  principle  be  over 
thrown,  if  the  mad  idea  be  carried  out,  that  all  the  American 
people  must  be  moulded  into  a  common  mass,  and  form  one 
consolidated  government,  under  the  rule  of  a  majority — for  no 
constitution  will  then  restrain  them  —  Constitutional  liberty 
will  disappear,  and  no  man  can  predict  the  future  —  except  in 
so  far,  that  it  is  impossible  for  the  Puritan,  and  the  Cavalier  to 
live  together  in  peace. 

On  the  next  day,  we  witnessed  a  curious  natural  illusion. 
The  look-out  called  land  ho!  from  the  mast-head.  The  officer 
of  the  watch  saw  the  land  at  the  same  time  from  the  deck,  and 
sent  a  midshipman  below  to  inform  me  that  we  had  made  "high 
land,  right  ahead."  I  came  at  once  upon  deck,  and  there,  sure 
enough,  was  the  land  —  a  beautiful  island,  with  its  blue  moun 
tains,  its  plains,  its  wood-lands,  its  coast,  all  perfect.  It  was 
afternoon.  The  weather  had  been  stormy,  but  had  partially 
cleared.  The  sun  was  near  his  setting,  and  threw  his  depart 
ing  rays  full  upon  the  newly  discovered  island,  hanging  over 
it,  as  a  symbol  that,  for  a  time,  there  was  to  be  a  truce  with 
the  storm,  a  magnificent  rainbow.  So  beautiful  was  the  scene, 
and  so  perfect  the  illusion  —  there  being  no  land  within  a 
couple  of  hundred  miles  of  us  —  that  all  the  crew  had  come  on 
deck  to  witness  it;  and  there  was  not  one  of  them  who  would 
not  have  bet  a  month's  pay  that  what  he  looked  upon  was  a 
reality. 

The  chief  engineer  was  standing  by  me  looking  upon  the 
supposed  landscape,  with  perfect  rapture.  Lowering  the  tele 
scope  through  which  I  had  been  viewing  it,  I  said  to  him, 
"You  see,  now,  Mr.  F.,  how  often  men  are  deceived.  You 
would  no  doubt  swear  that  that  is  land."  "  Why  should  I  not, 


286  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sir?"  said  he.  "Simply,"  rejoined  I,  "because  it  is  Cape  Fly 
away."  He  turned  and  looked  at  me  with  astonishment,  as 
though  I  were  quizzing  him,  and  said,  "You  surely  do  not 
mean  to  say,  Captain,  that  that  is  not  land;  it  is  not  possible 
that  one's  senses  can  be  so  much  deceived."  "Like  yourself,  I 
should  have  sworn  it  was  land,  if  I  did  not  know,  from  the 
position  of  the  ship,  that  there  is  no  land  within  a  couple  of 
hundred  miles  of  us."  Beaching  out  his  hand  for  my  glass,  I 
gave  it  to  him,  and  as  he  viewed  the  island  through  it,  I  was 
much  amused  at  his  ejaculations  of  admiration,  now  at  this 
beauty,  and  now  at  that.  "Why,"  said  he,  "there  is  the  very 
coast,  sand  beach  and  all,  with  beautiful  bays  and  indentations, 
as  though  inviting  the  Sumter  to  run  in  and  anchor."  As  the 
sun  sank  lower  and  lower,  withdrawing  now  one  ray,  and  now 
another,  first  the  rainbow  began  to  disappear,  and  then  the 
lower  strata  of  the  island  to  grow  a  little  gray,  and  then 
the  upper,  until,  as  the  sun  dipped,  the  whole  gorgeous  fabric, 
of  mountain,  woodland,  plain,  and  coast,  was  converted  into  a 
leaden-colored  cloud-bank.  The  engineer  handing  me  my 
glass,  said,  "Captain,  I  will  be  a  cautious  witness  hereafter,  in 
a  court  of  justice,  when  I  am  questioned  as  to  a  fact,  which 
has  only  been  revealed  to  me  through  a  single  sense."  "I  see," 
I  replied,  "that  you  are  becoming  a  philosopher.  Many  meta 
physicians  have  maintained  that  all  nature  is  a  mere  phantas 
magoria,  so  far  as  our  senses  are  capable  of  informing  us." 

For  the  last  two  weeks,  we  had  been  crossing  a  desert  tract 
of  the  ocean,  where  a  sail  is  seldom  seen.  We  now  began  to 
approach  one  of  the  beaten  highways,  over  which  a  constant 
stream  of  travel  is  passing  —  the  road  leading  from  the  vari 
ous  ports  of  Europe  to  the  equator  and  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
and  thence  east  and  west,  as  may  be  the  destination  of  the  way 
farer. 

December  28th. —  A  fine,  bright  day,  with  the  wind  light  from 
the  south-west.  At  daylight,  "Sail  ho!"  came  ringing  from 
the  mast-head.  The  sail  crossing  our  bows,  we  took  in  our 
studding-sails,  hauled  up  south-east,  to  intercept  her,  and 
got  up  steam.  Our  latitude  being  35°  17',  and  longitude 
20°  53',  we  were  within  striking  distance  of  Cadiz  or  Gibral 
tar,  and  could  afford  now  to  use  a  little  steam.  The  chase  did 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        287 

not  reward  us,  however,  as  she  proved  to  be  English  —  being 
the  ship  Richibucto,  from  Liverpool,  for  Yera  Cruz,  laden  with 
salt.  We  received  from  her  some  English  newspapers,  which 
gave  us  several  items  of  interesting  intelligence.  All  England 
was  in  mourning  for  the  death  of  Prince  Albert.  The  Trent 
affair  was  causing  great  excitement,  and  the  Confederate  States 
steamer  Nashville,  Captain  Pegram,  had  arrived  at  Southamp 
ton,  having  burned  a  large  Yankee  ship,  the  Harvey  Birch. 
This  ship  having  been  burned  in  the  English  Channel,  much 
attention  was  attracted  to  the  act;  especially  as  the  ship  was 
tea-laden;  and  supposed  to  be  worth  near  half  a  million  of 
dollars. 

The  next  day  was  rainy,  with  a  light  wind  from  the  south 
east.  Only  two  sails  were  seen,  and  to  neither  of  them  did  we 
give  chase;  but  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  December,  we 
fell  in  with  a  perfect  stream  of  ships.  "  Sail  ho !  "  was  shouted 
at  daylight  from  the  mast-head,  and  repeated  at  short  intervals, 
until  as  many  as  twenty-five  were  reported.  We  at  once  got 
up  steam,  and  commenced  chasing;  but  though  we  chased 
diligently,  one  ship  after  another,  from  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning  until  four  in  the  afternoon,  we  did  not  overhaul  a 
single  ship  of  the  enemy !  We  actually  boarded  sixteen  sail, 
a  number  of  others  showing  us  their  colors.  The  ships 
boarded  were  of  the  following  nationalities: — Four  Dutch, 
seven  English,  two  French,  one  Swedish,  one  Prussian,  one 
Hamburg.  Here  was  quite  a  representation  of  the  nations  of 
Europe,  and  I  amused  myself  taking  the  vote  of  these  ships, 
according  to  our  American  fashion,  upon  the  war.  Their  sen 
timents  were  elicited  as  follows :  —  I  would  first  show  them  the 
United  States  colors,  pretending  to  be  a  Federal  cruiser;  I 
would  then  haul  down  these  colors,  and  show  them  the  Con 
federate  flag.  The  result  was  that  but  one  ship  —  the  Prus 
sian —  saluted  the  United  States  flag,  and  that  all  the  other 
ships,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  saluted  the  Confederate  States 
flag.  We  were  then  beating  the  enemy,  and  the  nations  of  the 
earth  were  worshipping  success. 

So.  large  a  fleet  of  ships  —  not  being  a  convoy — so  far  out 
at  sea,  was  quite  a  curiosity,  and  may  serve  to  show  the  lands 
man  how  accurately  we  have  mapped  out;  upon  the  ocean,  the 
19 


288  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

principal  highways  of  commerce.  Tlure  were  no  mile-posts 
on  the  road  these  ships  were  travelling,  it  is  true,  but  the  road 
was  none  the  less  "blazed"  out;  for  all  that — the  blazes  being 
on  the  wind  and  current  charts.  The  night  succeeding  this 
busy  day  set  in  cloudy  and  ugly,  with  a  fresh  breeze  blowing 
from  the  eastward ;  and  so  continuous  was  the  stream  of  ships, 
all  sailing  in  the  contrary  direction  from  ourselves,  that  we 
had  serious  apprehensions  of  being  run  over.  To  guard 
against  this,  we  set  our  side-lights,  and  stationed  extra  look 
outs.  Several  ships  passed  us  during  the  night,  hurrying 
forward  on  the  wings  of  the  wind,  at  a  rapid  rate,  and  some 
times  coming  so  close,  in  the  darkness,  as  almost  to  make 
one's  hair  stand  on  end.  The  next  morning  the  weather  be 
came  clear  and  beautiful,  and  the  stream  of  ships  had  ceased. 

The  reader  may  be  curious  to  know  the  explanation  of  this 
current  of  ships.  It  is  simple  enough.  They  were  all  Me 
diterranean  ships.  At  the  strait  of  Gibraltar  there  is  a  con 
stant  current  setting  into  the  Mediterranean.  This  current 
is  of  considerable  strength,  and  the  consequence  is,  that  when 
the  wind  also  sets  into  the  strait  —  that  is  to  say,  when  it  is 
from  the  westward — it  is  impossible  for  a  sailing-ship  to 
get  out  of  the  strait  into  the  Atlantic.  She  is  obliged  to  come 
to  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Gibraltar,  and  wait  for  a  change  of 
wind.  This  is  sometimes  a  long  time  in  coming — the  west 
erly  winds  continuing  here,  not  unfrequently,  two  and  three 
weeks  at  a  time.  As  a  matter  of  course,  a  large  number  of 
ships  collect  in  the  bay,  waiting  for  an  opportunity  of  exit.  I 
have  seen  as  many  as  a  hundred  sail  at  one  time.  In  a  few 
•hours  after  a  change  of  wind  takes  place,  this  immense  fleet 
will  all  be  under  way,  and  such  of  them  as  are  bound  to  the 
equator  and  the  coast  of  Brazil,  the  United  States,  West 
Indies,  and  South  America,  will  be  found  travelling  the  blazed 
road  of  which  I  have  spoken ;  some  taking  the  forks  of  the 
road,  at  their  respective  branching-off  places,  and  others 
keeping  the  main  track  to  the  equator.  Hence  the  exodus 
the  reader  has  witnessed. 

Perhaps  the  reader  needs  another  explanation — how  it  was, 
that  amid  all  that  fleet  of  ships,  there  was  not  one  Yankee. 
This  explanation  is  almost  as  easy  as  the  other.  Commerce 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      289 

is  a  sensitive  plant,  and  at  the  rude  touch  of  war  it  had  con 
tracted  its  branches.  The  enemy  was  fast  losing  his  Mediter 
ranean  trade,  under  the  operation  of  high  premiums  for  war 
risks. 

We  began  now  to  observe  a  notable  change  in  the  weather, 
as  affected  by  the  winds.  Along  the  entire  length  of  the 
American  coast,  the  clear  winds  are  the  west  winds,  the  rain- 
winds  being  the  east  winds.  Here  the  rule  is  reversed;  the 
west  winds  bringing  us  rains,  and  the  east  winds  clear  weather. 
The  reason  is  quite  obvious.  The  east  winds,  sweeping  over 
the  continent  of  Europe,  have  nearly  all  of  their  moisture 
wrung  out  of  them  before  they  reach  the  sea ;  hence  the  dry- 
ness  of  these  winds,  when  they  salute  the  mariner  cruising 
along  the  European  coasts.  Starting  now  from  the  European 
seas  as  dry  winds,  they  traverse  a  large  extent  of  water  before 
they  reach  the  coasts  of  the  United  States.  During  the  whole 
of  this  travel,  these  thirsty  winds  are  drinking  their  fill  from 
the  sea,  and  by  the  time  they  reach  Portland  or  Boston,  they 
are  heavily  laden  with  moisture,  which  they  now  begin  to  let 
down  again  upon  the  land.  Hence,  those  long,  gloomy,  rainy, 
rheumatic,  easterly  storms,  that  prevail  along  our  coast  in  the 
fall  and  winter  months.  The  reader  has  now  only  to  take  up 
the  west  wind,  as  it  leaves  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  a  wet  wind, 
and  follow  it  across  the  American  continent,  and  see  how  dry 
the  mountains  wring  it  before  it  reaches  the  Atlantic,  to  see 
why  it  should  bring  us  fair  weather.  The  change  was  very 
curious  to  us  at  first,  until  we  became  a  little  used  to  it. 

Another  change  was  quite  remarkable,  and  that  was  the 
great  difference  in  temperature  which  we  experienced  with  ref 
erence  to  latitude.  Here  we  were,  in  midwinter,  or  near  it, 
off  the  south  coast  of  Spain,  in  latitude  36°,  nearly  that  of  Cape 
Henry  at  the  entrance  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  unless  the 
weather  was  wet,  we  had  not  felt  the  necessity  of  a  pea-jacket. 
Whence  this  difference  ?  The  cause,  or  causes,  whatever  they 
are,  must,  of  course,  be  local ;  for  other  things  being  equal, 
the  heat  should  be  the  same,  on  the  same  parallel  of  latitude, 
all  around  the  globe  which  we  inhabit.  Captain  Matthew  F. 
Maury,  of  the  late  Confederate  States'  Navy,  to  whom  all 
nations  accord,  as  by  common  consent,  the  title  of  Philosopher 


290  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  the  Seas,  accounts  for  this  difference  of  temperature  in  the 
following  manner  :  "Modern  ingenuity  has  suggested  a  beau 
tiful  mode  of  warming  houses  in  winter.  It  is  done  by  means 
of  hot  water.  The  furnace  and  the  caldron  are  sometimes 
placed  at  a  distance  from  the  apartment  to  be  warmed.  It  is 
so  at  the  Observatory.  In  this  case,  pipes  are  used  to  conduct 
the  heated  water  from  the  caldron  under  the  Superintendent's 
dwelling,  over  into  one  of  the  basement  rooms  of  the  Obser 
vatory,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  feet.  These  pipes  are  then 
flared  out,  so  as  to  present  a  large  cooling  surface ;  after  which 
they  are  united  into  one  again,  through  which  the  water,  being 
now  cooled,  returns  of  its  own  accord  to  the  caldron.  Thus, 
cool  water  is  returning  all  the  time,  and  flowing  in  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  caldron,  while  hot  water  is  continually  flowing  out 
at  the  top.  The  ventilation  of  the  Observatory  is  so  arranged 
that  the  circulation  of  the  atmosphere  through  it  is  led  from 
this  basement  room,  where  the  pipes  are,  to  all  parts  of  the 
building ;  and  in  the  process  of  this  circulation,  the  warmth 
conveyed  by  the  water  to  the  basement,  is  taken  thence  by  the 
air^  and  distributed  all  over  the  rooms. 

"  Now,  to  compare  small  things  with  great,  we  have,  in  the 
warm  waters  which  are  confined  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  just 
such  a  heating  apparatus  for  Great  Britain,  the  North  Atlantic, 
and  Western  Europe.  The  furnace  is  the  torrid  zone;  the 
Mexican  Gulf  and  Caribbean  Sea  are  the  caldrons ;  the  Gulf 
Stream  is  the  conducting-pipe.  From  the  Grand  Banks  of 
New  Foundland  to  the  shores  of  Europe  is  the  basement — the 
hot-air  chambers  —  in  which  this  pipe  is  flared  out  so  as  to  pre 
sent  a  large  cooling  surface.  Here  the  circulation  of  the  atmo 
sphere  is  arranged  by  nature,  and  it  is  such  that  the  warmth 
conveyed  into  this  warm-air  chamber  of  mid-ocean  is  taken  up 
by  the  genial  west  winds,  and  dispensed  in  the  most  benign 
manner,  throughout  Great  Britain  and  the  west  of  Europe. 
The  maximum  temperature  of  the  water-heated  air-chamber  of 
the  Observatory,  is  about  90°.  The  maximum  temperature  of 
the  Gulf  Stream  is  86°,  or  about  9°  in  excess  of  the  ocean  tem 
perature  due  the  latitude.  Increasing  its  latitude,  10°,  it  loses 
but  2°  of  temperature ;  and  after  having  run  three  thousand 
miles  toward  the  BJrth,  it  still  preserves,  even  in  winter,  the 
heat  of  summer. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       291 

"  With  this  temperature  it  crosses  the  40th  degree  of  North 
latitude,  and  there,  overflowing  its  liquid  banks,  it  spreads  it 
self  out  for  thousands  of  square  leagues  over  the  cold  waters 
around,  and  covers  the  ocean  with  a  mantle  of  warmth  that 
serves  so  much  to  mitigate  in  Europe,  the  rigors  of  winter. 
Moving  now  slowly,  but  dispensing  its  genial  influences  more 
freely,  it  finally  meets  the  British  Islands.  By  these  it  is  di 
vided,  one  part  going  into  the  polar  basin  of  Spitzbergen,  the 
other  entering  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  but  each  with  a  warmth  con 
siderably  above  the  ocean  temperature.  Such  an  immense 
volume  of  heated  water  cannot  fail  to  carry  with  it  beyond  the 
seas  a  mild  and  moist  atmosphere.  And  this  it  is  which  so 
much  softens  climates  there.  We  know  not,  except  approxi 
mately  in  one  or  two  places,  what  the  depth  or  the  under 
temperature  of  the  Gulf  Stream  may  be;  but  assuming  the 
temperature  and  velocity,  at  the  depth  of  two  hundred  fathoms 
to  be  those  of  the  surface,  and  taking  the  well-known  differ 
ence  between  the  capacity  of  air,  and  of  water  for  specific  heat 
as  the  argument,  a  simple  calculation  will  show  that  the  quan 
tity  of  heat  discharged  over  the  Atlantic  from  the  waters  of 
the  Gulf  Stream  in  a  winter's  day  would  be  sufficient  to  raise 
the  whole  column  of  atmosphere  that  rests  upon  France,  and 
the  British  Islands  from  the  freezing-point  to  summer  heat. 
Every  west  wind  that  blows,  crosses  the  stream  on  its  way  to 
Europe,  and  carries  with  it  a  portion  of  this  heat  to  temper 
there  the  northern  winds  of  winter.  It  is  the  influence  of  this 
stream  upon  climates,  that  makes  Erin  the  'Emerald  Isle  of 
the  Sea,'  and  that  clothes  the  shores  of  Albion  in  evergreen 
robes;  while  in  the  same  latitude  on  this  side,  the  coasts  of 
Labrador  are  fast  bound  in  fetters  of  ice." 

To  pursue  Captain  Maury's  theory  a  little  farther:  the  flow 
of  tepid  waters  does  not  cease  at  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  but  con 
tinues  along  the  coasts  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  thence  along 
the  coast  of  Africa,  past  Madeira  and  the  Canaries,  to  the  Cape 
de  Verdes;  where  it  joins  the  great  equatorial  current  flowing 
westward,  with  which  it  returns  again  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
The  /Sumter,  being  between  Madeira  and  the  coast  of  Spain, 
was  within  its  influence.  One  word  before  I  part  with  my 
friend  Maury.  In  common  with  thousands  of  mariners  all 


292  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

over  the  world,  I  owe  him  a  debt  of  gratitude,  for  his  gigantic 
labors  in  the  scientific  fields  of  our  profession ;  for  the  sailor 
may  claim  the  philosophy  of  the  seas  as  a  part  of  his  profes 
sion.  A  knowledge  of  the  winds  and  the  waves,  and  the  laws 
which  govern  their  motions  is  as  necessary  to  the  seaman  as 
is  the  art  of  handling  his  ship,  and  to  no  man  so  much  as  to 
Maury  is  he  indebted  for  a  knowledge  of  these  laws.  Other 
distinguished  co-laborers,  as  Eeid,  Eedfield,  Espy,  have  contri 
buted  to  the  science,  but  none  in  so  eminent  a  degree.  They 
dealt  in  specialties  —  as,  for  instance,  the  storm — but  he  has 
grasped  the  whole  science  of  meteorology  —  dealing  as  well  in 
the  meteorology  of  the  water,  if  I  may  use  the  expression,  as 
in  that  of  the  atmosphere. 

A  Tennesseean  by  birth,  he  did  not  hesitate  when  the  hour 
came,  "that  tried  men's  souls."  Poor,  and  with  a  large  family, 
he  gave  up  the  comfortable  position  of  Superintendent  of  the 
National  Observatory,  which  he  held  under  the  Federal  Gov 
ernment,  and  cast  his  fortunes  with  the  people  of  his  State. 
He  had  not  the  courage  to  be  a  traitor,  and  sell  himself  for 
gold.  The  State  of  Tennessee  gave  him  birth;  she  carried 
him  into  the  Federal  Union,  and  she  brought  him  out  of 
it.  Scarcely  any  man  who  withdrew  from  the  old  service  has 
been  so  vindictively,  and  furiously  assailed  as  Maury.  The 
nationalists  of  the  North,  —  and  I  mean  by  nationalists,  the 
whole  body  of  the  Northern  people,  who  ignored  the  rights 
of  the  States,  and  claimed  that  the  Federal  Government  was 
paramount, —  had  taken  especial  pride  in  Maury  and  his  labors. 
He,  as  well  as  the  country  at  large,  belonged  to  them.  They 
petted  and  caressed  him,  and  pitted  him  against  the  philoso 
phers  of  the  world,  with  true  Yankee  conceit.  They  had  the 
biggest  country,  and  the  cleverest  men  in  the  world,  and  Maury 
was  one  of  these. 

But  Maury,  resisting  all  these  blandishments,  showed,  to 
their  horror,  when  the  hour  of  trial  came,  that  he  was  a 
Southern  gentleman,  and  not  a  Puritan.  The  change  of  senti 
ment  was  instantaneous  and  ludicrous.  Their  self-conceit  had 
received  an  awful  blow,  and  there  is  no  wound  so  damaging 
as  that  which  has  been  given  to  self-conceit.  Almost  every 
thing  else  may  be  forgiven,  but  tj  us  never  can.  Maury  became 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     293 

at  once  a  "rebel"  and  a  "traitor,"  and  everything  else  that  was 
vile.  He  was  not  even  a  philosopher  any  longer,  but  a  hum 
bug  and  a  cheat.  In  science,  as  in  other  pursuits,  there  are 
rivalries  and  jealousies.  The  writer  of  these  pages,  having 
been  stationed  at  the  seat  of  the  Federal  Government  for  a 
year  or  two  preceding  the  war,  was  witness  of  some  of  the 
rivalries  and  jealousies  of  Maury,  on  the  part  of  certain  small 
philosophers,  who  thought  the  world  had  not  done  justice  to 
themselves.  These  now  opened  upon  the  dethroned  monarch  of 
the  seas,  as  live  asses  will  kick  at  dead  lions,  and  there  was  no 
end  to  the  partisan  abuse  that  was  heaped  upon  the  late  Chief 
of  the  National  Observatory. 

Maury  had  been  a  Federal  naval  officer,  as  well  as  philoso 
pher,  and  some  of  his  late  confreres  of  the  Federal  service, 
who,  in  former  years,  had  picked  up  intellectual  crumbs  from 
the  table  of  the  philosopher,  and  were  content  to  move  in 
orbits  at  a  very  respectful  distance  from  him ;  now,  raised 
by  capricious  fortune  to  place,  joined  in  the  malignant  outcry 
against  him.  Philosopher  of  the  Seas !  Thou  mayest  afford 
to  smile  at  these  vain  attempts  to  humble  thee.  Science, 
which  can  never  be  appreciated  by  small  natures,  has  no  na 
tionality.  Thou  art  a  citizen  of  the  world,  and  thy  historic 
fame  does  not  depend  upon  the  vile  traducers  of  whom  I  have 
spoken.  These  creatures,  in  the  course  of  a  few  short  years, 
will  rot  in  unknown  graves;  thy  fame  will  be  immortal! 
Thou  hast  revealed  to  us  the  secrets  of  the  depths  of  the 
ocean,  traced  its  currents,  discoursed  to  us  of  its  storms  and 
its  calms,  and  taught  us  which  of  its  roads  to  travel,  and  which 
to  avoid.  Every  mariner,  for  countless  ages  to  come,  as  he 
takes  down  his  chart,  to  shape  his  course  across  the  seas,  will 
think  of  thee !  He  will  think  of  thee  as  he  casts  his  lead  into 
the  deep  sea ;  he  will  think  of  thee,  as  he  draws  a  bucket  of 
water  from  it,  to  examine  its  animalculae ;  he  will  think  of 
thee  as  he  sees  the  storm  gathering  thick  and  ominous  ;  he  will 
think  of  thee  as  he  approaches  the  calm-belts,  and  especially 
the  calm-belt  of  the  equator,  with  its  mysterious  cloud-ring; 
he  will  think  of  thee  as  he  is  scudding  before  the  "brave  west 
winds  "  of  the  Southern  hemisphere ;  in  short,  there  is  no  phe 
nomenon  of  the  sea  that  will  not  recall  to  him  thine  image. 


294  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

This  is  the  living  monument  which  thou  hast  constructed  for 
thyself,  and  which  all  the  rage  of  the  Puritan  cannot  shake. 

December  31st.  —  The  last  day  of  the  year,  as  though  it 
would  atone  to  us  for  some  of  the  bad  weather  its  previous 
days  had  given  us,  is  charming.  There  is  not  a  cloud,  as  big 
as  a  man's  hat,  anywhere  to  be  seen,  and  the  air  is  so  elastic 
that  it  is  a  positive  pleasure  to  breathe  it.  The  temperature  is 
just  cool  enough  to  be  comfortable,  though  the  wind  is  from 
the  north.  At  daylight,  a  couple  of  sail  were  reported  from 
aloft,  but,  as  they  were  at  a  great  distance,  and  out  of  our 
course,  we  did  not  chase.  Indeed,  we  have  become  quite  dis 
couraged  since  our  experience  of  yesterday.  A  third  sail  was 
seen  at  noon,  also  at  a  great  distance.  These  are  probably  the 
laggards  of  the  great  Mediterranean  wind-bound  fleet.  We 
observed,  to-day,  in  latitude  35°  22' ;  the  longitude  being 
16°  27'.  It  becoming  quite  calm  at  eight  P.  M.,  I  put  the  ship 
under  steam ;  being  about  490  miles  from  Cadiz. 

January  1st,  1862.  —  Nearly  calm;  wind  light  from  the 
south-west,  and  sky  partially  overcast.  The  sea  is  smooth, 
and  we  are  making  nine  knots,  the  hour.  We  made  an  excel 
lent  run  during  the  past  night,  and  are  approaching  the  Span 
ish  coast  very  rapidly.  Nothing  seen  during  the  day.  At 
nine  P.  M.  a  sail  passed  us,  a  gleam  of  whose  light  we  caught 
for  a  moment  in  the  darkness.  The  light  being  lost  almost 
as  soon  as  seen,  we  did  not  attempt  to  chase.  Latitude  35° 
53';  longitude  13°  14'. 

On  the  next  day  we  overhauled  a  French,  and  a  Spanish 
ship.  It  had  been  my  intention,  when  leaving  Martinique,  to 
cruise  a  few  days  off  Cadiz,  before  entering  the  port,  and  for 
this  purpose  I  had  reserved  a  three  days'  supply  of  fuel ;  but, 
unfortunately,  the  day  before  our  arrival  we  took  another  gale 
of  wind,  which  shook  us  so  severely,  that  the  ship's  leak  in 
creased  very  rapidly ;  the  engineer  reporting  that  it  was  as 
much  as  he  could  do  to  keep  her  free,  with  the  bilge  pumps, 
under  short  steam.  The  leak  was  evidently  through  the  sleeve 
of  the  propeller,  and  was  becoming  alarming.  I  therefore 
abandoned  the  idea  of  cruising,  and  ran  directly  for  the  land. 
Night  set  in  before  anything  could  be  seen,  but  having  every 
confidence  in  my  chronometers,  I  ran  without  any  hesitation 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     295 

for  the  Light,  although  we  had  been  forty-one  days  at  sea, 
without  testing  our  instruments  by  a  sight  of  land.  'We  made 
the  light  —  a  fine  Fresnel,  with  a  red  flash  —  during  the  mid- 
watch,  and  soon  afterward  got  soundings.  We  now  slowed 
down  the  engine,  and  ran  in  by  the  lead,  until  we  judged  our 
selves  four  or  five  miles  distant  from  the  light,  when  we  hove 
to.  The  next  morning  revealed  Cadiz,  fraught  with  so  many 
ancient,  and  modern  memories,  in  all  its  glory,  though  the 
weather  was  gloomy  and  the  clouds  dripping  rain. 

"  Fair  Cadiz,  rising  o'er  the  dark  blue  sea  !  " 

as  Byron  calls  thee,  thou  art  indeed  lovely!  with  thy  white 
Moresque-looking  houses,  and  gayly  curtained  balconies,  thy 
church-domes  which  carry  us  back  in  architecture  a  thousand 
years,  and  thy  harbor  thronged  with  shipping.  Once  the 
Gades  of  the  Phoenician,  now  the  Cadiz  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury,  thou  art  perhaps  the  only  living  city  that  can  run  thy 
record  back  so  far  into  the  past. 

We  fired  a  gun,  and  hoisted  a  jack  for  a  pilot,  and  one 
boarding  us  soon  afterward,  we  steamed  into  the  harbor. 
The  Confederate  States'  flag  was  flying  from  our  peak,  and  we 
could  see  that  there  were  many  curious  telescopes  turned 
upon  us,  as  we  passed  successively  the  forts  and  the  different 
quays  lined  with  shipping.  As  the  harbor  opened  upon  us,  a 
magnificent  spectacle  presented  itself.  On  our  left  was  the 
somewhat  distant  coast  of  Andalusia,  whose  name  is  synony 
mous  with  all  that  is  lovely  in  scenery,  or  beautiful  in  woman. 
One  almost  fancies  as  he  looks  upon  it,  that  he  hears  the  amo 
rous  tinkle  of  the  guitar,  and  inhales  the  fragrance  of  the 
orange  grove.  Seville  is  its  chief  city,  and  who  has  not  read 
the  couplet, 

"  Quien  no  ha  visto  Sevilla 
No  ha  visto  maravilla," 

which  may  be  rendered  into  the  vernacular  thus : 

"  He  who  hath  not  Seville  seen, 
Hath  not  seen  wonders,  I  ween." 

The  landscape,  still  green  in  mid- winter,  was  dotted  with  villas 
and  villages,  all  white,  contrasting  prettily  with  the  groves 
in  which  they  were  embowered.  Casting  the  eye  forward,  it 


296  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

rested  upon  the  picturesque  hills  of  the  far-famed  wine  district 
of  Xeres,  with  its  vineyards,  wine-presses,  and  pack-mules. 
Some  famous  old  wine  estates  were  pointed  out  to  us  by  the 
pilot. 

We  ran  through  a  fleet  of  shipping  before  reaching  our 
anchorage  off  the  main  quay,  the  latter  lined  on  both  sides  with 
market-boats;  and  as  much  more  shipping  lay  beyond  us.  I  was, 
indeed,  quite  surprised  to  find  the  harbor,  which  is  spacious,  so 
thronged.  It  spoke  well  for  the  reviving  industry  of  Spain. 
With  a  little  fancy  one  might  imagine  her  still  the  mistress  of 
the  " Indies,"  and  that  these  were  her  galleons  come  to  pour 
the  mineral  treasures  of  half  a  world  in  her  lap.  All  nations 
were  represented,  though  the  Spanish  flag  predominated. 
Wearing  this  flag  there  were  many  fine  specimens  of  naval 
architecture — especially  lines  of  steamships  plying  between 
Cadiz,  the  West  Indies,  and  South  America.  A  number  of 
the  merchant- ships  of  different  nations  hoisted  their  flags  in 
honor  of  the  Sumter  as  she  passed ;  and  one  Yankee  ship  — 
there  being  three  or  four  of  them  in  the  harbor — hoisted  hers, 
as  much  as  to  say,  "  You  see  we  are  not  afraid  to  show  it." 


CHAPTEK   XXIII 

ANNOYANCE  OF   THE   SPANISH  OFFICIALS SHOUT   CORRE 
SPONDENCE   WITH    THE    UNITED    STATES    CONSUL THE 

TELEGRAPH  PUT  IN  OPERATION  BY  THE  OFFICIALS 
BETWEEN  CADIZ  AND  MADRID THE  SUMTER  IS  OR 
DERED  TO  LEAVE  IN  TWENTY-FOUR  HOURS DECLINES 

OBEDIENCE   TO    THE  ORDER PRISONERS    LANDED,  AND 

SHIP  DOCKED  AFTER  MUCH  ADO DESERTERS SUM 
TER  LEAVES  CADIZ. 

THE  Spanish  officials  began  to  annoy  us  even  before  we  let 
go  our  anchor — a  health  officer  boarding  us,  and  telling 
us  that  he  should  have  to  quarantine  us  for  three  days,  unless 
we  could  show  him  a  clean  bill  of  health.  We  told  him  that 
our  health  was  clean  enough,  but  that  we  had  no  bill  to  estab 
lish  the  fact,  whereupon  he  went  on  shore  to  consult  his 
superiors.  I  sent  by  him,  the  following  communication  to  the 
United  States  Consul,  whose  name  was  Eggleston :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  > 
CADIZ,  January  4,  1862.  j 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  I  have  on  board  this 
ship  forty-three  prisoners  of  war  —  late  the  crews  of  a  ship,  a 
bark,  and  a  schooner,  property  of  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
burned  by  nie  on  the  high  seas.  These  men  having  elected  to  be 
discharged  on  parole,  I  am  ready  to  deliver  them  to  you. 

Mr.  Eggleston,  proving  to  be  quite  a  diplomat,  refused  to 
give  me  my  official  title,  in  replying  to  my  note;  and  of 
course,  I  could  have  no  further  communication  with  him.  In 
the  afternoon,  the  Health  Officer  again  came  off  to  inform  us 
that  the  important  questions,  of  the  cleanness  of  our  health, 
and  the  discharge  of  our  prisoners,  had  been  telegraphed  to 
Madrid,  and  that  we  might  soon  expect  a  reply  from  her 
Majesty,  the  Queen. 

297 


298  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

The  next  morning  I  received,  by  the  hands  of  the  same 
officer,  a  peremptory  order,  from  the  Military  Governor,  to 
proceed  to  sea,  within  twenty-four  hours!  I  sat  down  and 
wrote  him  the  following  reply :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,  ") 
CADIZ,  January  5,  1862.  ) 

SIR:  —  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  through  the  health 
officer  of  the  port,  an  order  purporting  to  come  from  the  Govern 
ment  of  Spain,  directing  me  to  proceed  to  sea  within  twenty-four 
hours.  I  am  greatly  surprised  at  this  unfriendly  order.  Although 
my  Government  has.  not  yet  been  formally  recognized  by  Spain,  as 
a  de  jure  government,  it  has  been  declared  to  be  possessed  of  the 
rights  of  a  belligerent,  in  the  war  in  which  it  is  engaged,  and 
it  is  the  duty  of  Spain  to  extend  to  my  ship  the  same  hospitality 
that  she  would  extend  to  a  ship  of  war  of  the  opposite  bel 
ligerent.  It  can  make  no  difference  that  one  of  the  belligerents  is  a 
de  jure  nation,  and  the  other  a  de  facto  nation,  since  it  is  only  war 
rights,  or  such  as  pertain  to  belligerents,  which  we  are  discussing. 

I  am  aware  of  the  rule  adopted  by  Spain,  in  common  with  the 
other  great  powers,  prohibiting  belligerents  from  bringing  their 
prizes  into  her  ports,  but  this  rule  I  have  not  violated.  I  have 
entered  the  harbor  of  Cadiz,  with  my  single  ship,  and  I  demand 
only  the  hospitality  to  which  I  am  entitled  by  the  laws  of 
nations  —  the  Confederate  States  being  one  of  the  de  facto  nations 
of  the  earth,  by  Spain's  own  acknowledgment,  as  before  stated. 

I  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  add,  that  my  ship  is  in  a  crippled 
condition.  She  is  damaged  in  her  hull,  is  leaking  badly,  is  unsea- 
worthy,  and  will  require  to  be  docked  and  repaired  before  it  will  be 
possible  for  her  to  proceed  to  sea.  I  am  therefore  constrained,  by 
the  force  of  circumstances,  most  respectfully  to  decline  obedience  to 
the  order  which  I  have  received,  until  the  necessary  repairs  can  be 
made. 

Further:  —  I  have  on  board  forty- three  prisoners,  confined  within 
a  small  space  greatly  to  their  discomfort,  and  simple  humanity 
would  seem  to  dictate,  that  I  should  be  permitted  to  hand  them 
over  to  the  care  of  their  Consul  on  shore,  without  unnecessary  delay. 

Again,  the  telegraphic  wires  were  put  in  operation,  and  my 
reply  to  the  Military  Commandant  went  up  to  Madrid.  In  a 
few  hours  a  reply  came  down,  giving  me  permission  to  land 
my  prisoners,  and  to  remain  a  sufficient  time  to  put  the  neces 
sary  repairs  upon  my  ship.  In  the  meantime  the  most  offen 
sive  espionage  was  exercised  toward  me.  A  guard-boat  was 
anchored  near  by,  which  overhauled  all  shore-boats  which 
passed  between  the  Sumter  and  the  shore ;  and  on  the  evening 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        299 

of  my  arrival,  a  Spanish  frigate  came  down  from  the  dock 
yard,  and  anchored  near  my  ship.  There  are  no  private  docks 
in  Cadiz,  and  I  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  go  into  one  of  the 
government  docks  for  repairs.  Charles  Dickens  has  given  us 
an  amusing  account  of  an  English  Circumlocution  Office,  but 
English  red  tape  dwindles  into  insignificance  by  the  side  of 
Spanish  red  tape.  Getting  into  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  offi 
cials  was  like  getting  into  a  Chancery  suit.  I  thought  I  should 
never  get  out.  The  Military  Commandant  referred  me  to  the 
Captain  of  the  Port,  and  the  Captain  of  the  Port  referred  me 
back  to  the  Military  Commandant;  until  finally  they  both  toge 
ther  referred  me  to  the  Admiral  of -the  Dock- Yard;  to  whom  I 
should  have  been  referred  at  first.  In  the  meantime,  engineers 
and  sub-engineers,  and  other  officials  whose  titles  it  were  tedi 
ous  to  enumerate,  came  on  board,  to  measure  the  length  of  the 
ship  and  the  breadth  of  the  ship,  calculate  her  tonnage,  inspect 
her  boilers,  examine  into  the  quantity  of  water  she  made  during 
the  twenty-four  hours,  and  to  determine  generally  whether  we 
were  really  in  the  condition  we  had  represented  ourselves  to 
be  in,  or  whether  we  were  deceiving  her  Majesty  and  the  Min 
ister  of  the  Universal  Yankee  Nation  at  Madrid,  for  some 
sinister  purpose. 

The  permission  came  for  me,  at  length,  to  go  into  dock,  and 
landing  our  prisoners,  we  got  up  steam  and  proceeded  toCarraca, 
where  the  docks  lie,  distant  some  eight  miles  east  of  the  city. 
The  Navy  Yard  at  Carraca  is  an  important  building-yard;  it 
lies  at  the  head  of  the  bay  of  Cadiz,  and  is  approached  by  a 
long,  narrow,  and  somewhat  tortuous  channel,  well  buoyed. 
The  waters  are  deep  and  still,  and  the  Yard  is,  in  every  other 
respect,  admirably  situated.  It  reminded  us  much,  in  its  gen 
eral  aspect  and  surroundings,  of  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard,  in  Vir 
ginia.  We  were  not  long  delayed  in  entering  the  dock.  A 
ship  which  had  occupied  the  basin  assigned  to  us  —  there  were 
several  of  them  —  was  just  being  let  out  as  we  approached, 
and  in  the  course  of  an  hour  afterward,  the  Sumter  was  high 
and  dry ;  so  rapidly  had  the  operation  been  performed.  We 
examined  her  bottom  with  much  curiosity,  after  the  thumping 
she  had  had  on  the  bar  at  Maranham,  and  were  gratified  to  find 
that  she  had  received  no  material  damage.  A  small  portion 


300  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  her  copper  had  been  rubbed  off,  and  one  of  her  planks  in 
dented,  rather  than  fractured.  She  was  as  sound  and  tight  as 
a  bottle,  in  every  part  of  her,  except  in  her  propeller  sleeve. 
It  was  here  where  the  leak  had  been,  as  we  had  conjectured. 

To  the  delight  both  of  the  Spanish  officials,  who  were  ex 
ceedingly  anxious  to  get  rid  of  us,  lest  we  should  compromise 
them  in  some  way  with  the  Great  Republic,  of  whom  the^ 
seemed  to  be  exceedingly  afraid,  and  ourselves,  we  found  that 
the  needed  repairs  would  be  slight.  The  boilers  were  a  good 
deal  out  of  condition,  it  is  true,  but  as  they  were  capable  of 
bearing  a  low  pressure  of  steam,  sufficient  to  take  us  to  sea, 
the  officials  would  not  listen  to  my  proposals  to  repair  them. 
I  had  one  or  two  interviews,  whilst  I  lay  here,  with  the  Dock- 
Admiral,  whom  I  found  to  be  a  very  different  man  from  the 
Military  Commandant.  He  was  a  polite  and  refined  gentle 
man,  expressed  much  sympathy  for  our  people,  and  regretted 
that  his  orders  were  such  that  he  could  not  make  my  repairs 
more  thorough.  He  expressed  some  surprise  at  the  back 
down  of  the  Federal  Government,  in  the  Trent  affair,  the  news 
of  which  had  just  arrived,  and  said  that  he  had  fully  reckoned 
upon  our  having  Great  Britain  as  an  ally  in  the  war.  "  Great 
Britain  seems,  herself,  to  have  been  of  this  opinion,"  said  he, 
"  as  she  has  withdrawn  all  her  ships  of  war  from  the  Mediter 
ranean  station,  for  service  on  the  American  coast,  and  sent  ten 
thousand  troops  to  Canada." 

From  the  moment  my  ship  entered  within  the  precinct  of  the 
Spanish  Navy  Yard,  the  very  d — 1  seemed  to  have  broken 
loose  among  my  crew.  With  rare  exceptions,  a  common  sailor 
has  no  sense  of  nationality.  He  commences  his  sea-going 
career  at  so  tender  an  age,  is  so  constantly  at  sea,  and  sails 
under  so  many  different  flags,  that  he  becomes  eminently  a 
citizen  of  the  world.  Although  I  had  sailed  out  of  a  Southern 
port,  I  had  not  half  a  dozen  Southern-born  men  among  the 
rank  and  file  of  my  crew.  They  were  mostly  foreigners  — 
English  and  Irish  preponderating.  I  had  two  or  three  Yan 
kees  on  board,  who  had  pretended  to  be  very  good  South 
ern  men,  but  who,  having  failed  to  reap  the  rich  harvest  of 
prize-money,  which  they  had  proposed  to  themselves,  were 
now  about  to  develop  their  true  characters.  Some  of  my 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      301 

boats'  crews  had  visited  the  shore  on  duty,  and  whilst  their 
boats  were  lying  at  the  pier  waiting  for  the  officers  to  transact 
their  business,  the  tempter  had  come  along.  Sundry  Jack- 
Tars,  emissaries  of  the  diplomatic  Mr.  Eggleston,  the  Federal 
Consul,  had  rolled  along  down  the  pier,  hitching  up  their 
trousers,  and  replenishing  their  tobacco  quids  as  they  came 
along.  "Cadiz  is  a  nice  place,"  said  they  to  my  boats'  crews, 
"  with  plenty  of  grog,  and  lots  of  fun.  We  have  gotten  tired 
of  our  ships,  and  are  living  at  free  quarters  at  the  Consul's. 
Come  with  us,  and  let  us  have  a  jolly  good  time  together." 
And  they  did  come,  or  rather  go,  for,  on  one  single  night,  nine 
of  my  rascals  deserted.  This  was  whilst  we  were  still  in  dock. 
Being  let  out  of  dock,  we  dropped  down  to  the  city,  and  being 
afloat  again,  we  were  enabled  to  prevent  a  general  stampede, 
by  the  exercise  of  firmness  and  vigilance.  I  directed  an  officer 
to  be  sent  in  each  boat,  whenever  one  should  have  occasion  to 
communicate  with  the  shore,  armed  with  a  revolver,  and  with 
orders  to  shoot  down  any  one  who  should  attempt  to  desert. 
Two  or  three  other  sailors  slipped  away,  notwithstanding  these 
precautions,  but  there  the  matter  ended.  Hearing  that  my  de 
serters  were  harbored  by  the  United  States  Consul,  I  addressed 
the  following  letter  on  the  subject  to  the  Governor  of  the  city :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,") 
CADIZ,  January  16,   1862.  j 

SIR: — I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  whilst  my  ship  was 
in  dock  at  Carraca,  nine  of  my  seamen  deserted,  and  I  am  in 
formed  that  they  are  sheltered  and  protected  by  the  United  States 
Consul.  I  respectfully  request  that  you  will  cause  these  men  to  be 
delivered  up  to  me  ;  and  to  disembarrass  this  demand  of  any  diffi 
culty  that  may  seem  to  attend  it,  permit  me  to  make  the  following 
observations. 

1st.  In  the  first  place,  my  Government  has  been  acknowledged 
as  a  de  facto  government  by  Spain,  and  as  such  it  is  entitled  to 
all  the  rights  of  a  belligerent,  in  its  war  with  the  Government  of 
the  United  States. 

2d.  All  the  rights  and  privileges,  therefore,  which  would  at 
tach  to  the  flag  of  the  United  States,  should  one  of  the  ships  of 
that  country  enter  this  harbor,  equally  attach  to  the  flag  of  the 
Confederate  States,  mere  ceremonial  excepted. 

3d.  It  has  been  and  is  the  uniform  custom  of  all  nations  to  arrest, 
upon  request,  and  to  hand  over  to  their  proper  officers,  deserters 
from  ships  of  war,  and  this  without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the 
nationality  of  the  deserter. 


302  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

4th.  If  this  be  the  practice  in  peace,  much  more  necessary  does 
such  a  practice  become  in  war,  since  otherwise  the  operations  of 
war  might  be  tolerated  in  a  neutral  territory,  as  will  be  seen  from 
my  next  position. 

5th.  Without  a  violation  of  neutrality,  an  enemy's  consul  in  a 
neutral  territory  cannot  be  permitted  to  entice  away  seamen,  from 
a  ship  of  the  opposite  belligerent,  or  to  shelter  or  protect  the  same : 
for  if  he  be  permitted  to  do  this,  then  his  dornicil  becomes  an 
enemy's  camp  in  a  neutral  territory. 

6th.  With  reference  to  the  question  in  hand,  I  respectfully  sub 
mit  that  the  only  facts,  which  your  Excellency  can  take  cognizance 
of,  are  that  these  deserters  entered  the  waters  of  Spain  under  my 
flag,  and  that  they  formed  a  part  of  my  crew.  The  inquiry  cannot 
pass  a  step  beyond,  and  Spain  cannot  undertake  to  decide,  as  between 
the  United  States  Consul  and  myself,  to  which  of  us  the  deserters 
in  question  more  properly  belong.  In  other  words,  she  has  no  right 
to  look  into  any  plea  set  up  by  a  deserter,  that  he  is  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  not  of  the  Confederate  States. 

1th.  I  might,  perhaps,  admit,  that  if  a  Spanish  subject,  serving 
under  my  flag,  should  escape  to  the  shore,  and  should  satisfy  the 
authorities  that  he  was  held  by  force,  either  without  contract,  or  in 
violation  of  contract,  he  might  be  set  at  liberty,  but  such  is  not  the 
present  case.  The  nationality  of  the  deserters  not  being  Spanish, 
Spain  cannot,  as  I  said  before,  inquire  into  it.  To  recapitulate  :  the 
case  which  I  present  is  simply  this.  Several  of  the  crew  serving 
on  board  this  ship,  under  voluntary  contracts,  have  deserted,  and 
taken  refuge  in  the  Consulate  of  the  United  States.  To  deprive 
me  of  the  power,  with  the  assistance  of  the  police,  to  recapture 
them,  would  in  effect  convert  the  Consulate  into  a  camp,  and  enable 
the  Consul  to  exercise  the  rights  of  a  belligerent  in  neutral  terri 
tory.  He  might  cripple  me  as  effectually  by  this  indirect  means, 
as  if  he  were  to  assault  me  by  means  of  an  armed  expedition. 

I  took  precisely  what  I  expected  by  this  remonstrance,  that 
is  to  say,  nothing.  I  was  fighting  here,  as  I  had  been  in  so 
many  other  places,  against  odds  — the  odds  being  the  stationed 
agents,  spies,  and  pimps  of  a  recognized  government.  Our 
Southern  movement,  in  the  eyes  of  Spain,  was  a  mere  political 
revolution,  and  like  all  absolute  governments,  she  had  no  sym 
pathy  with  revolutionists.  It  was  on  this  principle  that  the 
Czar  of  Kussia  had  fraternized  so  warmly  with  the  Federal 
President. 

Another  difficulty  now  awaited  the  Sumter.  I  had  run  the 
blockade  of  New  Orleans,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  with  a  very 
slim  exchequer ;  that  exchequer  was  now  exhausted,  and  we 
had  no  means  with  which  to  purchase  coal.  I  had  telegraphed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       303 

to  Mr.  Yancey,  in  London,  immediately  upon  my  arrival,  for 
funds,  but  none,  as  yet,  had  reached  me,  although  I  had  been 
here  two  weeks.  In  the  meantime,  the  authorities,  under  the 
perpetual  goading  of  the  United  States  Charg£  in  Madrid,  Mr. 
Perry,  and  of  Mr.  Consul  Eggleston,  were  becoming  very 
restive,  and  were  constantly  sending  me  invitations  to  go  to 
sea.  Before  I  had  turned  out  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  of 
January,  an  aide-de-camp  of  the  Governor  came  on  board,  to 
bring  me  a  peremptory  order  from  his  chief,  to  depart  within 
six  hours.  I  went  on  shore,  for  the  first  time,  to  have  an  official 
interview  with  the  blockhead.  I  found  him,  contrary  to  all 
Spanish  rule,  a  large,  thick-set,  bull-necked  fellow,  with  whom. 
I  saw  at  the  first  glance,  it  would  be  of  but  little  use  to  reason. 
I  endeavored  to  make  him  understand  the  nature  of  the  case ; 
how  it  was  that  a  steamer  could  no  more  go  to  sea  without 
fuel,  than  a  sailing-ship  without  a  mast;  but  he  was  inexorable. 
He  was,  in  short,  one  of  those  dunder-headed  military  men, 
who  never  look,  or  care  to  look,  beyond  the  orders  of  their 
superiors.  The  most  that  he  would  undertake  to  do,  was  to 
telegraph  to  Madrid  my  statement,  that  I  was  out  of  fuel,  but 
expected  momentarily  to  be  supplied  with  funds  to  purchase 
it.  He  added,  however,  "but  if  no  reply  comes  within  the 
six  hours,  you  must  go  to  sea."  I  had  retained  enough  coal  on 
board  from  my  last  cruise,  to  run  me  around  to  Gibraltar  —  a 
run  of  a  few  hours  only  —  and  I  now  resolved  to  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  Spain,  or  her  surly  officials. 

I  returned  on  board,  without  further  delay,  and  gave  orders 
to  get  up  steam,  and  make  all  the  other  necessary  preparations 
for  sea.  As  we  were  weighing  our  anchor,  an  aide-de-camp  of 
the  Governor  came  off  in  great  haste  to  say,  that  his  Excel 
lency  had  heard  from  Madrid  in  reply  to  his  telegram,  and  that 
her  Majesty  had  graciously  given  me  permission  to  remain 
another  twenty-four  hours ;  but  that  at  the  end  of  that  time  I 
must  depart  without  fail.  The  aide-de-camp  added  that  his  Ex 
cellency,  seeing  that  we  were  getting  up  steam,  had  sent  him 
off  to  communicate  the  intelligence  to  me  verbally,  in  advance 
of  the  official  communication  of  it  by  letter,  which  he  was  pre 
paring.  I  directed  the  aide  to  say  to  his  chief  that  he  needn't 

bother  himself  with  the  preparation  of  any  letter,  as  I  should 
20 


304  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

not  avail  myself  of  her  Majesty's  gracious  permission  —  she  hav 
ing  been  a  little  too  ungracious  in  meting  out  the  hours  to  me. 
He  departed,  and  we  got  under  way.  As  we  passed  abreast  cf 
the  Government  House,  a  boat  shoved  off  in  a  great  hurry,  and 
came  pulling  out  to  us,  with  a  man  standing  up  in  the  bow, 
shaking  a  letter  at  us  with  great  vehemence.  It  was  the  letter 
the  aide-de-camp  had  spoken  of.  We  paid  no  attention  what 
ever  to  the  signal,  and  the  boat  finding,  after  some  vigorous 
pulling,  that  she  could  not  overtake  us,  turned  back.  In  half 
an  hour  afterward,  we  were  outside  the  Cadiz  bar,  and  had 
discharged  the  pilot. 

This  was  the  second  Spanish  experiment  we  had  made  in  the 
Sumter.  I  never  afterward  troubled  her  Majesty,  either  in  her 
home  ports,  or  those  of  any  of  her  colonies.  I  had  learned 
by  experience  that  all  the  weak  powers  were  timid,  and 
henceforth,  I  rarely  entered  any  but  an  English  or  a  French 
port.  We  should  have  had,  during  all  this  controversy,  a 
Commissioner  at  the  Court  of  Madrid,  one  having  been  dis 
patched  thither  at  the  same  time  that  Mr.  Yancey  was  sent  to 
London,  and  Mr.  Mann  to  Brussels,  but  if  there  was  one  there,  I 
did  not  receive  a  line  from  him.  The  Federal  Charge*  seemed 
to  have  had  it  all  his  own  way.  There  is  no  proposition  of  inter 
national  law  clearer,  than  that  a  disabled  belligerent  cruiser  — 
and  a  steamer  without  coal  is  disabled  —  cannot  be  expelled 
from  a  neutral  port,  and  yet  the  Sumter  was,  in  fact,  expelled 
from  Cadiz.  As  remarked  some  pages  back,  the  Demos,  and 
the  Carpet-bagger  will  revenge  us  in  good  time. 

We  did  enjoy  some  good  things  in  the  harbor  of  Cadiz, 
however.  One  was  a  superb  dinner,  given  us  at  the  principal 
hotel  by  an  English  admirer,  and  another  was  the  market. 
The  latter  is  unexcelled  in  any  part  of  the  world.  Fine  beef 
and  mutton  from  Andalusia,  fish  from  the  sea,  and  fruits  and 
wines  from  all  parts  of  Spain,  were  present  in  profusion. 
Although  we  were  in  midwinter,  there  were  a  variety  of  vege 
tables,  and  luscious  oranges  and  bananas  that  had  ripened  in 
the  open  air  —  all  produced  by  the  agency  of  that  Mexican 
Gulf  heating-apparatus,  of  which  we  spoke  through  the  lips 
of  Professor  Maury,  a  few  pages  back.  Before  leaving  Cadiz 
I  saw  the  first  annual  report  of  the  Federal  Secretary  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      305 

Navy  since  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  Old  gentleman 
Welles  was  eloquent,  and  denunciatory  when  he  came  to  speak 
of  the  Sumter.  The  vessel  was  a  "pirate,"  and  her  com 
mander  everything  that  was  odious.  The  latter  "was  cour 
ageously  capturing  unarmed  merchant-ships,  and  cowardly 
fleeing  from  the  Federal  steamers  sent  in  pursuit  of  him." 
There  were  six  of  these  ships  in  full  hue  and  cry  after  the  little 
Sumter,  any  one  of  which  could  have  hoisted  her  in  upon  deck. 
At  the  same  time  that  these  denunciations  were  hurled 
against  the  Captain  of  the  Sumter,  gallant  naval  officers,  wear 
ing  Mr.  Welles'  shoulder-straps,  and  commanding  Mr.  Welles' 
ships,  were  capturing  little  coasting-schooners  laden  with  fire 
wood,  plundering  the  houses  and  hen-roosts  of  non-combatant 
citizens  along  the  Southern  coast,  destroying  salt-works,  and 
intercepting  medicines  going  in  to  our  hospitals.  But  I  must 
be  charitable.  Mr.  Welles  was  but  rehearsing  the  lesson 
which  he  had  learned  from  Mr.  Seward.  What  could  he 
know  about  "  pirates  "  and  the  laws  of  nations,  who  had  been 
one  half  of  his  life  editing  a  small  newspaper,  in  a  small  town 
in  Connecticut,  and  the  other  half  "  serving  out "  to  Jack  his 
frocks  and  trousers,  and  weighing  out  to  him  his  sugar  and 
tea,  as  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Provisions  and  Clothing  ?  It 
was  late  in  life  before  the  old  gentleman,  on  the  rising  tide  of 
the  Demos,  had  been  promoted,  and  allowance  must  be  made 
for  the  defects  of  his  early  training. 


CHAPTEE   XXIV. 

THE   SUMTER  OFF  CADIZ THE  PILLARS   OF   HERCULES — 

GIBRALTAR CAPTURE  OF  THE  ENEMY'S  SHIPS  NEA 
POLITAN  AND  INVESTIGATOR A  CONFLAGRATION  BE 
TWEEN  EUROPE  AND  AFRICA THE  SUMTER  ANCHORS 

IN  THE   HARBOR   OF   GIBRALTAR THE   ROCK;   THE 

TOWN;  THE  MILITARY;  THE  REVIEW  AND  THE  ALA- 
MEDA. 

THE  afternoon  was  bright  and  beautiful  as  the  Sumter, 
emerging  from  the  harbor  of  Cadiz,  felt  once  more  the 
familiar  heave  of  the  sea.  There  was  no  sail  in  sight  over  the 
vast  expanse  of  waters,  except  a  few  small  coasting-craft,  and 
yet  what  fleets  had  floated  on  the  bosom  of  these  romantic 
waters!  The  names  of  Nelson,  Collingwood,  Jervis,  and 
others,  came  thronging  upon  the  memory.  Cape  St.  Vincent 
and  Trafalgar  were  both  in  the  vicinity.  The  sun,  as  he 
approached  his  setting,  was  lighting  up  a  scene  of  beauty, 
peace,  and  tranquillity,  and  it  was  difficult  to  conjure  those 
other  scenes  of  the  storm,  and  the  flying  ships,  and  the  belch 
ing  cannon,  so  inseparably  connected  with  those  great  names. 

It  was  too  late  to  attempt  the  run  to  Gibraltar  that  night, 
with  the  hope  of  arriving  at  a  seasonable  hour,  and  so  we 
"  held  on,"  in  nautical  phrase,  to  the  light  —  that  beautiful  red 
flash  which  I  have  before  described  —  until  midnight,  when  we 
gave  the  ship  her  steam,  and  turned  her  head  in  the  direction 
of  the  famous  Strait,  or  Gut,  as  the  sailors  sometimes  less 
euphoniously  call  it.  The  weather,  in  the  meantime,  had 
changed,  the  wind  had  died  entirely  away,  and  the  sea  was 
calm,  but  rifts  of  cloud  were  passing  over  the  moon,  indicat 
ing  an  upper  current  in  the  higher  atmosphere,  that  might 
portend  storm  or  rain  on  the  morrow.  We  steamed  along  the 

306 


MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE     AFLOAT.  307 

bold  Spanish  coast,  at  a  distance  of  only  a  few  miles,  and 
entered  the  Strait  before  daylight,  passing  the  Tarifa  light  at 
about  five  A.  M. 

The  Pillars  of  Hercules,  that  for  so  many  centuries  bounded 
the  voyages  of  the  ancient  mariners,  rose  abruptly  and  ma 
jestically  on  either  hand  of  us,  softened  and  beautified  by  the 
moonlight.  We  had  the  Strait  all  to  ourselves,  there  being  no 
sail  visible.  The  Genius  of  the  ancient  time  seemed  to  hover 
over  the  scene,  so  solemn  and  mysterious  did  everything 
appear.  But  no  !  the  Genius  of  the  ancient  time  could  not  be 
there,  for  the  quiet  waters  were  broken  by  the  prow  of  the 
steamship,  from  a  hemisphere  of  which  the  Genius  had  not 
conceived.  And  that  steamship,  what  flag  did  she  bear  ?  A 
flag  that  neither  Phoenician,  nor  Carthaginian,  nor  Eoman  had 
dreamed  of.  It  had  arisen  amid  the  wreck  and  ruin  of  a  new 
empire,  that  had  decayed  before  its  time,  was  floating  above  a 
thousand  dead  nationalities,  and  was  struggling,  as  the  polished 
Greek  had  struggled,  long  centuries  before,  against  the  "long 
haired  "  barbarian  of  the  North,  who  was  repeating  history  by 
overrunning  the  fair  lands  of  the  South. 

We  made  the  light  at  Gibraltar  just  as  the  day  was  dawning, 
and,  hurried  on  by  the  current,  moved  rapidly  up  the  Strait. 
Several  sail  that  were  coming  down  the  Mediterranean  became 
plainly  visible  from  the  deck  as  the  twilight  developed  into 
day.  We  could  not  think  of  running  into  Gibraltar  before 
overhauling  these  sails ;  we  might,  perchance,  find  an  enemy 
among  them,  and  so  we  altered  our  course  and  gave  chase ;  as 
so  many  barks,  ancient  and  modern,  heathen,  Christian,  and 
Moor  had  done  before  us,  in  this  famous  old  Strait.  The  tele 
scope  soon  revealed  the  secret  of  the  nationality  of  two  of  the 
sails;  they  being,  as  plainly  as  symmetry  and  beauty  of  out 
line,  the  taper  and  grace  of  spars,  and  whiteness  of  canvas — 
produced  upon  our  own  cotton-fields  —  could  speak,  Ameri 
can.  To  these,  therefore,  we  directed  our  attention.  It  was  a 
couple  of  hours  before  we  came  up  with  the  first  of  these 
ships.  She  was  standing  over  toward  the  African  side  of  the 
Strait,  though  still  distant  from  the  land,  some  six  or  seven 
miles.  We  hoisted  our  own  colors,  and  fired  the  usual  gun. 
'She  hauled  up  her  courses,  and  backed  her  maintopsail  at 


308  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

once,  and  in  a  moment  more,  we  could  see  the  brightest  of 
stars  and  stripes  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  and  glittering,  in  very 
joyousness,  as  it  were,  in  the  rays  of  the  morning's  sun ;  for 
the  captain  of  the  prize  had  evidently  treated  himself  to  a 
new  ensign.  The  cat  ran  close  enough  to  parley  with  the 
mouse,  before  she  put  her  paw  upon  it.  The  bark,  for  such 
the  prize  was,  proved  to  be  the  Neapolitan,  of  Kingston,  Mass., 
from  Messina,  in  the  island  of  Sicily,  bound  for  Boston,  with 
a  cargo  of  fruit,  dried  and  fresh,  and  fifty  tons  of  sulphur.  She 
had  been  freshly  painted,  with  that  old  robber,  the  bald  eagle, 
surrounded  by  stars,  gilded  on  her  stern;  her  decks  looked 
white  and  sweet  after  the  morning's  ablution  which  she  had 
just  undergone ;  her  sails  were  well  hoisted,  and  her  sheets 
well  home ;  in  short,  she  was  a  picture  to  look  at,  and  the  cat 
looked  at  her,  as  a  cat  only  can  look  at  a  sleek  mouse.  And 
then  only  to  think,  that  the  sly  little  mouse,  looking  so  pretty 
and  so  innocent,  should  have  so  much  of  that  villanous  mate 
rial  called  sulphur  in  its  little  pouch! 

The  master  stated  in  his  deposition,  that  the  entire  cargo 
belonged  to  the  British  house  of  Baring  Bros.,  it  being  con 
signed  to  an  agent  of  theirs  in  Boston.  The  object  of  so  word 
ing  the  deposition  was,  of  coarse,  to  save  the  cargo  as  neutral 
property,  but  as  I  happened  to  know  that  the  Boston  house 
of  the  Barings,  instead  of  being  an  agent  merely,  was  a  partner 
of  the  London  house,  the  master  took  nothing  by  his  deposi 
tion.  Besides,  if  there  had  been  no  doubt  as  to  the  British 
ownership,  sulphur  going  to  an  enemy's  country  is  contraband 
of  war ;  and  in  this  case  the  contraband  of  war  was  not  only 
condemnable  of  itself,  but  it  tainted  all  the  rest  of  the  cargo, 
which  belonged  to  the  same  owner.  The  master,  who  was  as 
strongly  marked  in  his  Puritan  nationality,  as  the  Israelite  is 
in  the  seed  of  Abraham,  feeling  himself  securely  intrenched 
behind  the  Baring  Bros.,  was  a  little  surprised  when  I  told 
him  that  I  should  burn  his  ship,  and  began  to  expostulate. 
But  I  had  no  time  for  parley,  for  there  was  another  ship  de 
manding  my  attention  ;  and  so,  transferring  the  prisoners  from 
the  doomed  ship  to  the  Smnter,  as  speedily  as  possible,  the 
Neapolitan  was  burned;  burned  in  the  sight  of  Europe  and 
Africa,  with  the  turbaned  Moor  looking  upon  the  conflagra- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      309 

tion,  on  one  hand,  and  the  garrison  of  Gibraltar  and  the 
Spaniard  on  the  other.  Previously  to  applying  the  torch,  we 
took  a  small  liberty  with  some  of  the  excellent  fruit  of  the 
Barings,  transferring  a  number  of  drums  of  figs,  boxes  of  rai 
sins  and  oranges,  to  the  cooks  and  stewards  of  the  different 
messes. 

"We  now  steamed  off  in  pursuit  of  the  other  sail.  This  sec 
ond  sail  proved  also  to  be  American,  as  we  had  supposed.  She 
was  the  bark  Investigator,  of  Searsport,  Maine,  from  one  of 
the  small  ports  of  Spain,  bound  for  Newport,  in  Wales,  with  a 
cargo  of  iron  ore.  The  cargo  being  properly  documented  as 
British  property,  we  could  not  destroy  her,  but  were  compelled 
to  release  her  under  ransom  bond.  The  capturing  and  dispos 
ing  of  these  two  ships  had  occupied  us  several  hours,  during 
which  the  in-draught  of  the  Strait  had  set  us  some  miles  to  the 
eastward  of  the  Eock.  We  now,  at  half-past  two  p.  M.,  turned 
our  head  in  the  direction  of  Gibraltar,  and  gave  the  ship  all 
steam.  By  this  time  the  portent  of  last  night  had  been  veri 
fied,  and  we  had  an  overcast  sky,  with  a  strong  northwester 
blowing  in  our  teeth.  With  the  wind  and  current  both  ahead, 
we  had  quite  a  struggle  to  gain  the  anchorage. 

It  was  half-past  seven  p.  M.,  or  some  time  after  dark,  that 
we  finally  passed  under  the  shadow  of  the  historical  rock, 
with  the  brilliant  light  on  Europa  Point  throwing  its  beams 
upon  our  deck ;  and  it  was  a  few  minutes  past  eight  o'clock, 
or  evening  gun-fire,  when  we  ran  up  to  the  man-of-war  anchor 
age,  and  came  to.  We  had  no  occasion  to  tell  the  people  of 
Gibraltar  who  we  were.  They  were  familiar  with  our  Cadiz 
troubles,  and  had  been  expecting  us  for  some  days ;  and  ac 
cordingly,  wrhen  the  signal-man  on  the  top  of  the  Eock  an 
nounced  the  appearance  of  a  Confederate  States'  steamer  in  the 
Strait,  every  one  knew  that  it  was  the  Sumter.  And  when,  a 
short  time  afterward,  it  was  announced  that  the  little  steamer 
was  in  chase  of  a  Yankee,  the  excitement  became  intense. 
Half  the  town  rushed  to  Europa  Point  and  the  signal-station, 
to  watch  the  chase  and  the  capture ;  and  when  the  flames  were 
seen  ascending  from  the  doomed  Neapolitan,  sketch-books  and 
pencils  were  produced,  and  all  the  artists  in  the  crowd  went 
busily  to  work  to  sketch  the  extraordinary  spectacle  ;  extraor 
dinary  in  any  age,  but  still  more  extraordinary  in  this. 


310  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Here  were  two  civilized  nations  at  war,  at  the  door  of  a 
third,  and  that  third  nation,  instead  of  mitigating  and  soften 
ing,  as  much  as  possible,  the  barbarities  of  war,  had,  by  her 
timidity,  caution,  or  unfriendliness,  whichever  to  the  reader 
may  seem  more  probable,  ordered,  directed,  and  decreed  that 
one  of  the  parties  should  burn  all  the  ships  of  the  other  that  it 
should  capture  1  The  spectacle  of  the  burning  ship  which  the 
inhabitants  of  Gibraltar  had  witnessed  from  the  top  of  their 
renowned  rock,  was  indirectly  the  work  of  their  own  Govern 
ment.  Why  might  not  this  Federal  ship,  when  captured,  have 
been  taken  into  Gibraltar,  there  to  await  the  disposition  which  a 
prize-court  should  make  of  her,  instead  of  being  burned  ? 
Because  Great  Britain  would  not  permit  it.  Why  might  she  not 
have  been  taken  into  some  other  neutral  port,  for  this  purpose  ? 
Because  all  the  world  had  followed  the  lead  of  Great  Britain, 
the  chief  maritime  power  of  the  earth.  Great  Britain  knew 
when  she  issued  her  orders  in  council,  prohibiting  both  the 
belligerents  in  the  American  war,  from  bringing  their  prizes 
into  her  ports,  precisely  what  would  be  the  effect  of  those 
orders.  She  knew  that  the  stronger  belligerent  would  shut 
out  the  weaker  belligerent  from  his  own  ports,  by  means  of  a 
blockade.  She  knew  that  if  she  denied  this  weaker  belliger 
ent  access  to  her  ports,  with  his  prizes,  all  the  other  nations 
of  the  earth  would  follow  her  lead.  And  she  knew  that  if 
this  same  weaker  belligerent  should  have  no  ports  whatever 
into  which  to  carry  his  prizes,  he  must  burn  them.  Hence 
the  spectacle  her  people  had  witnessed  from  the  top  of  her 
rock  of  Gibraltar. 

In  a  few  minutes  after  anchoring,  we  were  boarded  by  a 
boat  from  the  English  frigate,  which  had  the  guard  for  the 
day.  The  officer  made  us  the  usual  "  tender  of  service  "  from 
the  Port  Admiral.  We  sent  a  boat  ourselves  to  report  our 
arrival  on  board  the  health  ship,  and  to  inquire  if  there  would 
be  any  quarantine ;  and  after  a  long  day  of  excitement  and 
fatigue,— for  I  had  not  turned  in  since  I  left  the  Cadiz  light, 
the  night  before  —  I  sought  my  berth,  and  slept  soundly,  nei 
ther  dreaming  of  Moor  or  Christian,  Yankee  or  Confederate. 
John  spread  me  the  next  morning  a  sumptuous  breakfast,  and 
brought  me  off  glowing  accounts  of  the  Gibraltar  market,  filled 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      311 

with  all  the  delicacies  both  of  Spain  and  Morocco.  The  prize 
which  we  had  liberated  on  ransom -bond,  followed  us  in,  and 
was  anchored  not  far  from  us.  There  was  another  large 
American  ship  at  anchor. 

At  an  early  hour  a  number  of  English  officers,  of  the  garri 
son  and  navy,  and  citizens  called  on  board  to  see  us ;  and  at 
ten  o'clock  I  went  on  board  the  frigate  whose  boat  had  boarded 
us  the  previous  night,  to  return  the  commanding  naval  offi 
cer's  visit.  He  was  not  living  on  board,  but  at  his  quarters 
on  shore,  whither  I  proceeded  at  two  P.  M.  Landing  at  the 
Navy  Yard,  an  orderly  conducted  me  thence  to  his  neat  little 
cottage,  perched  halfway  up  the  rock,  and  embowered  by 
shade  trees,  in  the  most  charming  little  nook  possible.  I 
found  Captain  —  now  Rear- Admiral  —  Sir  Frederic  Warden  a 
very  clever  specimen  of  an  English  naval  officer ;  and  we  had 
a  pleasant  conversation  of  half  an  hour  together.  Having  lost 
one  of  my  anchors,  I  asked  the  loan  of  one  from  him  until  I 
could  supply  myself  in  the  market.  He  replied  that  he  had 
every  disposition  to  oblige  me,  but  that  he  must  first  submit 
the  question  to  the  "law  officers  of  the  Crown."  I  said  to  him 
playfully,  "these  'law  officers  of  the  Crown'  of  yours  must  be 
sturdy  fellows,  for  they  have  some  heavy  burdens  to  carry ; 
when  I  was  at  Trinidad  the  Governor  put  a  whole  cargo  of  coal 
on  their  shoulders,  and  now  you  propose  to  saddle  them  with 
an  anchor!"  He  said  pleasantly,  in  return,  "I  have  not  the 
least  doubt  of  the  propriety  of  your  request,  but  we  must  walk 
according  to  rule,  you  know."  The  next  morning,  bright  and 
early,  a  boat  came  alongside,  bringing  me  an  anchor. 

From  Captain  Warden's,  I  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  the 
Governor  and  Military  Commander  of  the  Rock,  Sir  William 
J.  Codrington,  K.  C.  B.  His  house  was  in  the  centre  of  the 
town,  and  I  had  a  very  pleasant  walk  through  shaded  avenues 
and  streets,  thronged  with  a  gayly  dressed  population,  every 
third  man  of  which  was  a  soldier,  to  reach  it.  The  same 
orderly  still  accompanied  me.  I  was  in  uniform,  and  all  the  sen 
tinels  saluted  me  as  I  passed ;  and  I  may  as  well  mention  here, 
that  during  the  whole  of  my  stay  at  this  military  and  naval  sta 
tion,  my  officers  and  myself  received  all  the  honors  and  courte 
sies  due  to  our  rank.  No  distinction  whatever  was  drawn,  that  I 


312  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

am  aware  of,  between  the  Sumter,  and  any  of  the  enemy's  ships 
of  war  that  visited  the  station,  except  in  the  matter  of  the 
national  salute.  Our  flag  not  being  yet  recognized,  except  for 
belligerent  purposes,  this  honor  was  withheld.  We  dined  at 
the  officers'  messes,  and  they  dined  on  board  our  ship ;  the  club 
and  reading  rooms  were  thrown  open  to  us,  and  both  military 
and  citizens  were  particular  in  inviting  us  to  partake  of  all  the 
festivities  that  took  place  during  our  stay. 

My  conductor,  the  orderly,  stopped  before  a  large  stone 
mansion  on  the  principal  street,  where  there  was  a  sentinel 
walking  in  front  of  the  door,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  led 
to  a  suite  of  large,  airy,  well-furnished  rooms  on  the  second 
floor,  to  await  his  Excellency.  It  was  Sunday,  and  he  had 
just  returned  from  church.  He  entered,  however,  almost  im 
mediately.  I  had  seen  him  a  hundred  times,  in  the  portraits 
of  half  the  English  generals  I  had  ever  looked  upon,  so  pecu 
liarly  was  he  English  and  military.  He  was  a  polite  gentleman 
of  the  old  school,  though  not  a  very  old  man,  his  age  being 
not  more  than  about  fifty-five.  Governor  Codrington  was  a 
son  of  the  Admiral  of  the  same  name,  who,  as  the  Commander- 
in-chief  of  the  combined  English,  French,  and  Russian  fleets, 
had  gained  so  signal  a  victory  over  the  Turkish  fleet,  in  the 
Mediterranean,  in  1827,  which  resulted  in  the  independence  of 
Greece,  and  the  transfer  of  Prince  Otho  of  Bavaria  to  the 
throne  of  that  country.  His  rank  was  that  of  a  lieutenant- 
general  in  the  British  army.  I  reported  my  arrival  to  his 
Excellency,  and  stated  that  my  object  in  visiting  Gibraltar  was 
to  repair,  and  coal  my  ship,  and  that  I  should  expect  to  have  the 
same  facilities  extended  to  me,  that  he  would  extend  to  an 
enemy's  cruiser  under  similar  circumstances.  He  assented  at 
once  to  my  proposition,  saying  that  her  Majesty  was  exceed 
ingly  anxious  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality  in  our  unhappy 
•war,  without  leaning  to  the  one  side  or  the  other.  "There  is 
one  thing,  however,"  continued  he,  "that  I  must  exact  of  you 
during  your  stay,  and  that  is,  that  you  will  not  make  Gibral 
tar,  a  station,  from  which  to  watch  for  the  approach  of  your 
enemy,  and  sally  out  in  pursuit  of  him."  I  replied,  "  Cer 
tainly  not ;  no  belligerent  has  the  right  to  make  this  use  of  the 
territory  of  a  neutral.  Your  own  distinguished  admiralty 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     313 

judge,  Sir  William  Scott,  settled  this  point  half  a  century  and 
more  ago,  and  his  decisions  are  implicitly  followed  in  the 
American  States." 

The  Governor  gave  me  permission  to  land  my  prisoners, 
and  they  were  paroled  and  sent  on  shore  the  same  afternoon. 
"We  could  do  nothing  in  the  way  of  preparing  the  Sumter  for 
another  cruise,  until  our  funds  should  arrive,  and  these  did  not 
reach  us  until  the  3d  of  February,  when  Mr.  Mason,  who  had 
by  this  time  relieved  Mr.  Yancey,  as  our  Commissioner  at  the 
Court  of  London,  telegraphed  me  that  I  could  draw  on  the 
house  of  Frazer,  Trenholm  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool,  for  the  sum  I 
needed.  In  the  mean  time,  we  had  made  ourselves  verv 
much  at  home  at  Gibraltar,  quite  an  intimacy  springing  up 
between  the  naval  and  military  officers  and  ourselves  ;  whereas, 
as  far  as  we  could  learn,  the  Yankee  officers  of  the  several 
Federal  ships  of  war,  which  by  this  time  had  arrived,  were 
kept  at  arm's-length,  no  other  than  the  customary  official 
courtesies  being  extended  to  them.  We  certainly  did  not 
meet  any  of  them  at  the  "  club,"  or  other  public  places.  I  had 
visited  Gibraltar  when  a  young  officer  in  the  "  old  service," 
and  I  had  often  read,  and  laughed  over  Marryatt's  humorous 
description  of  the  "Mess"  of  the  garrison  in  his  day;  how, 
after  one  of  their  roistering  dinners,  the  naval  officers  who 
had  been  present,  would  be  wheeled  down  to  the  "  sally-port," 
where  their  boats  were  waiting  to  take  them  on  board  their 
ships,  on  wheel-barrows — the  following  colloquy  taking  place 
between  the  sally-port  sentinel  (it  being  now  some  hours  after 
dark),  and  the  wheeler  of  the  wheel-barrow.  Sentinel :  —  "  Who 
comes  there?"  Wheeler  of  wheel-barrow:  —  "Officer  drunk 
on  a  wheel-barrow!"  Sentinel:  —  "Pass  Officer  drunk  on  a 
wheel-barrow." 

The  wheel-barrow  days  had  passed,  in  the  general  improve 
ment  which  had  taken  place  in  military  and  naval  habits, 
but  in  other  respects,  I  did  not  find  the  "  Mess  "  much  changed. 
The  military  "  Mess  "  of  a  regiment  is  like  the  king ;  it  never 
dies.  There  is  a  constant  change  of  persons,  but  the  "  Mess  " 
is  ever  the  same,  with  its  history  of  this  "field,"  and  of  that; 
its  traditions,  and  its  anecdotes.  Every  person  who  has  been 
in  England  knows  how  emphatically  dinner  is  an  institution 


314  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

with  the  English  people  ;  with  its  orthodox  hour,  the  punc 
tual  attendance  of  the  guests,  the  scrupulous  attention  they 
pay  to  dress,  and  the  quantity  of  wine  which  they  are  capable 
of  putting  under  their  vests,  without  losing  sight  of  the  gentle 
manly  proprieties. 

It  is  still  more  an  institution,  if  possible,  with  the  garrisons  of 
the  colonies.  There  they  do  the  thing  in  a  business-like  way, 
and  the  reader  will  perhaps  be  curious  to  know  how  the  young 
fellows  stand  such  constant  wear  and  tear  upon  their  constitu 
tions.  It  is  done  in  the  simplest  manner  possible.  After  a 
late  carouse  over  night,  during  which  these  fellows  would  drink 
two  bottles  to  my  young  men's  one,  the  latter  would  get  up  next 
morning  on  board  the  Sumter  feeling  seedy,  and  dry,  and  go  on 
shore  in  quest  of  "hock  and  soda-water."  Meeting  their  late 
companions,  they  would  be  surprised  to  see  them  looking  so  fresh 
and  rosy,  with  an  air  so  jaunty,  and  a  step  so  elastic.  The  secret, 
upon  explanation,  would  prove  to  be,  that  the  debauchee  of 
the  night  was  the  early  bird  of  the  morning.  Whilst  my  offi 
cers  were  still  lying  in  uneasy  slumbers,  with  Queen  Mab  playing 
pranks  with  their  imaginations,  the  officer  of  the  "  Mess  "  would 
be  up,  have  taken  his  cold  shower-bath,  have  mounted  his  "  hun 
ter,"  sometimes  with,  and  sometimes  without  dogs,  and  would  be 
off  scouring  the  country,  and  drinking  in  the  fresh  morning  air, 
miles  away.  Not  a  fume  of  the  liquor  of  the  overnight's  debauch 
would  be  left  by  the  time  the  rider  got  back  to  breakfast. 
On  the  day  after  my  visit  to  the  Governor,  Colonel  Free- 
mantle,  of  the  Coldstream  Guards,  the  Governor's  aide-de-camp 
and  military  secretary,  came  off  to  call  on  me  on  behalf  of  the 
Governor,  and  to  read  to  me  a  memorandum,  which  the  latter 
had  made  of  my  conversation  with  him.  There  were  but  two 
points  in  this  memorandum:  —  "First:  It  is  agreed  that  the 
Sumter  shall  have  free  access  to  the  work- shops  and  markets, 
to  make  necessary  repairs  and  supply  herself  with  necessary 
articles,  contraband  of  war  excepted.  Secondly :  The  Sumter 
shall  not  make  Gibraltar  a  station,  from  which  to  sally  out  from 
the  Strait,  for  the  purposes  of  war."  I  assented  to  the  correct 
ness  of  the  conversation  as  recorded,  and  there  the  official  por 
tion  of  the  interview  ended.  I  could  not  but  be  amused  here, 
as  I  had  been  at  other  places,  at  the  exceeding  scrupulousness 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        315 

of  the  authorities,  lest  they  should  compromise  themselves  in 
some  way  with  the  belligerents. 

I  found  Colonel  Freemantle  to  be  an  ardent  Confederate,  ex 
pressing  himself  without  any  reserve,  and  lauding  in  the  high 
est  terms  our  people  and  cause.  He  had  many  questions  to 
ask  me,  which  I  took  great  pleasure  in  answering,  and  our  in 
terview  ended  by  a  very  cordial  invitation  from  him  to  visit, 
in  his  company,  the  curiosities  of  the  Kock.  This  is  the  same 
Colonel  Freemantle,  who  afterward  visited  our  Southern  States 
during  the  war,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  some  of  our 
principal  military  men ;  writing  and  publishing  a  very  interest 
ing  account  of  his  tour.  I  met  him  afterward  in  London, 
more  of  a  Confederate  than  ever.  Freemantle  was  not  an  ex 
ception.  The  army  and  navy  of  Great  Britain  were  with  us, 
almost  to  a  man,  and  many  a  hearty  denunciation  have  I  heard 
from  British  military  and  naval  lips,  of  the  coldness  and  sel 
fishness  of  the  Palmerston-Russell  government. 

Gibraltar,  being  a  station  for  several  steam-lines,  was  quite 
a  thoroughfare  of  travel.  The  mixed  character  of  its  resident 
population,  too,  was  quite  curious.  All  the  nations  of  the 
earth  seemed  to  have  assembled  upon  the  Rock,  for  the  pur 
poses  of  traffic,  and  as  each  nationality  preserved  its  costume 
and  its  language,  the  quay,  market-place,  streets  and  shops  pre 
sented  a  picture  witnessed  in  few,  if  in  any  other  towns  of  the 
globe.  The  attractions  for  traffic  were  twofold :  first,  Gibral 
tar  was  a  free  port,  and,  secondly,  there  were  seven  thousand 
troops  stationed  there.  The  consequence  was,  that  Christian, 
Moor,  and  Turk,  Jew  and  Gentile,  had  assembled  here  from  all 
the  four  quarters  of  the  earth,  bringing  with  them  their  re 
spective  commodities.  The  London  tailor  had  his  shop  along 
side  that  of  the  Moor  or  Turk,  and  if,  after  having  been  mea 
sured  for  a  coat,  to  be  made  of  cloth  a  few  days  only  from  a 
Manchester  loom,  you  desired  Moorish  slippers,  or  otto  of 
roses,  or  Turkish  embroidery,  you  had  only  to  step  into  the 
next  door. 

Even  the  shopmen  and  products  of  the  far  East  were  there; 
a  few  days  of  travel  only  sufficing  to  bring  from  India,  China, 
and  Japan,  the  turbaned  and  sandalled  Hindoo,  the  close-shaved 
and  long-queued  Chinaman,  and  the  small-statured,  deep-browc 


316  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Japanese,  with  their  curious  stuffs  and  wares,  wrought  with  as 
much  ingenuity  as  taste.  The  market  was  indeed  a  curiosity. 
Its  beef  and  mutton,  both  of  which  are  very  fine,  are  brought 
from  the  opposite  Morocco  coast,  to  and  from  which  small 
steamers  ply  regularly.  But  it  is  the  fruits  and  vegetables  that 
more  especially  astonish  the  beholder.  Here  the  horn  of 
plenty  seems  literally  to  have  been  emptied.  The  south  of 
Spain,  and  Morocco,  both  fine  agricultural  countries,  have  one 
of  those  genial  climates  which  enables  them  to  produce  all  the 
known  fruits  and  vegetables  of  the  earth.  Whatever  you  de 
sire,  that  you  can  have,  whether  it  be  the  apple,  the  pear,  or 
the  cherry  of  the  North,  or  the  orange,  the  banana,  or  the  date 
of  the  South.  The  Spaniards  and  Moors  are  the  chief  mar 
ket  people. 

Nor  must  we  forget  the  fishermen,  with  their  picturesque 
boats,  rigged  with  their  long,  graceful  latteen  yards  and  pointed 
sails,  that  come  in  laden  with  the  contributions  of  the  sea  from 
the  shores  of  half  a  dozen  kingdoms.  Fleets  of  these  little 
craft  crowd  the  quay  day  and  night,  and  there  is  a  perfect 
Babel  of  voices  in  their  vicinity,  as  the  chaffering  goes  on 
for  the  disposal  of  their  precious  freight,  much  of  it  still  "alive 
and  kicking."  By  the  way,  one  of  the  curiosities  of  this  quay, 
whilst  the  Sumter  lay  in  Gibraltar,  was  the  frequent  proximity 
of  the  Confederate  and  the  Federal  flag.  When  landing  I 
often  ran  my  boat  into  the  quay-steps,  alongside  of  a  boat 
from  a  Federal  ship  of  war ;  the  Kearsarge  and  the  Tuscarora 
taking  turns  in  watching  my  movements  —  one  of  them  being 
generally  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar,  and  the  other  in 
the  Bay  of  Algeziras,  a  Spanish  anchorage  opposite.  No 
breach  of  the  peace  ever  occurred ;  the  sailors  of  the  two  ser 
vices  seemed  rather  inclined  to  fraternize.  They  would  have 
fought  each  other  like  devils  outside  of  the  marine  league, 
but  the  neutral  port  was  a  powerful  sedative,  and  made  them 
temporarily  friends.  They  talked,  and  laughed  and  smoked, 
and  peeled  oranges  together,  as  though  there  was  no  war  going 
on.  But  the  sailor  is  a  cosmopolite,  as  remarked  a  few  pages 
back,  and  these  boats'  crews  could  probably  have  been  ex 
changed,  without  much  detriment  to  each  other's  flag. 

Sunday,  January  26th.  —  A  charming,  balmy  day,  after  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       317 

oeveral  days  of  storm  and  rain  that  we  have  had.  At  ten  A.  M., 
I  went  on  shore  to  the  Catholic  church.  The  military  attend 
ance,  especially  of  the  rank  and  file,  was  very  large.  I  should 
judge  that,  at  least,  two  thirds  of  the  troops  stationed  here  are 
Irish,  and  there  is  no  distinction,  that  I  can  discover,  made  be 
tween  creeds.  Each  soldier  attends  whatever  church  he  pleases. 
It  is  but  a  few  years  back,  that  no  officer  could  serve  in  the 
British  army  without  subscribing  to  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  — 
the  creed  of  the  "Established  Church."  After  church,  I 
took  a  stroll  "up  the  Kock,"  and  was  astonished  to  find  so 
much  arable  soil  on  its  surface.  The  Eock  runs  north  and 
south.  Its  western  face  is  an  inclined  plane,  lying  at  an  angle 
of  about  thirty  degrees  with  the  sea-level.  Ascending  gradu 
ally  from  the  water,  it  rises  to  the  height  of  fifteen  hundred 
feet.  From  this  height,  a  plummet-line  let  down  from  its 
eastern  face  would  reach  the  sea  without  obstruction,  so  per 
pendicular  is  the  Eock  in  this  direction.  This  face  is  of  solid 
rock. 

On  the  western  face,  up  which  I  was  now  walking,  is  situ 
ated  near  the  base,  and  extending  up  about  half  a  mile,  the 
town.  The  town  is  walled,,and  after  you  have  passed  through 
a  massive  gateway  in  the  southern  wall,  you  are  in  the  country. 
As  you  approach  the  Eock  from  the  sea,  it  matters  not  from 
what  direction,  you  get  the  idea  that  it  is  nothing  but  a  barren 
rock.  I  now  found  it  diversified  with  fields,  full  of  clover 
and  fragrant  grasses,  long,  well-shaded  avenues,  of  sufficiently 
gentle  ascent  for  carriage-drives,  beautifully  laid-out  pleasure- 
grounds,  and  well-cultivated  gardens.  The  parade-ground  is 
a  level  space  just  outside  the  southern  wall,  of  sufficient  capa 
city  for  the  manoeuvre  and  review  of  five  thousand  men  ;  and 
rising  just  south  of  this  is  the  Alameda,  consisting  of  a  series 
of  parterres  of  flowers,  with  shade-trees  and  shrubbery,  among 
which  wind  a  number  of  serpentine  walks.  Here  seats  are 
arranged  for  visitors,  from  which  the  exercise  of  the  troops  in 
the  parade-ground  below  may  be  conveniently  witnessed.  A 
colossal  statue  of  General  Elliot,  who  defended  the  Eock  in 
the  famous  siege  that  was  laid  to  it  in  the  middle  of  the  last 
century  by  the  Spaniards,  is  here  erected. 

The  review  of  the  troops,   which  takes   place,  I   believe. 


318  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

monthly,  is  par  excellence,  the  grand  spectacle  of  Gibraltar.  I 
had  the  good  fortune  to  witness  one  of  these  reviews,  and  the 
spectacle  dwells  vividly,  still,  in  my  imagination.  Drill  of  the 
soldiers,  singly,  and  in  squads,  is  the  chief  labor  of  the  gar 
rison.  Skilful  drill-sergeants,  for  the  most  part  young,  active, 
intelligent  men,  having  the  port  and  bearing  of  gentlemen,  are 
constantly  at  work,  morning  and  afternoon,  breaking  in  the 
raw  material  as  it  arrives,  and  rendering  it  fit  to  be  moulded 
into  the  common  mass.  Company  officers  move  their  com 
panies,  to  and  fro,  unceasingly,  lest  the  men  should  forget 
what  the  drill-sergeant  has  taught  them.  Battalion  and  regi 
mental  drills  occur  less  frequently. 

These  are  the  labors  of  the  garrison  ;  now  comes  the  pas 
time,  viz.,  the  monthly  drill,  when  the  Governor  turns  out,  and 
inspects  the  troops.  All  is  agog,  on  the  Eock  of  Gibraltar,  on 
review  days.  There  is  no  end  to  the  pipe-claying,  and  brush 
ing,  and  burnishing,  in  the  different  barracks,  on  the  morning 
of  this  day.  The  officers  get  out  their  new  uniforms,  and 
horses  are  groomed  with  more  than  ordinary  care.  The  citi 
zens  turn  out,  as  well  as  the  military,  and  all  the  beauty  and 
fashion  of  the  town  are  collected  on  the  Ala.meda.  On  the 
occasion  of  the  review  which  I  witnessed,  the  troops  —  nearly 
all  young,  fine-looking  men  —  presented,  indeed,  a  splendid 
appearance.  All  the  corps  of  the  British  army  were  there, 
represented  save  only  the  cavalry;  and  they  were  moved 
hither  and  thither,  at  will ;  long  lines  of  them  now  being  tied 
into  what  seemed  the  most  inextricable  knots,  and  now  untied 
again,  with  an  ease,  grace,  and  skill,  which  called  forth  my 
constant  admiration. 

But  it  was  not  so  much  the  movements  of  the  military  that 
attracted  my  attention,  as  the  tout  ensemble  of  the  crowd.  The 
eye  wandered  over  almost  all  the  nationalities  of  the  earth,  in 
their  holiday  costumes.  The  red  fez  cap  of  the  Greek,  the 
white  turban  of  the  Moor  and  Turk,  and  the  hat  of  the  Chris 
tian,  all  waved  in  a  common  sea  of  male  humanity,  and,  when 
the  eye  turned  to  the  female  portion  of  the  crowd,  there  was 
confusion  worse  confounded,  for  the  fashions  of  Paris  and 
London,  Athens  and  Constantinople,  the  isles  and  the  conti 
nents,  all  were  there !  What  with  the  waving  plumes  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     319 

generals,  the  galloping  hither  and  thither  of  aides  and  order 
lies,  the  flashing  of  the  polished  barrel  of  the  rifle  in  the  sun, 
the  music  of  the  splendid  bands,  and  the  swaying  and  surging 
of  the  civic  multitude  which  I  have  attempted  to  describe,  the 
scene  was  fairly  beyond  description.  A  man  might  dream  of 
it,  but  could  not  describe  it. 

21 


CHAPTER  XXY. 

THE  SUMTER  STILL  AT  GIBRALTAR  -  SHIP  CROWDED 
WITH  VISITORS  -  A  RIDE  OVER  THE  ROCK  WITH 
COLONEL  FREEMANTLE  -  THE  "  GALLERIES  "  AND 

'  OTHER  SUBTERRANEAN  WONDERS  -  A  DIZZY  HEIGHT, 
AND  THE  QUEEN  OF  SPAIN'S  CHAIR  -  THE  MONKEYS 
AND  THE  "NEUTRAL  GROUND." 


stream  of  visitors  to  the  Sumter  continued  for  some 
clays  after  our  arrival.  Almost  every  steamer  from 
England  brought  more  or  less  tourists  and  curiosity-hunters, 
and  these  did  us  the  honor  to  visit  us,  and  frequently  to  say 
kind  words  of  sympathy  and  encouragement.  Among  others, 
the  Duke  of  Beaufort  and  Sir  John  Inglis  visited  us,  and 
examined  our  ship  with  much  curiosity.  The  latter,  who  had 
earned  for  himself  the  title  of  the  "  hero  of  Lucknow,"  in  that 
most  memorable  and  barbarous  of  all  sieges,  was  on  his  way 
to  the  Ionian  Islands,  of  which  he  had  recently  been  appointed 
Governor. 

January  23(7.  —  Weather  clear  and  pleasant.  We  received 
a  visit  from  Captain  Warden  to-day,  in  return  for  the  visit  I 
had  made  him  upon  my  arrival.  He  came  off  in  full  uniform, 
to  show  us  that  his  visit  was  meant  to  be  official,  as  well  as 
personal.  Nothing  would  have  pleased  the  gallant  captain 
better,  than  to  have  been  able  to  salute  the  Confederate  States' 
flag,  and  welcome  our  new  republic  among  the  family  of  na 
tions.  We  discussed  a  point  of  international  law  while  he 
was  on  board.  He  desired,  he  said,  to  call  my  attention  to 
the  well-known  rule  that,  in  case  of  the  meeting  of  two  oppo 
site  belligerents  in  the  same  neutral  port,  twenty-four  hours 
must  intervene  between  their  departure.  I  assented  readily 
to  this  rule.  It  had  been  acted  upon,  I  told  him,  by  the 
Governor  of  Martinique,  when  I  was  in  that  island  —  the 

320 


MEMOIRS     OF     SERVICE     AFLOAT.  321 

enemy's  sloop  Iroquois  having  been  compelled  to  cruise  in  the 
offing  for  fear  of  its  application  to  her.  I  remarked,  however, 
that  it  was  useless  for  us  to  discuss  the  rule  here,  as  the  enemy's 
ships  had  adroitly  taken  measures  to  evade  it.  "  How  is  that?" 
he  inquired.  "Why,  simply,"  I  replied,  "by  stationing  one 
of  his  ships  in  Gibraltar,  and  another  in  Algeziras.  If  I  go 
to  sea  from  Gibraltar,  the  Algeziras  ship  follows  me,  and  if  I 
go  to  sea  from  Algeziras,  the  Gibraltar  ship  follows  me." 
"True,"  rejoined  the  captain,  "I  did  not  think  of  that."  "I 
cannot  say,"  continued  I,  "that  I  complain  of  this.  It  is  one 
of  those  chances  in  war  which  perhaps  nine  men  in  ten  would 
take  advantage  of;  and  then  these  Federal  captains  cannot 
afford  to  be  over-scrupulous;  they  have  an  angry  mob  at 
their  heels,  shouting,  in  their  fury  and  ignorance,  'Pirate! 
pirate!'" 

The  Southampton  steamer  brought  us  late  news,  to-day,  from 
London.  We  are  becoming  somewhat  apprehensive  for  the 
safety  of  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  who,  having  embarked  on 
board  the  British  steam-sloop  Rinaldo,  at  Provincetown,  Mass., 
on  the  2d  inst.,  bound  to  Halifax,  distant  only  a  few  hundred 
miles,  had  not  been  heard  from  as  late  as  the  10th  inst.  A 
heavy  gale  followed  their  embarcation.  I  received  a  letter, 
to-day,  too,  from  Mr.  Yancey.  He  writes  despondently  as  to 
the  action  of  the  European  powers.  They  are  cold,  distrust 
ful,  and  cautious,  and  he  has  no  hope  of  an  early  recognition. 
I  am  pained  to  remark  here,  that  this  distinguished  statesman 
died  soon  after  his  return  to  the  United  States.  He  was  one 
of  the  able  men  of  the  South,  who,  like  Patrick  Henry,  and 
John  C.  Calhoun,  seemed  to  be  gifted  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy  ;  or,  rather,  to  speak  more  correctly,  his  superior 
mental  powers,  and  knowledge  of  men  and  of  governments, 
enabled  him,  like  his  great  predecessors,  to  arrive  at  conclu 
sions,  natural  and  easy  enough  to  himself,  but  which,  viewed 
in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  seemed  like  prophecy  to  his 
less  gifted  countrymen.  Mr.  Yancey  much  resembled  Patrick 
Henry  in  the  simplicity  and  honesty  of  his  character,  and  in 
the  fervidness  and  power  of  his  eloquence. 

January  30th.  —  A  fine,  clear  day,  with  the  wind  from  the 
eastward.  Having  received  a  note  last  evening,  from  Colonel 


322  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Freemantle,  informing  me  that  horses  would  be  in  readiness 
for  us,  this  morning,  at  the  Government  House,  to  visit  the 
fortifications,  I  went  on  shore  the  first  thing  after  breakfast, 
and  finding  the  Colonel  in  readiness,  we  mounted,  and  accom 
panied  by  an  orderly  to  take  care  of  our  horses,  rode  at  a  brisk 
pace  out  of  the  western  gate,  and  commenced  our  tour  of  inspec 
tion.  Arriving  at  the  entrance  of  the  famous  "galleries" 
situated  about  half-way  up  the  Eock,  we  dismounted,  and  dived 
into  the  bowels  of  mother  Earth. 

The  Spaniards  have  been  celebrated  above  all  other  people 
for  fortifications.  They  have  left  monuments  of  their  patience, 
diligence,  and  skill  all  over  the  world,  wherever  they  have 
obtained  a  foothold.  The  only  other  people  who  have  ever 
equalled  them,  in  this  particular,  though  in  a  somewhat  differ 
ent  way,  are  the  people  of  these  Northern  States,  during  the 
late  war.  No  Spaniard  was  ever  half  so  diligent  in  his  hand 
ling  of  stone,  and  mortar,  as  was  the  Yankee  soldier  in  throw 
ing  up  his  "earth-work."  His  industry  in  this  regard  was 
truly  wonderful.  If  the  Confederate  soldier  ever  gave  him 
half  an  hour's  breathing-time,  he  was  safe.  With  pick  and 
spade  he  would  burrow  in  the  ground  like  a  rabbit.  When 
the  time  comes  for  that  ]STew-Zealander,  foretold  by  Macaulay, 
to  sit  on  the  ruins  of  London  bridge,  and  wonder  what  people 
had  passed  away,  leaving  such  gigantic  ruins  behind  them,  we 
would  recommend  him  to  come  over  to  these  States,  and  view 
the  miles  of  hillocks  that  the  industrious  Yankee  moles  threw 
up  during  our  late  war ;  and  speculate  upon  the  genus  of  the 
animal  gifted  with  such  wonderful  instincts. 

But  to  return  to  our  tour  of  inspection.  The  famous  under 
ground  "  galleries  "  of  the  Eock  of  Gibraltar,  are  huge  tunnels, 
blasted  and  bored,  foot  by  foot,  in  the  living  rock,  sufficiently 
wide  and  deep  to  admit  of  the  placing,  and  working  of  heavy 
artillery.  They  are  from  one  third  of  a  mile,  to  half  a  mile  in 
length,  and  there  are  three  tiers  of  them,  rising  one  above  the 
other;  the  embrasures  or  port-holes  of  which  resemble,  when 
viewed  from  a  distance,  those  of  an  old-time  two-decker. 
Besides  these  galleries  for  the  artillery,  there  have  also  been 
excavated  in  the  solid  rock,  ample  magazines,  and  store  and 
provision  rooms,  and  tanks  for  the  reception  of  water.  These 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      323 

receptacles  are  kept  constantly  well  supplied  with  munitions, 
both  de  guerre,  and  de  bouche,  so  that  if  the  garrison  should  be 
driven  from  the  fortifications  below,  it  could  retreat  to  this 
citadel,  close  the  massive  doors  behind  them,  and  withstand 
a  siege. 

We  passed  through  all  the  galleries,  ascending  from  one  to 
the  other,  through  a  long,  rough-hewn  stairway — the  Colonel 
frequently  stopping,  and  explaining  to  me  the  history  of  some 
particular  nook  or  battlement  —  until  we  finally  emerged  into 
the  open  air  through  a  port-hole,  or  doorway  at  the  very  top 
of  the  Rock,  and  stood  upon  a  narrow  footway  or  platform, 
looking  down  a  sheer  precipice  of  fifteen  hundred  feet,  upon 
the  sea  breaking  in  miniature  waves  at  the  base  of  the  Rock. 
There  was  no  rail  to  guard  one  from  the  precipice  below,  and 
I  could  but  wonder  at  the  nonchalance  with  which  the  Colonel 
stepped  out  upon  this  narrow  ledge,  and  walked  some  yards  to 
get  a  view  of  the  distant  coast  of  Spain,  expecting  me  to  follow 
him.  I  did  follow  him,  but  I  planted  my  feet  very  firmly  and 
carefully,  feeling  all  the  while  some  such  emptiness  in  the 
region  of  the  "bread-basket,"  as  Marryatt  describes  Peter 
Simple  to  have  experienced  when  the  first  shot  whistled  past 
that  young  gentleman  in  his  first  naval  engagement. 

The  object  of  the  Colonel,  in  this  flank  movement,  was  to 
show  me  a  famous  height  some  distance  inland,  called  the 
"Queen  of  Spain's  Chair,"  and  to  relate  to  me  the  legend  in 
connection  with  it.  The  Rock  of  Gibraltar  has  always  been 
the  darling  of  Spain.  It  has  been  twice  wrested  from  her, 
once  by  the  Moors,  and  once  by  the  English.  She  regained  it 
from  the  Moors,  when  she  drove  them  out  of  her  Southern 
provinces,  after  an  occupation  of  eight  hundred  years !  Some 
of  the  remains  of  the  old  Moorish  castles  are  still  visible. 
Afterward,  an  English  naval  captain,  returning  from  some 
expe'dition  up  the  Mediterranean,  in  which  he  had  been  unsuc 
cessful,  stormed  and  captured  the  Rock  with  a  handful  of 
sailors.  Spain,  mortified  beyond  measure,  at  the  result,  made 
strenuous  efforts  to  recover  it.  In  1752  she  bent  all  her  ener 
gies  in  this  direction,  and  fitted  out  large  expeditions,  by  land 
and  by  sea,  for  the  purpose.-  The  Queen  came  down  from 
Madrid  to  witness  the  siege,  and  causing  her  tent  to  be  pitched 


324  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

near  the  "  Chair,"  vowed  she  would  never  leave  it,  until  she 
saw  the  flag  of  Spain  floating  once  more  from  the  coveted 
battlements.  But  General  Elliot,  with  only  a  small  garrison, 
beat  back  the  immense  armaments,  and  the  Spaniards  were 
compelled  to  raise  the  siege.  But  the  poor  Queen  of  Spain ! 
what  was  to  become  of  her,  and  her  vow?  English  gallantry 
came  to  her  relief.  The  Spanish  flag  was  raised  for  a  single 
day  from  the  Kock,  to  enable  the  Queen  to  descend  from  her 
chair !  The  reader  will  judge  whether  this  legend  was  worth 
the  emptiness  in  the  "  bread-basket "  which  I  had  experienced, 
in  order  to  get  at  it. 

Descending  back  through  the  galleries,  to  where  we  had  left 
our  horses,  we  remounted,  and  following  a  zigzag  path,  filled 
with  loose  stones,  and  running  occasionally  along  the  edges  of 
precipices,  down  which  we  should  have  been  instantly  dashed  in 
pieces,  if  our  sure-footed  animals  had  stumbled,  we  reached  the 
signal-station.  On  the  very  apex  of  the  rock,  nature  seemed  to 
have  prepared  a  little  plateau,  of  a  few  yards  square,  as  if  for  the 
very  purpose  for  which  it  was  occupied  —  that  of  over-looking 
the  approaches  from  every  direction,  to  the  famous  Bock.  A 
neat  little  box  of  a  house,  with  a  signal-mast  and  yard,  and  a 
small  plot  of  ground,  about  as  large  as  a  pocket-handkerchief, 
used  as  a  garden,  occupied  the  whole  space.  Europe,  and 
Africa,  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  Atlantic  were  all  visible 
from  this  eyry.  The  day  was  clear,  and  we  could  see  to  great 
distances.  There  were  ships  in  the  east  coming  down  the 
Mediterranean,  and  ships  in  the  west  coming  through  the 
famous  Strait;  they  all  looked  like  mere  specks.  Fleets  that 
might  shake  nations  with  their  thunder,  would  be  here  mere 
cock-boats.  The  country  is  mountainous  on  both  sides  of  the 
Strait,  and  these  mountains  now  lay  sleeping  in  the  sunshine, 
covered  with  a  thin,  gauzy  veil,  blue  and  mysterious,  and 
wearing  that  air  of  enchantment  which  distance  always  lends 
to  bold  scenery. 

"  We  had  a  fine  view  of  your  ship,  the  other  day,"  said  the 
signal-man  to  me,  "  when  you  were  chasing  the  Yankee.  The 
latter  was  hereaway,  when  you  set  fire  to  her" — pointing  in 
the  direction.  "Are  there  many  Yankee  ships  passing  the 
Rock  now?"  I  inquired.  "No.  Very  few  since  the  war  com- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      325 

menced."  "It  would  not  pay  me,  then,  to  cruise  in  these  seas?  " 
"Scarcely." 

As  we  turned  to  go  to  our  horses,  we  were  attracted  by  the 
appearance  of  three  large  apes,  that  had  come  out  of  their 
lodging-place  in  the  Eock,  to  sun  themselves.  These  apes  are 
one  of  the  curiosities  of  the  Eock,  and  many  journeys  have  been 
made  in  vain  to  the  signal-station,  to  see  them.  The  Colonel  had 
never  seen  them  before,  himself,  and  the  signal-man  congratu 
lated  us  both  on  our  good  fortune.  "Those  are  three  old 
widows,"  said  he,  "the  only  near  neighbors  I  have,  and  we 
are  very  friendly ;  but  as  you  are  strangers,  you  must  not  move 
if  you  would  have  a  good  look  at  them,  or  they  will  run 
away."  He  then  gave  us  the  history  of  his  neighbors.  Years 
ago  there  was  quite  a  colony  of  these  counterfeit  presentments 
of  human  nature  on  the  Eock,  but  the  whole  colony  has  dis 
appeared  except  these  three.  "  When  I  first  came  to  the  signal- 
station,"  continued  our  informant,  "these  three  old  widows 
were  gay,  and  dashing  young  damsels,  with  plenty  of  sweet 
hearts,  but  unfortunately  for  them,  there  were  more  males  than 
females,  and  a  war  ensued  in  the  colony  in  consequence.  First 
one  of  the  young  males  would  disappear,  and  then  another, 
until  I  at  last  noticed  that  there  were  only  four  of  the  whole 
colony  left:  one  very  large  old  male,  and  these  three  females. 
Peace  now  ensued,  and  the  old  fellow  lived  apparently  very 
happily  with  his  wives,  but  no  children  were  born  to  him,  and 
finally  he  died,  leaving  these  three  disconsolate  widows,  who 
have  since  grown  old — you  can  see  that  they  are  quite  gray — 
to  mourn  his  loss."  And  they  did  indeed  look  sad  and  discon 
solate  enough.  They  eyed  us  very  curiously,  and  when  we 
moved  toward  our  horses,  they  scampered  off.  They  sub 
sist  upon  wild  dates,  and  a  few  other  wild  fruits  that  grow 
upon  the  Eock. 

We  passed  down  the  mountain-side  to  the  south  end  of  the 
Eock,  where  we  exchanged  salutations  with  the  General  and 
Mrs.  Codrington,  who  had  come  out  to  superintend  some  re 
pairs  upon  a  country  house  which  they  had  at  this  end ;  and 
reaching  the  town,  I  began  to  congratulate  myself  that  my 
long  and  fatiguing  visit  of  inspection  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Not  so,  however.  These  Englishmen  are  a  sort  of  cross  between 


326  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  Centaur  and  the  North  American  Indian.  They  can  ride 
you,  or  walk  you  to  death,  whichever  you  please;  and  so 
Freemantle  said  to  me,  "Now,  Captain,  we  will  just  take  a  little 
gallop  out  past  the  'neutral  ground,'  and  then  I  think  I  will 
have  shown  you  all  the  curiosities."  The  "neutral  ground" 
was  about  three  miles  distant,  and  "a  gallop"  out  and  back, 
would  be  six  miles !  Imagine  a  sailor  who  had  not  been  on 
horseback  before,  for  six  months ;  who  had  been  riding  for 
half  a  day  one  of  those  accursed  English  horses,  with  their 
long  stride,  and  swinging  trot,  throwing  a  man  up,  and  catching 
him  again,  as  if  he  were  a  trap-ball;  who  was  galled,  and  sore, 
and  jaded,  having  such  a  proposition  made  to  him !  It  was 
worse  than  taking  me  out  on  that  narrow  ledge  of  rock  fif 
teen  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  to  look  at  the  Queen  of 
Spain's  Chair.  But  I  could  not  retreat.  How  could  an  Ameri 
can,  who  had  been  talking  of  his  big  country,  its  long  rivers, 
the  immense  distances  traversed  by  its  railroads  and  steam 
boats,  and  the  capacity  for  endurance  of  its  people  in  the  pres 
ent  war,  knock  under  to  an  Englishman,  and  a  Coldstream 
Guardsman  at  that,  on  this  very  question  of  endurance?  And 
so  we  rode  to  the  "  neutral  ground." 

This  is  a  narrow  strip  of  territory,  accurately  set  off  by 
metes  and  bounds,  on  the  isthmus  that  separates  the  Bock 
from  the  Spanish  territory.  As  its  name  implies,  neither 
party  claims  jurisdiction  over  it.  On  one  side  are  posted  the 
English  sentinels,  and  on  the  other,  the  Spanish;  and  the  alVs- 
wett!  of  the  one  mingles  strangely,  at  night,  with  the  alerta! 
of  the  other.  We  frequently  heard  them  both  on  board  the 
Sumter,  when  the  night  was  still.  I  got  back  to  my  ship  just 
in  time  for  a  six  o'clock  dinner,  astonished  John  by  drinking 
an  extra  glass  of  sherry,  and  could  hardly  walk  for  a  week 
afterward. 

A  day  or  two  after  my  visit  to  the  Rock,  I  received  a  visit 
from  a  Spanish  naval  lieutenant,  sent  over,  as  he  stated,  by  the 
Admiral  from  Algeziras,  to  remonstrate  with  me  against  the 
burning  of  the  ship  Neapolitan  within  Spanish  jurisdiction. 
The  reader  who  has  read  the  description  of  the  burning  of 
that  ship,  will  be  as  much  astonished  as  I  was  at  this  visit. 
The  Spanish  Government  owns  the  fortress  of  Ceuta,  on  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      327 

African  shore  opposite  Gibraltar,  and  by  virtue  of  this  owner 
ship  claims,  as  it  would  appear,  jurisdiction  for  a  marine 
league  at  sea,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fortress.  It  was 
claimed  that  the  Neapolitan  had  been  captured  within  this 
league.  The  lieutenant  having  thus  stated  his  case,  I  de 
manded  to  know  on  what  testimony  the  Admiral  relied,  to 
establish  the  fact  of  the  burning  within  the  league.  He  re 
plied  that  the  United  States  Consul  at  Gibraltar  had  made  the 
statement  to  the  Admiral.  Here  was  the  "cat  out  of  the  bag" 
again ;  another  United  States  Consul  had  turned  up,  with  his 
intrigues  and  false  statements.  The  nice  little  piece  of  diplo 
macy  had  probably  been  helped  on,  too,  by  the  commanders 
of  the  Federal  ships  of  war,  that  had  made  Algeziras  a  rendez 
vous,  since  I  had  been  anchored  in  the  Bay  of  Gibraltar. 
When  the  Spanish  officer  had  done  stating  his  case,  I  said  to 
him :  —  "I  do  not  recognize  the  right  of  your  Admiral  to  raise 
any  question  with  me,  as  to  my  capture  of  the  Neapolitan. 
The  capture  of  that  ship  is  an  accomplished  fact,  and  if  any 
injury  has  been  done  thereby  to  Spain,  the  Spanish  Govern 
ment  can  complain  of  it  to  the  Government  of  the  Confederate 
States.  It  has  passed  beyond  the  stage,  when  the  Admiral 
and  I  could  manage  it,  and  has  become  an  affair  entirely 
between  our  two  Governments." 

This  was  all  the  official  answer  I  had  to  make,  and  the  lieu 
tenant,  whose  bearing  was  that  of  an  intelligent  gentleman, 
assented  to  the  correctness  of  my  position.  I  then  said  to 
him :  —  "But  aside  from  the  official  aspect  of  the  case,  I  desire 
to  show  you,  that  your  Admiral  has  had  his  credulity  played 
upon  by  his  informant,  the  Consul,  and  whatever  other  parties 
may  have  approached  him  on  this  subject.  They  have  made 
false  statements  to  him.  It  is  not  only  well  known  to  hun 
dreds  of  citizens  of  the  Eock,  who  were  eye-witnesses  of  the 
burning  of  the  Neapolitan,  that  that  vessel  was  burned  at  a 
distance  of  from  six  to  seven  miles  from  the  African  coast, 
but  I  have  the  testimony  of  the  master  of  the  captured  ves 
sel  himself,  to  the  same  effect."  I  then  sent  for  my  clerk, 
whom  I  directed  to  produce  and  read  the  deposition  of  the 
master,  which,  according  to  custom,  we  had  taken  immedi 
ately  upon  effecting  the  capture.  In  that  deposition,  after 


328  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

having  been  duly  sworn,  the  master  had  stated  that  the  cap 
ture  was  made  about  five  miles  from  Europa  Point,  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  Eock  of  Gibraltar.  The  Strait  is 
about  fourteen  miles  wide  at  this  point,  which  would  put 
the  ship,  when  captured,  nine  miles  from  Ceuta !  The  lieu 
tenant,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  reading,  raised  both  hands, 
and  with  an  expressive  smile,  ejaculated,  "  Es  possible  ?  "  "Yes," 
I  replied,  "all  things  are  possible  to  Federal  Consuls,  and 
other  Federal  pimps  and  spies,  when  the  Sumter  and  Yankee 
ships  are  concerned." 


CHAPTEE    XXYI. 

THE  SUMTER  IN  TEOUBLE FINDS  IT  IMPOSSIBLE  TO  COAL, 

BY  EEASON   OF   A  COMBINATION  AGAINST   HEK,  HEADED 

BY  THE    FEDERAL  CONSUL APPLIES    TO    THE    BRITISH 

GOVERNMENT  FOR  COAL,  BUT  IS   REFUSED SENDS  HER 

PAYMASTER    AND     EX-CONSUL    TUNSTALL    TO     CADIZ 

THEY  ARE  ARRESTED  AND   IMPRISONED   AT   TANGIER 

CORRESPONDENCE  ON  THE  SUBJECT THE  SUMTER  LAID 

UP   AND   SOLD. 

THE  Sumter's  boilers  were  very  much  out  of  condition  when 
she  arrived  at  Gibraltar,  and  we  had  hoped,  from  the  fact 
that  Gibraltar  was  a  touching-point  for  several  lines  of  steamers, 
that  we  should  find  here,  machine  and  boiler  shops  sufficiently 
extensive  to  enable  us  to  have  a  new  set  of  boilers  made.  We 
were  disappointed  in  this ;  and  so  were  compelled  to  patch  up 
the  old  boilers  as  best  we  could,  hoping  that  when  our  funds 
should  arrive,  we  might  be  enabled  to  coal,  and  run  around  to 
London  or  Liverpool,  where  we  would  find  all  the  facilities  we 
could  desire.  My  funds  arrived,  as  before  stated,  on  the  3d  of 
February,  and  I  at  once  set  about  supplying  myself  with  coal. 
I  sent  my  first  lieutenant  and  paymaster  on  shore,  and  after 
ward  my  engineer,  to  purchase  it,  authorizing  them  to  pay 
more  than  the  market-price,  if  it  should  be  necessary.  The 
reader  will  judge  of  my  surprise  when  these  officers  returned, 
and  informed  me  that  they  found  the  market  closed  against 
them,  and  that  it  was  impossible  to  purchase  a  pound  of  coal 
in  any  direction  I 

It  has  been  seen,  in  the  course  of  these  pages,  how  often  I 
have  had  occasion  to  complain  of  the  conduct  of  the  Federal 
Consuls,  and  one  can  scarcely  conceive  the  trouble  and  annoy 
ance  which  these  well-drilled  officials  of  Mr.  Seward  gave 

329 


330  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

me.  I  could  not,  of  course,  have  complained,  if  their  bearing 
toward  me  had  been  simply  that  of  open  enemies-.  This  was 
to  be  expected.  But  they  descended  to  bribery,  trickery,  and 
fraud,  and  to  all  the  other  arts  of  petty  intrigue,  so  unworthy 
of  an  honorable  enemy.  Our  Southern  people  can  scarcely 
conceive  how  little  our  non-commercial  Southern  States  were 
known,  in  the  marts  of  traffic  and  trade  of  the  world.  Beyond 
a  few  of  our  principal  ports,  whence  our  staple  of  cotton  was 
shipped  to  Europe,  our  nomenclature  even  was  unknown  to 
the  mass  of  mere  traders.  The  Yankee  Consul  and  the  Yankee 
shipmaster  were  everywhere.  Yankee  ships  carried  out  car 
goes  of  cotton,  and  Yankee  ships  brought  back  the  goods 
which  were  purchased  with  the  proceeds.  All  the  American 
trade  with  Europe  was  Yankee  trade — a  ship  here  and  there 
excepted.  Commercial  men,  everywhere,  were  thus  more  or 
less  connected  with  the  enemy ;  and  trade  being  the  breath  of 
their  nostrils,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  I  found  them  inimical  to 
me.  With  rare  exceptions,  they  had  no  trade  to  lose  with  the 
South,  and  much  to  lose  with  the  North;  and  this  was  the 
string  played  upon  by  the  Federal  Consuls.  If  a  neutral  mer 
chant  showed  any  inclination  to  supply  the  Sumter  with  any 
thing  she  needed,  a  runner  was  forthwith  sent  round  to  him  by 
the  Federal  Consul,  to  threaten  him  with  the  loss  of  his  Ameri 
can —  i.  e.  Yankee  —  trade,  unless  he  desisted. 

Such  was  the  game  now  being  played  in  Gibraltar,  to  pre 
vent  the  Sumter  from  coaling.  The  same  Federal  Consul,  who, 
as  the  reader  has  seen  a  few  pages  back,  stated  in  an  official 
letter  to  the  Spanish  Admiral,  that  the  Neapolitan  had  been 
captured  within  the  marine  league  of  the  Spanish- African 
coast,  whilst  the  captain  of  the  same  ship  had  sworn  posi 
tively  that  she  was  distant  from  it,  nine  miles,  was  now  brib 
ing  and  threatening  the  coal-dealers  of  Gibraltar,  to  prevent 
them  from  supplying  me  with  coal.  Whilst  I  was  pondering 
my  dilemma,  I  was  agreeably  surprised,  one  morning,  to  re 
ceive  a  visit  from  an  English  shipmaster,  whose  ship  had  just 
arrived  with  some  coal  on  board.  He  was  willing,  he  said,  to 
supply  me,  naming  his  price,  which  I  at  once  agreed  to  give 
him.  I  congratulated  myself  that  I  had  at  last  found  an  inde 
pendent  Englishman,  who  had  no  fear  of  the  loss  of  Yankee 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      331 

trade,  and  expressed  as  much  to  him.  "If  there  is  anything," 
said  he,  "of  which  I  am  proud,  it  is  just  that  thing,  that  I  am 
an  independent  man."  It  was  arranged  that  I  should  get  up 
steam,  and  go  alongside  of  him  the  next  day.  In  the  mean 
time,  however,  "a  change  came  o'er  the  spirit"  of  the  English 
man's  dream.  He  visited  the  shore.  What  took  place  there, 
we  do  not  know ;  but  the  next  morning,  whilst  I  was  weigh 
ing  my  anchor  to  go  alongside  of  him,  according  to  agree 
ment,  a  boat  came  from  the  ship  of  my  "independent"  friend 
to  say,  that  I  could  not  have  the  coal,  unless  I  would  pay  him 
double  the  price  agreed  upon !  He,  too,  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  The  steam  was  blown  off,  and  the  anchor 
not  weighed. 

Finding  that  I  could  do  nothing  with  the  merchants,  I  had 
recourse  to  the  Government.  There  was  some  coal  in  the 
Dock-Yard,  and  I  addressed  the  following  note  to  my  friend, 
Captain  Warden,  to  see  if  he  would  not  supply  me :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,") 
February  10,  1862.  } 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that  I  have  made  every 
effort  to  procure  a  supply  of  coal,  without  success.  The  British 
and  other  merchants  of  Gibraltar,  instigated  I  learn  by  the  United 
States  Consul,  have  entered  into  the  unneutral  combination  of  de 
clining  to  supply  the  Sumter  with  coal  on  any  terms.  Under  these 
circumstances  I  trust  the  Government  of  her  Majesty  will  find  no 
difficulty  in  supplying  me.  By  the  recent  letter  of  Earl  Russell  — 
31st  of  January,  1862  —  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  neutrality,  for  a 
belligerent  to  supply  himself  with  coal  in  a  British  port.  In  other 
words,  this  article  has  been  pronounced,  like  provisions,  innoxious; 
and  this  being  the  case,  it  can  make  no  difference  whether  it  be  sup 
plied  by  the  Government  or  an  individual  (the  Government  being 
reimbursed  the  expense),  and  this  even  though  the  market  were 
open  to  me.  Much  more  then  may  the  Government  supply  me  with 
an  innocent  article,  the  market  not  being  open  to  me.  Suppose  I 
had  come  into  port  destitute  of  provisions,  and  the  same  illegal 
combination  had  shut  me  out  from  the  market,  would  the  British 
Government  permit  my  crew  to  starve?  Or  suppose  I  had  been  a 
sailing-ship,  and  had  come  in  dismasted  from  the  effects  of  a  recent 
gale,  and  the  dock-yard  of  her  Majesty  was  the  only  place  where  I 
could  be  refitted,  would  you  deny  me  a  mast?  The  laws  of  nations 
are  positive  on  this  last  point,  and  it  would  be  your  duty  to  allow 
me  to  refit  in  the  public  dock.  And  if  you  would  not,  under  the 
circumstances  stated,  deny  me  a  mast,  on  what  principle  will  you 
deny  me  coal  —  the  latter  being  as  necessary  to  a  steamer  as  a  mast 
to  a  sai  ing-ship,  and  both  being  alike  innoxious? 


332  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  true  criterion  is,  not  whether  the  Government  or  an  indi 
vidual  may  supply  the  article,  but  whether  the  article  itself  be  nox 
ious  or  innoxious.  The  Government  may  not  supply  me  with 
powder — why?  Not  because  I  may  have  recourse  to  the  mar 
ket,  but  because  the  article  itself  is  interdicted.  A  case  in  point 
occurred  when  I  was  in  Cadiz  recently.  My  ship  was  admitted 
into  a  Government  dock,  and  there  repaired.  The  reasons  were, 
first,  the  repairs,  themselves,  were  such  as  were  authorized  by  the 
laws  of  nations ;  and  secondly,  there  were  no  private  docks  in 
Cadiz.  So  here,  the  article  is  innocent,  and  there  is  none  in  the 
market  —  or  rather  none  accessible  to  me,  which  is  the  same  thing. 
Why,  then,  may  not  the  Government  supply  me?  In  conclusion, 
I  respectfully  request  that  you  will  supply  me  with  150  tons  of 
coal,  for  which  I  will  pay  the  cash  ;  or,  if  you  prefer  it,  I  will  de 
posit  the  money  with  an  agent,  who  can  have  no  difficulty,  I  sup 
pose,  in  purchasing  the  same  quantity  of  the  material  from  some 
of  the  coal-hulks,  and  returning  it  to  her  Majesty's  dock-yard." 

This  application  was  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary  for  For 
eign  Affairs,  in  London,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a  week  — for  it 
took  the  "  law-officers  of  the  Crown  "  a  week,  it  seems,  to  de 
cide  the  question  —  was  denied.  On  the  same  day  on  which  I 
wrote  the  above  letter,  I  performed  the  very  pleasant  duty  of 
paying  to  the  Spanish  Consul  at  Gibraltar,  on  account  of  the 
authorities  at  Cadiz,  the  amount  of  the  bill  which  the  dock 
yard  officers  at  Caracca  had  rendered  me,  for  docking  my  ship. 
The  dock-yard  Admiral  had  behaved  very  handsomely  about 
it.  I  was  entirely  destitute  of  funds.  He  docked  my  ship, 
with  a  knowledge  of  this  fact,  and  was  kind  enough  to  say 
that  I  might  pay  at  my  convenience.  I  take  pleasure  in  re 
cording  this  conduct  on  the  part  of  a  Spanish  gentleman,  who 
held  a  high  position  in  the  Spanish  Navy,  as  a  set-off  to  the 
•coarse  and  unfriendly  conduct  of  the  Military  Governor  of 
Cadiz,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken. 

Failing  with  the  British  Government,  as  I  had  done  with 
the  merchants  of  Gibraltar,  to  obtain  a  supply  of  coal,  I  next 
dispatched  my  paymaster  for  Cadiz,  with  instructions  to  pur 
chase  in  that  port,  and  ship  the  article  around  to  me.  A  Mr. 
Tunstall,  who  had  been  the  United  States  Consul  at  Cadiz, 
before  the  war,  was  then  in  Gibraltar,  and  at  his  request,  I 
sent  him  along  with  the  paymaster.  They  embarked  on 
board  a  small  French  steamer  plying  between  some  of  the 
Mediterranean  ports,  and  Cadiz.  Tangier,  a  small  Moorish 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      333 

town  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  lies  in 
the  route,  and  the  steamer  stopped  there  for  a  few  hours  to 
land  and  receive  passengers,  and  to  put  off,  and  take  on  freight. 
Messrs.  Myers  and  Tunstall,  during  this  delay,  went  up  into  the 
town,  to  take  a  walk,  and  as  they  were  returning,  were  set  upon 
by  a  guard  of  Moorish  soldiers,  and  made  prisoners !  Upon 
demanding  an  explanation,  they  were  informed  that  they  had 
been  arrested  upon  a  requisition  of  the  United  States  Consul, 
resident  in  that  town. 

By  special  treaties  between  the  Christian  powers,  and  the 
Moorish  and  other  non-Christian  powers  on  the  borders  of  the 
Mediterranean,  it  is  provided  that  the  consuls  of  the  different 
Christian  powers  shall  have  jurisdiction,  both  civil  and  crimi 
nal,  over  their  respective  citizens.  It  was  under  such  a  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  Morocco,  that  the  United  States 
Consul  had  demanded  the  arrest  of  Messrs.  Myers  and  Tunstall, 
as  citizens  of  the  United  States,  alleging  that  they  had  com 
mitted  high  crimes  against  the  said  States,  on  the  high  seas ! 
The  ignorant  Moorish  officials  knew  nothing,  and  cared  no 
thing,  about  the  laws  of  nations ;  nor  did  they  puzzle  their 
small  brains  with  what  was  going  on,  on  the  American  conti 
nent.  All  they  knew  was,  that  one  "Christian  dog,"  had  de 
manded  other  "Christian  dogs,"  as  his  prisoners,  and  troops 
were  sent  to  the  Consul,  to  enable  him  to  make  the  arrest  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

The  Consul,  hoping  to  recommend  himself  to  the  mad  popu 
lace  of  the  United  States,  who  were  just  then  denouncing  the 
Sumter  as  a  "pirate,"  and  howling  for  the  blood  of  all  em 
barked  on  board  of  her,  —  with  as  little  brains  as  their  Moor 
ish  allies, —  acted  like  the  brute  he  was,  took  the  prisoners  to 
his  consular  residence,  ironed  them  heavily,  and  kept  them  in 
close  confinement !  He  guarded  them  as  he  would  the  apple 
of  his  eye,  for  had  he  not  a  prize  which  might  make  him  Con 
sul  for  life  at  Tangier  ?  Alas  for  human  hopes !  I  have  since 
learned  that  he  was  kicked  out  of  his  place,  to  make  room  for 
another  Sans  Culotte,  even  more  hungry,  and  more  "truly  loil" 
than  himself. 

Intelligence  of  the  rich  prizes  which  he  had  made,  having 
been  conveyed  by  the  Consul,  to  the  commanding  United 


334  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

States  naval  officer,  in  the  Bay  of  Algeziras,  which  bay  had" 
by  this  time  become  a  regular  naval  station  of  the  enemy,  that 
officer,  instead  of  releasing  the  prisoners  at  once,  as  he  should 
have  done,  on  every  principle  of  honor,  if  not  out  of  regard  for 
the  laws  of  nations,  which  he  was  bound  to  respect  and  obey, 
sent  the  sailing  bark  Ino,  one  of  his  armed  vessels,  to  Tan 
gier,  which  received  the  prisoners  on  board,  and  brought  them 
over  to  Algeziras — the  doughty  Consul  accompanying  them. 

There  was  great  rejoicing  on  board  the  Yankee  ships  of 
war,  in  that  Spanish  port,  when  the  Consul  and  his  pris 
oners  arrived.  They  had  blockaded  the  Sumter  in  the  Missis 
sippi,  they  had  blockaded  her  in  Martinique,  they  had  chased 
her  hither  and  thither ;  Wilkes,  Porter,  and  Palmer,  had  all 
been  in  pursuit  of  her,  but  they  had  all  been  baffled.  At  last, 
the  little  Tangier  Consul  appears  upon  the  scene,  and  waylay 
ing,  not  the  Sumter,  but  her  paymaster,  unarmed,  and  unsus 
picious  of  Yankee  fraud,  and  Yankee  trickery,  captures  him 
in  the  streets  of  a  Moorish  town,  and  hurries  him  over  to  Al 
geziras,  ironed  like  a  felon,  and  delivers  him  to  Captain  Cra 
ven,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  who  receives  the  prisoner,  irons 
and  all,  and  applauds  the  act ! 

In  a  day  or  two,  after  the  Consul's  trophies  had  been  duly 
exhibited  in  the  Bay  of  Algeziras;  after  the  rejoicings  were 
over,  and  lengthy  despatches  had  been  written,  announcing  the 
capture  to  the  Washington  Government,  the  Ino  sets  sail  for 
Cadiz,  and  there  transfers  her  prisoners  to  a  merchant-ship, 
called  the  Harvest  Home,  bound  for  the  goodly  port  of  Boston. 

The  prisoners  were  gentlemen,  —  one  of  them  had  been  an 
officer  of  the  Federal  Navy,  and  the  other  a  Consul,  —  but  this 
did  not  deter  the  master  of  the  Yankee  merchant-ship  from 
practising  upon  them  the  cruelty  and  malignity  of  a  cowardly 
.nature.  His  first  act  was  to  shave  the  heads  of  his  prisoners, 
.and  his  second,  to  put  them  in  close  confinement,  still  ironed, 
though  there  was  no  possibility  of  their  escape.  The  captain 
of  the  Ino,  or  of  the  Harvest  Home,  I  am  not  sure  which,  —  they 
may  settle  it  between  them, — robbed  my  paymaster  of  his 
watch,  so  as  not  to  be  behindhand  with  their  countrymen  on  the 
land,  who  were  just  then  beginning  to  practise  the  art  of 
watch  and  spoon  stealing,  in  which,  under  the  lead  of  illus- 


DUKING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       335 

trious  chiefs,  they  soon  afterward  became  adepts.  I  blush,  as 
an  American,  to  be  called  upon  to  record  such  transactions.  It 
were  well  for  the  American  name,  if  they  could  be  buried  a 
thousand  fathoms  deep,  and  along  with  them  the  perpetrators. 
At  first,  a  rumor  only  of  the  capture  and  imprisonment  of 
my  paymaster,  and  his  companion,  reached  me.  It  appeared 
so  extraordinary,  that  I  could  not  credit  it.  And  even  if  it 
were  true,  I  took  it  for  granted,  that  the  silly  act  of  the  Federal 
Consul  would  be  set  aside  by  the  commander  of  the  Federal 
naval  forces,  in  the  Mediterranean.  The  rumor  soon  ripened, 
however/  into  a  fact,  and  the  illusion  which  I  had  labored 
under  as  to  the  course  of  the  Federal  naval  officer,  was  almost  as 
speedily  dispelled.  I  had  judged  him  by  the  old  standard,  the 
standard  which  had  prevailed  when  I  myself  knew  something 
of  the  personnel  of  the  United  States  Navy.  But  old  things 
had  passed  away,  and  new  things  had  come  to  take  their  places. 
A  violent,  revolutionary  faction  had  possessed  itself  of  the 
once  honored  Government  of  the  United  States,  and,  as  is  the 
case  in  all  revolutions,  coarse  and  vulgar  men  had  risen  to  the 
surface,  thrusting  the  more  gentle  classes  into  the  background. 
The  Army  and  the  Navy  were  soon  brought  under  the  influence 
of  these  coarser  and  ruder  men,  and  the  necessary  consequence 
ensued  —  the  Army  and  the  Navy  themselves  became  coarser 
and  ruder.  Some  few  fine  natures  resisted  the  unholy  influ 
ences,  but  the  mass  of  them  went,  as  masses  will  always  go, 
with  the  current. 

As  soon  as  the  misfortunes  of  my  agents  were  known  to 
me,  I  resorted  to  all  the  means  within  my  reach,  to  endeavor  to 
effect  their  release,  but  in  vain,  as  they  were  carried  to  Boston, 
and  there  imprisoned.  I  first  addressed  a  note  to  General  Cod- 
rington,  the  Governor  of  Gibraltar,  requesting  him  to  intercede 
with  her  Britannic  Majesty's  Charge*,  at  the  Court  of  Morocco, 
for  then  release.  This  latter  gentleman,  whose  name  was  Hay, 
resided  at  Tangier,  where  the  Court  of  Morocco  then  was,  and 
was  said  to  have  great  influence  with  it ;  indeed,  to  be  all-pow 
erful.  I  then  wrote  to  the  Morocco  Government  direct,  and  also 
to  Mr.  Hay.  I  give  so  much  of  this  correspondence  below  as 
is  necessary  to  inform  the  reader  of  the  facts  and  circumstances 
of  the  case,  and  of  the  conduct  of  the  several  functionaries  to 
whom  I  addressed  myself. 
22 


336  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,         "> 
BAY  or  GIBRALTAR,  February  22,  1862.) 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  ask  the  good  offices  of  his  Excellency, 
the  Governor  of  Gibraltar  [this  letter  was  addressed  to  the  Colo 
nial  Secretary,  who  conducted  all  the  Governor's  official  correspon 
dence],  in  a  matter  purely  my  own.  On  Wednesday  last,  I  dispatched 
from  this  port,  in  a  French  passenger-steamer  for  Cadiz,  on  busi 
ness  connected  with  this  ship,  my  paymaster,  Mr.  Henry  Myers, 
arid  Mr.  T.  T.  Tunstall,  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States,  and 
ex-United  States  Consul  at  Cadiz.  The  steamer  having  stopped  on 
her  way,  at  Tangier,  and  these  gentlemen  having  gone  on  shore  for 
a  walk  during  her  temporary  delay  there,  they  were  seized  by  the 
authorities,  at  the  instigation  of  the  United  States  Consul,  and 
imprisoned. 

A  note  from  Paymaster  M}Ters  informs  me  that  they  are  both 
heavily  ironed,  and  otherwise  treated  in  a  barbarous  manner.  *  *  * 
An  occurrence  of  this  kind  could  not  have  happened,  of  course, 
in  a  civilized  community.  The  political  ignorance  of  the  Moorish 
Government  has  been  shamefully  practised  upon  by  the  unscrupu 
lous  Consul.  I  understand  that  the  British  Government  has  a  diplo 
matic  agent  resident  at  Tangier,  and  a  word  from  that  gentleman 
would,  no  doubt,  set  the  matter  right,  and  insure  the  release  of  the 
unfortunate  prisoners.  And  it  is  to  interest  this  gentleman  in  this 
humane  task,  that  I  address  myself  to  his  Excellency.  May  I  not 
ask  the  favor  of  his  Excellency,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  case,  to  address  Mr.  Hay  a  note  on  the  subject,  explaining 
to  him  the  facts,  and  asking  his  interposition?  If  any  official 
scruples  present  themselves,  the  thing  might  be  done  in  his  charac 
ter  of  a  private  gentleman.  The  Moorish  Government  could  not 
hesitate  a  moment,  if  it  understood  correctly  the  facts,  and  princi 
ples  of  the  case  ;  to  wit:  that  the  principal  powers  of  Europe  have 
recognized  the  Confederate  States,  as  belligerents,  in  their  war 
against  the  United  States,  and  consequently  that  the  act  of  making 
war  against  these  States,  by  the  citizens  of  the  Confederate  States, 
is  not  an  offence,  political,  or  otherwise,  of  which  a  neutral  can 
take  cognizance,  &c. 

Governor  Codrington  did  kindly  arid  humanely  interest  him 
self,  and  write  to  Mr.  Hay,  but  his  letter  produced  no  effect. 
In  reply  to  my  own  note  to  Mr.  Hay,  that  gentleman  wrote  me 
as  follows: — 

"  You  must  be  aware,  that  her  Majesty's  Government  have  de 
cided  on  observing  a  strict  neutrality,  in  the  present  conflict  between 
the  Northern  and  Southern  States;  it  is  therefore  incumbent  on  her 
Majesty's  officers,  to  avoid  anything  like  undue  interference  in  any 
questions  affecting  the  interests  of  either  party,  which  do  not  con 
cern  the  British  Government;  and  though  I  do  not  refuse  to  accede 
to  your  request,  to  deliver  the  letter  to  the  Moorish  authorities,  I 
think  it  my  duty  to  signify,  distinctly,  to  the  latter,  my  intention 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      337 

to  abstain  from  expressing  an  opinion   regarding  the  course  to  be 
pursued  by  Morocco,  on  the  subject  of  your  letter." 

In  reply  to  this  letter  of  Mr.  Hay,  I  addressed  him  the 
following :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  SUMTER,   ") 
GIBRALTAR,  February  25,  1862.       ) 

SIR: — I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  yesterday's 
date,  in  reply  to  mine  of  the  23d  inst,  informing  me  that  "You  [I] 
must  be  aware  that  her  Britannic  Majesty's  Government  have 
decided  on  observing  a  strict  neutrality,  in  the  present  conflict 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  States  ;  it  is  therefore  incum 
bent  on  her  Majesty's  officers  to  avoid  anything  like  undue  inter- 
ference  in  any  questions  affecting  the  interests  of  either  party,  which 
do  not  concern  the  British  Government ;  and  though  I  do  not  refuse 
to  accede  to  your  request,  to  deliver  the  letter  to  the  Moorish 
authorities,  I  think  it  my  duty  to  signify  distinctly  to  the  latter  my 
intention  to  refrain  from  expressing  an  opinion  regarding  the 
course  to  be  pursued  bv  Morocco  on  the  subject-matter  of  your 
letter." 

Whilst  I  thank  you  for  the  courtesy  of  delivering  my  letter,  as 
requested,  I  must  be  permitted  to  express  to  you  my  disappoint 
ment  at  the  course  which  you  have  prescribed  to  yourself,  of  re 
fraining  from  expressing  any  opinion  to  the  Moorish  Government, 
of  the  legality  or  illegality  of  its  act,  lest  you  should  be  charged 
with  undue  interference. 

I  had  supposed  that  the  "Trent  affair,"  of  so  recent  occurrence, 
had  settled,  not  only  the  right,  but  the  duty  of  the  civilized  nations 
of  the  earth  to  "interfere,"  in  a  friendly  manner,  to  prevent  wars 
between  nations.  It  cannot  have  escaped  your  observation,  that 
the  course  pursued  by  Europe  in  that  affair,  is  precisely  analogous 
to  that  which  I  have  requested  of  you.  In  that  affair  a  quarrel 
arose  between  the  United  States,  one  of  the  belligerents  in  the  ex 
isting  war,  and  Great  Britain,  a  neutral  in  that  war;  and  instead 
of  "  refraining  "  from  offering  advice,  all  Europe  made  haste  to  vol 
unteer  it  to  both  parties.  The  United  States  were  told  by  France, 
by  Russia,  by  Spain,  and  other  Powers,  that  their  act  was  illegal, 
and  that  they  could,  without  a  sacrifice  of  honor,  grant  the  repara 
tion  demanded  by  Great  Britain.  Neither  the  nation  giving  the  advice 
nor  the  nation  advised,  supposed  for  a  moment  that  there  was  a 
breach  of  neutrality  in  this  proceeding ;  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the 
general  verdict  of  mankind,  that  the  course  pursued  was  not  only 
legal,  but  eminently  humane  and  proper,  as  tending  to  allay  excite 
ment,  and  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood. 

If  you  will  run  a  parallel  between  the  Trent  case,  and  the  case 
in  hand,  you  will  find  it  difficult,  I  think,  to  sustain  the  reason  you 
have  assigned  for  your  forbearance.  In  that  case,  the  quarrel 
rel  was  between  a  neutral,  and  a  belligerent,  as  in  this  case.  In 
that  case,  citizens  of  a  belligerent  State  were  unlawfully  arrested 


338  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

on  the  high  seas,  in  a  neutral  ship,  by  the  opposite  belligerent,  and 
imprisoned.  In  this  case,  citizens  of  a  belligerent  State  have  been 
unlawfully  arrested  by  a  neutral,  in  neutral  territory,  and  impris 
oned.  Does  the  fact  that  the  oifence  was  committed  in  the  former 
case,  by  a  belligerent  against  a  neutral,  and  in  the  latter  case,  by  a 
neutral  against  a  belligerent,  make  any  difference  in  the  application 
of  the  principle  we  are  discussing  ?  And  if  so,  in  what  does  the 
difference  consist?  If  A  strikes  B,  is  it  lawful  to  interfere  to  pre 
serve  the  peace,  and  if  B  strikes  A,  is  it  unlawful  to  interfere  for 
the  same  purpose?  Can  the  circumstance,  that  the  prisoners  seized 
by  the  one  belligerent,  in  the  Trent  affair,  were  citizens  of  the  other 
belligerent,  alter  the  application  of  the  principle  ?  The  difference, 
if  any,  is  in  favor  of  the  present  case,  for  whilst  the  belligerent  in 
the  former  case  was  compelled  to  release  its  enemies,  whom,  under 
proper  conditions  it  would  have  had  the  right  to  capture,  in  the 
latter  case  I  requested  you  to  advise  a  neutral  to  release  prisoners, 
who  were  not  the  enemies  of  the  neutral,  and  whom  the  neutral 
could  have  no  right  to  capture  under  any  circumstances  whatever. 

Upon  further  inquiry,  I  learn  that  my  first  impression,  that  the 
two  gentlemen  in  question  had  been  arrested  under  some  claim  of 
extradition,  was  not  exactly  correct.  It  seems  that  they  were  ar 
rested  by  Moorish  soldiery,  upon  the  requisition  of  the  United 
States  Consul,  who  claimed  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them,  as 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  under  a  provision  of  a  treaty  common 
between  what  are  called  the  non-civilized  and  the  civilized  nations. 
This  state  of  facts  does  not  alter,  in  any  degree,  the  reasoning  ap 
plicable  to  the  case.  If  Morocco  adopts  the  status  given  to  the  Con 
federate  States  by  Europe,  she  must  remain  neutral  between  the 
two  belligerents,  not  undertaking  to  judge  of  the  nationality  of  the 
citizens  of  either  of  them,  or  to  decide  any  other  question  growing 
out  of  the  war,  which  does  not  concern  her  own  interests.  She  has 
no  right,  therefore,  to  adjudge  a  citizen  of  the  Confederate  States, 
to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United  States ;  and  not  having  this  right, 
herself,  she  cannot  convey  it  by  treaty  to  the  United  States,  to  be 
exercised  by  their  Consul  in  Tangier. 

I  trust  that  you  will  not  understand,  that  I  have  written  in  a 
tone  of  remonstrance,  or  complaint.  I  have  no  ground  on  which 
to  demand  anything  of  you.  The  friendly  offices  of  nations,  like 
those  of  individuals,  must  be  spontaneous  ;  and  if  in  the  present 
instance,  you  have  not  deemed  yourself  at  liberty  to  offer  a  word 
of  friendly  advice,  to  a  Barbarian  Government  which  has  evi 
dently  erred  through  ignorance  of  its  rights  and  duties,  in  favor 
of  unfortunate  citizens  of  a  Government,  in  amity  with  your  own, 
and  whose  people  are  connected  with  your  people  by  so  many  ties 
of  consanguinity  and  interest,  I  have  no  word  of  remonstrance  to 
offer.  You  are  the  best  judge  of  your  own  actions. 

I  never  received  any  reply  to  this  letter  from  Mr.  Hay.  The  fact 
that  the  prisoners  were  permitted  to  be  delivered  up  to  the  enemy, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      339 

as  before  stated,  is  conclusive  that  he  was  as  good  as  his  word, 
and  "signified  distinctly"  to  the  Moorish  Government,  that 
he  should  refrain  from  giving  it  any  advice  on  the  subject  — 
which,  of  course,  under  the  circumstances,  was  tantamount  to 
advising  it  to  do  what  it  did.  If  he  had  contented  himself 
with  handing  in  my  protest  to  the  Moorish  authorities,  without 
any  remark  whatever,  his  conduct  would  not  have  been  so  ob 
jectionable,  but  when  he  made  it  a  point  to  inform  them,  as  he 
took  pains  to  tell  me  he  would,  that  he  had  no  advice  to  offer 
them,  this  was  saying  to  them  in  effect,  "I  have  no  objection 
to  offer  to  your  course;"  for  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  Mr. 
Hay  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  Government  to  which  he  was 
accredited,  and  was  in  the  constant  habit  of  giving  it  advice  on 
every  and  all  occasions.  The  consuls  of  the  different  powers 
resident  in  Tangier  behaved  no  better  than  Mr.  Hay.  A  seri 
ous  commotion  among  the  Christian  residents  took  place,  upon 
the  arrest  and  imprisonment  of  Messrs.  Myers  and  Tunstall, 
which  would  probably  have  resulted  in  their  release  by  the 
Government,  but  for  the  interference  of  these  consuls,  headed 
by  Mr.  Hay.  They  advised  their  respective  countrymen  to  dis 
perse,  and  "refraining  distinctly,"  each  and  all  of  them,  from 
giving  a  word  of  advice  to  the  perplexed  authorities,  though 
implored  by  the  Moors  themselves  to  do  so,  the  latter  construed 
the  whole  course  of  Hay  and  the  consuls  to  mean,  that  they 
must  comply  with  the  Federal  Consul's  demand,  and  hand  over 
the  prisoners  to  him. 

The  news  of  this  arrest  and  imprisonment  created  great 
excitement  in  most  of  the  Christian  capitals,  particularly  in 
London.  A  formal  call  was  made  in  the  British  Parliament, 
upon  the  Under  Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  for  an  official 
statement  of  the  facts ;  but  it  being  rumored  and  believed,  soon 
afterward,  in  London,  that  the  prisoners  had  been  released,  no 
steps  were  taken  by  the  British  Government,  if  any  were  con 
templated,  until  it  was  too  late.  Mr.  Mason,  our  Commissioner 
in  London,  interested  himself  at  once  in  the  matter,  but  was 
deceived  like  the  rest,  by  the  rumor.  The  following  extract 
from  a  letter  written  by  me  to  him  on  the  19th  of  March  will 
show  how  the  British  Government  had  been  bamboozled  by 
some  one,  although  there  was  a  continuous  line  of  telegraph 
between  London  and  Gibraltar*  — 


340  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  8th  inst.  in 
forming  me  that,  as  late  as  the  7th  of  March,  the  English  Govern 
ment  was  under  the  impression  that  Paymaster  Myers  and  Mr. 
Tuustall,  had  been  released  from  imprisonment ;  and  requesting  me 
to  telegraph  you,  if  the  contrary  should  be  the  fact.  This  lack  of 
information  on  the  part  of  the  Under  Secretary  of  State  is  somewhat 
remarkable,  as  no  rumor  has  prevailed  here,  at  any  time,  that  these 
gentlemen  had  been  liberated.  On  the  contrary,  the  sloop-of-war 
Ino,  of  the  enemy,  came  fnto  this  Bay  —  Spanish  side  —  on  the  28th 
of  February,  with  the  prisoners  on  board,  and  sailed  with  them 
the  next  day.  On  the  6th  of  March,  the  Ino  transferred  the 
prisoners  to  the  enemy's  merchant-ship,  Harvest  Home,  off  Cadiz, 
which  sailed  immediately  for  Boston.  You  will  perceive,  from  the 
narration  of  these  facts,  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  telegraph  to 
you,  as  the  prisoners,  though  they  had  not  been  released,  had  been 
placed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  British  Government  through  its 
Charge  at  Tangier  —  even  if  you  could  have  induced  that  Govern 
ment  to  interfere,  which  I  very  much  doubt. 

"  You  have,  of  course,  been  informed  through  the  press,  that  the 
Moorish  Government  was  anxious  to  liberate  the  prisoners,  but  that 
it  was  bullied  into  acquiescence,  by  the  truculent  Federal  Consul, 
who  was  backed  by  a  force  of  forty  armed  men,  landed  from  the 
Ino,  and  who  threatened  to  haul  down  his  flag,  and  quit  the  coun 
try,  if  his  demand  was  not  complied  with.  A  word  of  advice  given, 
unofficially  even,  by  Mr.  Hay,  or  some  one  of  the  consuls  present, 
would  have  been  an  act  of  kindness  to  the  ignorant  Moors,  in  keep 
ing  them  out  of  a  scrape,  as  well  as  to  ourselves.  As  the  cas& 
now  stands,  we  shall  be  obliged,  as  soon  as  we  shall  have  gotten 
rid  of  this  Yankee  war,  to  settle  accounts  with  his  Majesty  of 
Morocco." 

One  more  letter,  and  the  reader  will  have  full  information 
of  this  Tangier  difficulty.  Myers  and  Tunstall  had  embarked, 
as  has  been  stated,  under  the  French  flag,  and  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Slidell  in  Paris,  requesting  him  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
French  Government  to  this  fact.  Having  received  from  him 
in  reply  a  note  informing  me  that  he  had  done  so,  I  wrote  him 
again  as  follows  :  — 

"  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  note  of  the  8th  of  March, 
informing  me  that  you  had  referred  the  subject  of  the  capture  of 
Messrs.  Myers  and  Tunstall  to  Mons.  Thouvenal,  the  French  Secre 
tary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  but  that  the  impression  prevailed 
in  Paris  that  those  gentlemen  had  been  liberated.  With  regard  to 
the  latter  fact,  you  will,  of  course,  have  been  undeceived  before 
this.  The  prisoners  will  probably  be  in  Fort  Warren,  before"  this 
reaches  you.  The  French  Consul-General  at  Tangier  must  have 
kept  his  Government  badly  informed  on  the  subject,  since  the  latter 


DFEI^G    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      341 

supposed,  as  late  as  the  8th  inst.,  that  the  prisoners  had  been  liber 
ated. 

"  I  trust  that  you  will  be  able  to  make  something  out  of  the  case. 
It  is  one  in  which  all  the  Christian  powers  are  interested.  If  this 
precedent  is  to  stand,  a  French  or  an  English  subject  may  be  seized, 
to-morrow,  upon  the  simple  requisition  of  a  consul,  and  handed 
over  to  his  enemy.  And  then,  as  I  stated  to  you,  in  my  first  letter, 
is  not  the  honor  of  the  French  flag  involved  ?  It  is  admitted  that, 
as  between  civilized  states,  this  question  of  the  flag  would  not 
arise,  the  parties  having  disembarked.  But  a  different  set  of  rules 
has  been  applied  to  the  dealings  of  the  Christian  powers,  with  the 
non-Christian,  as  is  shown  by  this  very  arrest,  under  a  claim  of 
jurisdiction  by  a  consul.  A  Frenchman  in  Morocco  is,  by  treaty, 
under  the  protection  of  the  French  Consular  flag.  If  he  commits 
an  offence,  he  is  tried  and  punished  by  his  Consul,  regardless  of  the 
fact  that  he  is  literally^  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Morocco.  And 
these  concessions  have  been  demanded  by  the  Christian  nations,  for 
the  security  of  their  subjects. 

"  A  French  citizen,  on  board  a  French  merchant-ship,  tying  in 
the  waters  of  Morocco,  would  be  subject  to  the  same  rule.  Should, 
now,  a  French  traveller,  landing  in  Morocco,  in  it  in  ere,  only,  from 
a  French  ship,  be  subject  to  a  different  rule  ?  and  if  so,  on  what 
principle  ?  And  if  a  Frenchman  would  be  protected  under  these 
circumstances — protected  because  of  the  flag  which  has  brought 
him  hither,  and  not  because  he  is  a  Frenchman,  simply,  why  may 
not  Messrs.  Myers  and  Tunstall  claim  French  protection?  Though 
they  were  on  the  soil  of  Morocco,  when  arrested,  they  were  there, 
in  itinere,  under  the  French  flag,  which  not  only  exterritorialized 
the  ship,  over  which  it  floated,  but  every  one  who  belonged  to  the 
ship,  whether  on  ship-board  or  on  shore,  for  the  time  being. 

"  But  wrhat  appears  to  me  most  extraordinary  in  this  case,  is  the 
apathy,  or  rather  the  fear  of  their  own  governments,  which  was 
manifested  by  the  representatives  of  the  Christian  powers,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  arrest.  A  friend  of  mine,  the  Captain  of  an  Eng 
lish  steam-frigate,  on  this  station,  visited  Tangier,  with  his  ship,  a 
day  or  two  only  after  the  occurrence,  and  he  informs  me  that  the 
Moorish  authorities  were  sorely  perplexed,  during  the  pendency  of 
the  affair,  and  that  they  implored  the  counsel  and  assistance  of  the 
representatives  of  the  Christian  powers,  to  enable  them  to  solve 
the  difficulty,  but  that  not  one  word  of  advice  was  tendered."  *  *  * 

I  was  sorry  to  lose  my  very  efficient  paymaster,  but  there 
was  no  remedy.  He  was  incarcerated  for  a  while,  after  his 
arrival  in  Boston,  but  was  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and 
was  finally  released  on  parole.  The  Secretary  of  the  Fede 
ral  Navy  directed  his  stolen  watch  to  be  returned  to  him 
which  is  worthy  of  record,  as  being  something  exceptional, 


342  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

but  I  have  never  learned  whether  any  punishment  was  in- 
flicted  upon  the  party  committing  the  theft.  Probably  not,  as 
by  this  time,  entire  Federal  armies  had  become  demoralized 
and  taken  to  plundering. 

The  Sumter  was  now  blockaded  by  three  ships  of  the  enemy, 
and  it  being  impossible  for  me  to  coal,  I  resolved  to  lay  her 
up,  and  proceed  to  London,  and  consult  with  my  Government 
as  to  my  future  course.  I  might  possibly  have  had  coal  shipped 
to  me  from  London,  or  some  other  English  port,  but  this  would 
have  involved  expense  and  delay,  and  it  was  exceedingly  doubt 
ful  besides,  whether  I  could  elude  the  vigilance  of  so  many 
blockading  ships,  in  a  slow  ship,  with  crippled  boilers.  In  her 
best  days,  the  Sumter  had  been  a  very  inefficient  ship,  being 
always  anchored,  as  it  were,  in  the  deep  sea,  by  her  propeller, 
whenever  she  was  out  of  coal.  A  fast  ship,  propelled  entirely 
by  sail -power,  would  have  been  better. 

When  I  look  back  now,  I  am  astonished  to  find  what  a  strug 
gle  it  cost  me  to  get  my  own  consent  to  lay  up  this  old  ship. 
As  inexplicable  as  the  feeling  is,  I  had  really  become  attached 
to  her,  and  felt  as  if  I  would  be  parting  forever  with  a  valued 
friend.  She  had  run  me  safely  through  two  vigilant  blockades, 
had  weathered  many  storms,  and  rolled  me  to  sleep  in  many 
calms.  Her  cabin  was  my  bed-room  and  my  study,  both  in 
one,  her  quarter-deck  was  my  promenade,  and  her  masts,  spars, 
and  sails,  my  playthings.  I  had  handled  her  in  all  kinds  of 
weather,  watching  her  every  motion  in  difficult  situations,  as 
a  man  watches  the  yielding  and  cracking  ice  over  which  he  is 
making  a  perilous  passage.  She  had  fine  qualities  as  a  sea- 
boat,  being  as  buoyant,  active,  and  dry  as  a  duck,  in  the  heavi 
est  gales,  and  these  are  the  qualities  which  a  seaman  most 
admires. 

And  then,  there  are  other  chords  of  feeling  touched  in  the 
sailor's  heart,  at  the  end  of  a  cruise,  besides  the  parting  with 
his  ship.  The  commander  of  a  ship  is  more  or  less  in  the  posi 
tion  of  a  father  of  a  family.  He  necessarily  forms  an  attach 
ment  for  those  who  have  served  under  him,  and  especially  for 
such  as  have  developed  honorable  qualities,  and  high  abilities, 
and  I  had  a  number  on  board  the  Sumter  who  had  developed 
both.  T  only  regretted  that  they  had  not  a  wider  field  for  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     343 

exercise  of  their  abilities.  I  had  officers  serving  with  me,  as 
lieutenants,  who  were  equal  to  any  naval  command,  whatever. 
But,  unfortunately  for  them,  our  poor,  hard-pressed  Confeder 
ate  States  had  no  navy  worth  speaking  of;  and  owing  to  the 
timidity,  caution,  and  fear  of  neutrals,  found  it  impossible  to 
improvise  one.  And  then,  when  men  have  been  drenched,  and 
wind-beaten  in  the  same  storm,  have  stood  on  the  deck  of  the 
same  frail  little  ship,  with  only  a  plank  between  them  and 
eternity,  and  watched  her  battling  with  the  elements,  which 
threaten  every  moment  to  overwhelm  her,  there  is  a  feeling  of 
brotherhood  that  springs  up  between  them,  that  it  is  difficult 
for  a  landsman  to  conceive. 

There  was  another,  and  if  possible,  stronger  chord  which 
bound  us  together.  In  the  olden  time,  when  the  Christian 
warrior  went  forth  to  battle  with  the  Saracen,  for  the  cross, 
each  knight  was  the  sworn  brother  of  the  other.  They  not 
only  slept  in  the  same  tents,  endured  the  same  hardships,  and 
encountered  the  same  risks,  but  their  faith  bound  them  toge 
ther  with  hooks  of  steel.  Without  irreverence  be  it  spoken, 
we  of  the  Southern  States  had,  too,  our  faith.  The  Saracen 
had  invaded  our  beloved  land,  and  was  laying  it  waste  with 
fire  and  sword.  "We  were»battling  for  our  honor,  our  homes, 
and  our  property ;  in  short,  for  everything  that  was  dear  to 
the  human  heart.  Yea,  we  were  battling  for  our  blood  and  our 
race,  for  it  had  been  developed,  even  at  this  early  stage  of  the 
war,  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  Northern  hordes  that  were 
swarming  down  upon  us,  not  only  to  liberate  the  slave,  but  to 
enable  him  to  put  his  foot  upon  the  neck  of  his  late  master,  and 
thus  bastardize,  if  possible,  his  posterity.  The  blood  of  the 
white  man  in  our  veins  could  not  but  curdle  at  the  contempla 
tion  of  an  atrocity  which  nothing  but  the  brain  of  a  demon 
could  have  engendered. 

Besides  my  officers,  I  had  many  worthy  men  among  my 
crew,  who  had  stood  by  me  in  every  emergency,  and  who 
looked  forward  with  sorrowful  countenances,  to  the  approach 
ing  separation.  The  reader  has  been  introduced  to  my  Malayan 
steward,  John,  on  several  occasions.  John's  black,  lustrous 
eyes  filled  with  ill-concealed  tears,  more  than  once,  during  the 
last  days  of  the  Sumter,  as  he  smoothed  the  pillow  of  my  cot 


344  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

with  a  hand  as  tender  as  that  of  a  woman,  or  handed  me  the 
choicest  dishes  at  meals. 

I  had  governed  my  crew  with  a  rigid  hand,  never  overlook 
ing  an  offence,  but  I  had,  at  the  same  time,  always  been  mind 
ful  of  justice,  and  I  was  gratified  to  find,  both  on  the  part  of 
officers  and  men,  an  apparent  forgetfulness  of  the  little  jars 
and  discords  which  always  grow  out  of  the  effort  to  enforce 
discipline,  it  matters  not  how  suavely  and  justly  the  effort  may 
be  made. 

Being  more  or  less  cut  off  from  communication  with  the 
Navy  Department,  I  deemed  it  but  respectful  and  proper  to 
consult  with  our  Commissioner  in  London,  Mr.  Mason,  and  to 
obtain  his  consent  before  finally  laying  up  the  Sumter.  Mr. 
Mason  agreed  with  me  entirely  in  my  views,  and  telegraphed 
me  to  this  effect  on  the  7th  of  April.  The  next  few  days  were 
busy  clays  on  board  the  Sumter.  Upon  the  capture  of  Pay 
master  Myers,  I  had  appointed  Lieutenant  J.  M.  Stribling 
Acting  Paymaster,  and  I  now  set  this  officer  at  work,  closing 
the  accounts  of  the  ship  and  paying  off  the  officers  and  men. 
The  officers  were  formally  detached  from  the  command,  as  fast 
as  paid  offj  and  they  embarked  for  London,  on  their  way  to 
another  ship,  or  to  the  Confederate  States,  as  circumstances 
might  determine ;  and  the  men,  with  snug  little  sums  in  their 
pockets,  were  landed,  and  as  is  usually  the  case  with  sailors, 
soon  dispersed  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe ;  each  carry 
ing  with  him  the  material  for  yarn-spinning  for  the  balance  of 
his  life. 

By  the  llth  of  April  we  had  completed  all  our  preparations 
for  turning  over  the  ship  to  the  midshipman  who  was  to  have 
charge  of  her,  and  in  two  or  three  days  afterward,  accompa 
nied  by  Mr.  Kell,  my  first  lieutenant,  and  several  other  of  my 
officers,  I  embarked  on  board  the  mail-steamer  for  Southamp 
ton.  The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  last  letter  that  was 
written  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  from  on  board  the 
Sumter:  — 

"  I  now  have  the  honor  to  report  to  you,  that  I  have  discharged 
and  paid  off,  in  full,  all  the  crew,  numbering  fifty,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  the  ten  men  detailed  to  remain  by  the  ship,  as  servants,  and 
to  form  a  boat's  crew  for  the  officer  left  in  charge.  I  have  placed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      345 

Midshipman  R.  F.  Armstrong,  assisted  by  Acting  Master's  Mate 
I.  T.  Hester,  in  charge  of  the  ship,  with  provisions  and  funds  for 
ten  or  twelve  months,  and  I  have  directed  all  the  other  officers  to 
return  to  the  Confederate  States,  and  report  themselves  to  the  De 
partment.  I  will  myself  proceed  to  London,  and  after  conferring 
with  Mr.  Mason,  make  the  best  of  my  way  home.  I  trust  the  De 
partment  will  see,  in  what  I  have  done,  an  anxious  desire  to  ad 
vance  the  best  interests  of  our  country,  and  that  it  will  justify  the 
responsibility,  which,  in  the  best  exercise  of  my  judgment,  I  felt 
it  my  duty  to  assume,  in  the  difficult  circumstances  by  which  I  was 
surrounded  and  embarrassed.  Enclosed  is  a  copy  of  my  order  to 
Midshipman  Armstrong,  and  a  list  of  the  officers  and  men  left  on 
board  the  ship." 

A  brief  summary  of  the  services  of  the  Sumter,  and  of  what 
became  of  her,  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  reader,  who  has 
followed  her  thus  far,  in  her  wanderings.  She  cruised  six 
months,  leaving  out  the  time  during  which  sbe  was  blockaded 
in  Gibraltar.  She  captured  seventeen  ships,  as  follows :  the 
Golden  Rocket,  Cuba,  Machias,  Ben.  Dunning,  Albert  Adams, 
Naiad,  Louisa  Kilham,  West  Wind,  Ably  Bradford,  Joseph 
Maxwell,  Joseph  Parke,  D.  Trowbridge,  Montmorency,  Arcade, 
Vigilant,  Eben  Dodge,  Neapolitan,  and  Investigator.  It  is  impos 
sible  to  estimate  the  damage  done  to  the  enemy's  commerce. 
The  property  actually  destroyed  formed  a  very  small  propor 
tion  of  it.  The  fact  alone  of  the  Sumter  being  upon  the  seas, 
during  these  six  months,  gave  such  an  alarm  to  neutral  and 
belligerent  shippers,  that  the  enemy's  carrying-trade  began  to 
be  paralyzed,  and  already  his  ships  were  being  laid  up,  or  sold 
under  neutral  flags  —  some  of  these  sales  being  bona  fide,  and 
others  fraudulent.  In  addition  to  this,  the  enemy  kept  five  or 
six  of  his  best  ships  of  war  constantly  in  pursuit  of  her,  which 
necessarily  weakened  his  blockade,  for  which,  at  this  time,  be 
was  much  pressed  for  ships.  The  expense  to  my  Government 
of  running  the  ship  was  next  to  nothing,  being  only  $28,000, 
or  about  the  price  of  one  of  the  least  valuable  of  her  prizes. 
The  Sumter  was  sold  in  the  course  of  a  month  or  two  after 
being  laid  up,  and  being  put  under  the  English  flag  as  a  mer 
chant-ship,  made  one  voyage  to  the  coast  of  the  Confederate 
States,  as  a  blockade-runner,  entering  the  port  of  Charleston. 
Her  new  owner  changed  her  name  to  that  of  Gibraltar.  She 
was  lost  afterward  in  the  North  Sea,  and  ber  bones  lie  interred 
not  far  from  those  of  the  Alabama. 


CHAPTEK     XXVII. 

AUTHOE  LEAVES  GIBEALTAE,  AND  AEEIVES  IN  LONDON 

ME.   MASON CONFEDEEATE   NAVAL   NEWS SO- 

JOUEN  IN  LONDON AUTHOE  EMBAEKS  ON  BOAED  THE 

STEAMEE  MELITA,  FOE  NASSAU SOJOUEN  IN  NASSAU 

NEW   OEDEES   FEOM   THE  NAVY  DEPAETMENT 

AUTHOE  EETUENS  TO   LIVEEPOOL THE  ALABAMA 

GONE. 

WE  had  been  long  enough  in  Gibraltar  to  make  many  warm 
friends,  and  some  of  these  came  on  board  the  mail-steamer 
in  which  we  had  taken  passage,  to  take  leave  of  us;  among 
others,  Captain  Lambert,  E.  N.,  in  command  of  her  Majesty's 
steam  frigate,  the  Scylla,  to  whom  I  am  much  indebted,  for  warm 
sympathy,  and  many  acts  of  kindness.  The  captain  was  the  son 
of  Vice- Admiral  Sir  Charles  Lambert,  whose  hospitality  I  had 
enjoyed,  for  a  single  night,  many  years  before,  under  peculiar 
circumstances.  When  the  United  States  brig  Somers  was  cap 
sized  and  sunk,  off  Vera  Cruz,  and  half  her  crew  drowned,  as 
briefly  described  some  pages  back,  Sir  Charles  Lambert,  then 
a  captain,  was  in  command  of  the  sailing  frigate  Endymion, 
and  it  was  on  board  that  ship  that  I  was  carried,  more  dead 
than  alive,  on  the  evening  of  the  fatal  disaster.  I  recollect 
distinctly  the  plight  in  which  I  ascended  the  side  of  this  Eng 
lish  frigate.  Like  a  waif  which  had  been  picked  up  from  the 
sea,  I  had  nothing  on  me  but  shirt  and  trousers,  and  these,  as 
well  as  my  hair,  were  dripping  water.  I  had  lost  my  ship 
only  an  hour  or  two  before,  and  had  witnessed  the  drowning 
of  many  helpless  men,  who  had  struggled  in  vain  for  their 
lives.  My  heart  was  oppressed  with  the  weight  of  my  misfor 
tune,  and  my  strength  nearly  exhausted.  Sir  Charles  received 
me  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  as  I  descended  to  the  deck  of  his 

346 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  347 

ship,  as  tenderly,  and  with  as  much  genuine  sympathy  and 
compassion,  as  if  I  had  been  his  own  son,  and  taking  me  into 
his  cabin,  had  my  wants  duly  cared  for.  There  are  said  to  be 
secret  chords  of  sympathy  binding  men  together  in  spite  of 
themselves.  I  know  not  how  this  may  be,  but  I  felt  drawn 
toward  the  son  of  my  benefactor,  even  before  I  knew  him  to 
be  his  son.  I  take  this  public  mode  of  expressing  to  both 
father  and  son  my  thanks  for  the  many  obligations  under 
which  they  have  placed  me. 

As  the  swift  and  powerful  steamer  on  which  we  were  em 
barked,  moved  silently,  but  rapidly  out  of  the  harbor,  in  the 
evening  twilight,  I  took  a  last,  lingering  look  at  the  little  Sum- 
ter.  Her  once  peopled  decks  were  now  almost  deserted,  only  a 
disconsolate  old  sailor  or  two  being  seen  moving  about  on  them, 
and  the  little  ship  herself,  with  her  black  hull,  and  black  mast 
heads  and  yards,  the  latter  of  which  had  been  stripped  of  their 
sails,  looked  as  if  she  had  clad  herself  in  mourning  for  our 
departure. 

A  pleasant  passage  of  a  few  days  carried  us  rapidly  past  the 
coasts  of  Spain,  Portugal,  and  a  portion  of  France,  into  the 
British  Channel,  and  on  the  sixth  day,  we  found  ourselves  in 
Southampton,  which  I  was  afterward  destined  to  revisit,  under 
such  different  circumstances.  On  the  same  night  I  slept  in  that 
great  Babel,  London.  I  remained  in  this  city  during  the  month 
of  May,  enjoying  in  a  high  degree,  as  the  reader  may  suppose, 
the  relaxation  and  ease  consequent  upon  so  great  a  change  in 
my  mode  of  life.  There  were  no  more  enemies  or  gales  of 
wind  to  disturb  my  slumbers  ;  no  intrusive  officers  to  come 
into  my  bed-room  at  unseasonable  hours,  to  report  sails  or  land 
discovered,  and  no  half  drowned  old  quartermasters  to  poke 
their  midnight  lanterns  into  my  face,  and  tell  me,  that  the  bow- 
ports  were  stove  in,  and  the  ship  half  full  of  water!  If  the 
storm  raged  without  and  the  windows  rattled,  I  took  no  notice 
of  it,  unless  it  was  to  turn  over  in  my  bed,  and  feel  all  the 
more  comfortable,  for  my  sense  of  security. 

Kell  and  myself  took  rooms  together,  in  Euston  Square; 
our  windows  looking  out,  even  at  this  early  season,  upon  well- 
grown  and  fragrant  grasses,  trees  in  leaf,  and  flowers  in  bloom, 
all  in  the  latitude  of  52°  N. —  thanks,  as  formerly  remarked,  to 


348  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

our  American  Gulf  Stream.  I  called  at  once  upon  Mr.  Mason, 
whom  I  had  often  seen  in  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  as  a  Senator  from  the  grand  old  State  of  Virginia,  but 
whom  I  had  never  known  personally.  I  found  him  a  genial 
Virginia  gentleman,  with  much  Ion  hommie,  and  a  great  favorite 
with  everybody.  In  his  company  I  saw  much  of  the  society 
of  the  English  capital,  and  soon  became  satisfied  that  Mr. 
Davis  could  not  have  intrusted  the  affairs  of  the  Confederacy, 
to  better  hands.  English  hearts  had  warmed  toward  him,  and 
his  name  was  the  sesame  to  open  all  English  doors.  I  soon 
learned  from  him  the  status  of  Confederate  States'  naval  affairs, 
on  the  European  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  gun-boat  Oreto, 
afterward  the  Florida,  had  sailed  for  Nassau,  in  the  Bahamas, 
and  the  new  ship  being  built  by  the  Messrs.  Laird  at  Birken- 
head,  was  well  on  her  way  to  completion.  Other  contracts 
were  in  hand,  but  nothing  tangible  had  as  yet  been  accomplished 
under  them. 

I  had  also  interviews  with  Commander  North,  and  Com 
mander  Bullock,  agents  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy 
Department,  for  the  building  and  equipping  of  ships,  in  these 
waters.  It  being  evident  that  there  was  nothing  available  for 
me,  I  determined  to  lose  no  time  in  returning  to  the  Confed 
eracy,  and  it  was  soon  arranged  that  I  should  depart  in  the 
steamer  Melita,  an  English  steamer  preparing  to  take  a  cargo 
of  arms,  ammunition,  and  clothing  to  Nassau.  This  ship 
belonged  to  the  Messrs.  Isaac,  brothers,  large  blockade  run 
ners,  who  kindly  tendered  free  passages  to  myself,  and  to  my 
first  lieutenant,  and  surgeon,  who  were  to  accompany  me. 

I  trust  the  reader  will  pardon  me  —  as  I  hope  the  family 
itself  will  if  I  intrude  upon  its  privacy — if  I  mention  before 
leaving  London,  one  of  those  old  English  households,  immor 
talized  by  the  inimitable  pen  of  Washington  Irving.  One  day 
whilst  I  was  sitting  quietly,  after  breakfast,  in  my  rooms  at 
Euston  Square,  running  over  the  column  of  American  news, 
in  the  "  Times,"  Commander  North  entered,  and  in  company 
with  him  came  a  somewhat  portly  gentleman,  with  an  unmis 
takable  English  face,  and  dressed  in  clerical  garb — not  over 
clerical  either,  for,  but  for  his  white  cravat,  and  the  cut  of  the 
collar  of  his  coat,  you  would  not  have  taken  him  for  a  clergy- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      349 

man  at  all.  Upon  being  presented,  this  gentleman  said  to  me, 
pleasantly,  "I  have  come  to  take  the  Captain  of  the  Sumter 
prisoner,  and  carry  him  off  to  my  house,  to  spend  a  few  days 
with  me."  I  looked  into  the  genial  face  of  the  speaker,  and 
surrendered  myself  to  him  a  captive  at  once.  There  was  no 
mistaking  the  old  time  English  gentleman  —  though  the  gen 
tleman  himself  was  not  past  middle  age  —  in  the  open  counte 
nance,  and  kindly  expression  of  my  new  friend.  Making  some 
remarks  to  him  about  quiet,  he  said,  "  That  is  the  very  thing 
I  propose  to  give  you;  you  shall  come  to  my  house,  stay  as 
long  as  you  please,  go  away  when  you  please,  and  see  nobody 
at  all  unless  you  please."  I  dined  with  him,  the  next  day,  in 
company  with  a  few  Confederate  and  English  friends,  and  spent 
several  days  at  his  house  —  the  ladies  president  of  which  were 
his  mother  and  maiden  sister.  I  shall  return  hereafter  to  this 
house,  as  the  reader  will  see.  It  became,  in  fact,  my  English 
home,  and  was  but  little  less  dear  to  me  than  my  own  home 
in  America.  The  name  of  the  Eev.  Francis  W.  Tremlett,  of 
the  "  Parsonage,  in  Belsize  Park,  near  Hampstead,  London," 
dwells  in  my  memory,  and  in  that  of  every  other  Confederate 
who  ever  came  in  contact  with  him — and  they  are  not  few — 
like  a  household  word. 

We  embarked  on  board  the  Melita  in  the  latter  part  of  May. 
The  vessel  had  already  dropped  some  distance  down  the 
Thames,  and  we  went  thither  to  join  her  by  rail ;  one  of  the 
Messrs.  Isaac  accompanying  us,  to  see  us  comfortably  installed. 
The  Melita  was  to  make  a  bona  fide  voyage  to  Nassau,  having 
no  intention  of  running  the  blockade.  I  was  particular  to 
have  this  point  settled  beyond  the  possibility  of  dispute,  so  as 
to  bring  our  capture,  if  the  enemy  should  undertake  it,  within 
the  precedent  set  by  the  Trent  case.  The  Sumter  having  dared 
to  capture  and  destroy  Yankee  ships  upon  the  high  seas,  in 
defiance  of  President  Lincoln's  proclamation,  denouncing  her 
as  a  "  pirate,"  h°/3  wounded  the  ridiculous  vanity  of  the  enemy 
past  forgiveness,  to  say  nothing  of  that  other  and  sorer  wound 
which  resulted  from  the  destruction  of  his  property,  and  he 
was  exceedingly  anxious,  in  consequence,  to  get  hold  of  me. 
I  was  resolved,  therefore,  that,  if  another  zealous,  but  indiscreet 
Captain  Wilkes  should  turn  up,  that  another  seven  days  of 


350  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

penance  and  tribulation  should  be  imposed  upon  Mr.  Secretary 
of  State  Seward.  We  were  not  molested,  however,  and  after  a 
pleasant  run  of  about  twenty  days  we  entered  the  harbor  of 
Nassau,  about  2  P.  M.  on  the  13th  of  June,  1862. 

On  the  same  evening  of  our  arrival,  I  was  quartered,  with 
my  small  staff,  in  the  Victoria  Hotel,  then  thronged  with 
guests,  Federal  and  Confederate ;  for  the  Yankee,  in  obedience 
to  his  instincts  of  traffic,  had  scented  the  prey  from  afar,  and 
was  here  to  turn  an  honest  penny,  by  assisting  the  Confederates 
to  run  the  blockade!  "It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  nobody 
good,"  and  Nassau  was  a  living  witness  of  this  old  adage. 
The  island  of  New  Providence,  of  which  Nassau  is  the  only 
town,  is  a  barren  limestone  rock,  producing  only  some  coarse 
grass,  a  few  stunted  trees,  a  few  pine-apples  and  oranges,  and 
a  great  many  sand-crabs  and  "fiddlers."  Before  the  war,  it 
was  the  rendezvous  of  a  few  wreckers  and  fishermen.  Com 
merce  it  had  none,  except  such  as  might  grow  out  of  the 
sponge-trade,  and  the  shipment  of  green  turtle  and  conch-shells. 
The  American  war  which  has  brought  woe  and  wretchedness 
to  so  many  of  our  States,  was  the  wind  which  blew  prosperity 
to  Nassau. 

It  had  already  put  on  the  air  of  a  commercial  city ;  its  fine 
harbor  being  thronged  with  shipping,  and  its  warehouses, 
wharves,  and  quays  filled  to  repletion  with  merchandise.  All 
was  life,  bustle,  and  activity.  Ships  were  constantly  arriving 
and  depositing  their  cargoes,  and  light-draught  steamers,  Con 
federate  and  English,  were  as  constantly  reloading  these  car 
goes,  and  running  them  into  the  ports  of  the  Confederate 
States.  The  success  which  attended  many  of  these  little  ves 
sels  is  surprising.  Some  of  them  made  their  voyages,  as  reg 
ularly  as  mail  packets,  running,  with  impunity,  through  a 
whole  fleet  of  the  enemy's  steamers.  Notwithstanding  this 
success,  however,  the  enemy  was  reaping  a  rich  harvest,  for 
many  valuable  prizes  fell  into  his  hands.  It  soon  became  a 
bone  of  contention  among  the  Federal  naval  officers,  which  of 
them  should  be  assigned  to  the  lucrative  commands  of  the 
blockading  squadrons.  The  admiral  of  one  of  these  squad 
rons  would  frequently  awake,  in  the  morning,  and  find  himself 
richer,  by  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  thousand  dollars,  by  reason  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        351 

a  capture  made  by  some  one  of  his  subordinates,  the  night 
before.  This  was  the  "  mess  of  pottage  "  for  which  so  many 
unprincipled  Southern  men,  in  the  Federal  Navy,  sold  their 
"birthright." 

Some  of  these  men  are  enjoying  princely  fortunes,  but  they 
have  purchased  these  fortunes  at  the  price  of  treason,  and  of 
blood,  and  by  selling  into  bondage  to  the  stranger,  the  people 
of  their  native  States.  Whilst  poor  old  Virginia,  for  example, 
the  "  mother  of  States  and  statesmen,"  is  wearing  the  chains 
of  a  captive,  and  groaning  under  the  tortures  inflicted  upon 
her,  by  her  hereditary  enemy,  the  Puritan,  some  of  her  sons 
are  counting  the  " thirty  pieces  of  silver"  for  which  they  sold 
her  !  "  Pity  't  is,  but  pity  't  is,  't  is  true."  These  gentlemen  may 
wrap  themselves  in  as  many  folds  of  the  "  old  flag  "  as  they 
please,  and  talk  as  glibly  as  any  Yankee,  of  the  great  Federal 
"nation"  which  has  swallowed  up  the  States,  but  future  gen 
erations,  if  their  ignoble  names  should  descend  so  far  down 
the  stream  of  time,  will  unwind  these  folds  from  about  them, 
as  we  have  unwound  from  the  mummy,  its  folds  of  fine  linen, 
and  expose  the  corruption  and  deformity  beneath. 

I  found  several  Confederate  naval  officers  at  Nassau  —  among 
others  Commander  J.  N.  Maffitt,  who  had  been  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  Oreto,  afterward  to  become  famous  as  the 
Florida ;  and  Commander  Gr.  T.  Sinclair,  who  had  been  kind 
enough,  as  the  reader  may  recollect,  to  send  me  my  guns  for 
the  Sumter,  from  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard.  Captain  Sinclair 
was  recently  from  the  Confederate  States,  and  had  brought  me 
a  letter  from  Mr.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  which 
put  a  material  change  upon  the  face  of  affairs,  so  far  as  I  was 
personally  concerned.  I  was  directed  by  this  letter,  to  return 
to  Europe,  and  assume  command  of  the  new  ship  which  was 
being  built  on  the  Mersey,  to  be  called  the  A  labama.  My  reply  to 
this  letter,  dated  at  Nassau,  on  the  15th  of  June,  will  put  the 
reader  in  possession  of  this  new  programme.  It  is  as  follows :  — 

NASSAU,  NEW  PROVIDENCE,  June  15,  1862. 

SIR:  —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  of  my  arrival  here,  on  the 

8th  inst.,  in  twenty  days  from  London.     I  found  here  Lieutenants 

Maffitt  and  Sinclair,  and  have  received  your  letter  of  May  29th, 

enclosing  a  copy  of  your  despatch  to  me,  of  May  2d.     As  you  may 

23 


352  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

conclude,  from  the  fact  of  my  being  here,  the  original  of  the  latter 
communication  [assigning  me  to  the  command  of  the  Alabama'] 
has  not  reached  me;  nor  indeed  has  any  other  communication  from 
the  Department,  since  I  left  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  in  June, 
1861.  As  you  anticipated,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  lay  the 
Sumter  up,  in  consequence  of  my  being  hemmed  in,  by  the  enemy, 
in  a  place  where  it  was  impossible  to  put  the  necessary  repairs 
upon  my  boilers,  to  enable  me  to  take  the  sea  again ;  and  where, 
moreover,  it  was  impossible,  without  long  delay  and  expense,  to 
obtain  a  supply  of  coal.  *  *  *  [Here  follows  a  description  of  the 
laying  up  of  the  ship,  which  the  reader  has  already  seen.] 

"Jpon  my  arrival  in  London,  I  found  that  the  Oreto  had  been 
dispatched,  some  weeks  before,  to  this  place;  and  Commander  Bul 
lock  having  informed  me  that  he  had  your  order  assigning  him  to 
the  command  of  the  second  ship  he  was  building  [the  Alabama^, 
I  had  no  alternative  but  to  return  to  the  Confederate  States  for 
orders.  It  is  due  to  Commander  Bullock  to  say,  however,  that  he 
offered  to  place  himself  entirely  under  my  instructions,  and  even  to 
relinquish  to  me  the  command  of  the  new  ship  ;  but  I  did  not  feel  at 
liberty  to  interfere  with  your  orders. 

While  in  London,  I  ascertained  that  a  number  of  steamer^  were 
being  prepared  to  run  the  blockade,  with  arms  and  other  supplies  for 
the  Confederate  States,  and,  instead  of  dispatching  my  officers  at  once 
for  these  States,  I  left  them  to  take  charge  of  the  ships  mentioned, 
as  they  should  be  gotten  ready  for  sea,  and  run  them  in  to  their 
several  destinations  —  deeming  this  the  best  service  they  could 
render  the  Government,  under  the  circumstances.  I  came  hither, 
myself,  accompanied  by  my  first  lieutenant  and  surgeon  —  Kell  and 
Gait — a  passenger  in  the  British  steamer  Melita,  whose  cargo  of 
arms  and  supplies  is  also  destined  for  the  Confederate  States.  It 
is  fortunate  that  I  made  this  arrangement,  as  many  of  my  officers 
still  remain  in  London,  and  I  shall  return  thither  in  time  to  take 
most  of  them  with  me  to  the  Alabama. 

In  obedience  to  your  order,  assigning  me  to  the  command  of  this 
ship,  I  will  return  by  the  first  conveyance  to  England,  where  the 
joint  energies  of  Commander  Bullock  and  myself  will  be  directed  to 
the  preparation  of  the  ship  for  sea.  I  will  take  with  me  Lieutenant 
Kell,  Surgeon  Gait,  and  First  Lieutenant  of  Marines  Ho  well — Mr. 
Howell  and  Lieutenant  Stribling  having  reached  Nassau  a  few 
days  before  me,  in  the  British  steamer  Bahama,  laden  with  arms, 
clothing,  and  stores  for  the  Confederacy.  At  the  earnest  entreaty 
of  Lieutenant-Commanding  Maffitt,  I  have  consented  to  permit 
Lieutenant  Stribling  to  remain  with  him,  as  his  first  lieutenant  on 
board  the  Oreto  (Florida]  —  the  officers  detailed  for  that  vessel  not 
yet  having  arrived.  Mr.  Stribling's  place  on  board  the  Alabama 
will  be  supplied  by  Midshipman  Armstrong,  promoted,  whom  1 
will  recall  from  Gibraltar,  where  I  left  him  in  charge  of  the  Sumter. 
It  will,  doubtless,  be  a  matter  of  some  delicacy,  and  tact,  to  get  the 
Alabama  safely  out  of  British  waters,  without  suspicion,  as  Mr. 
Adams,  the  Northern  Envoy,  and  his  numerous  satellites  in  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       353 

shape  of  consuls  and  paid  agents,  are  exceedingly  vigilant  in  their 
espionage. 

We  cannot,  of  course,  think  of  arming  her  in  a  British  port ;  this 
must  be  done  at  some  concerted  rendezvous,  to  which  her  battery, 
and  a  large  portion  of  her  crew  must  be  sent,  in  a  neutral  merchant- 
vessel.  The  Alabama  will  be  a  fine  ship,  quite  equal  to  encounter 
any  of  the  enemy's  steam-sloops,  of  the  class  of  the  Iroquois,  Tu.s- 
carora,  and  Dacoiah,  and  I  shall  feel  much  more  independent  in 
her,  upon  the  high  seas,  than  I  did  in  the  little  tiumter. 

I  think  well  of  your  suggestion  of  the  East  Indies,  as  a  cruising 
ground,  and  I  hope  to  be  in  the  track  of  the  enemy's  commerce,  in 
those  seas,  as  early  as  October  or  November  next ;  when  I  shall, 
doubtless,  be  able  to  la}7"  other  rich  "burnt  offerings"  upon  the 
altar  of  our  country's  liberties. 

Lieutenant  Sinclair  having  informed  me  that  you.  said,  in  a  con 
versation  with  him,  that  I  might  dispose  of  the  Sumter,  cither  by 
laying  her  up,  or  selling  her,  as  my  judgment  might  approve,  I 
will,  unless  I  receive  contrary  orders  from  you,  dispose  of  her  by 
sale,  upon  my  arrival  in  Europe.  As  the  war  is  likely  to  continue 
for  two  or  three  years  yet,  it  would  be  a  useless  expense  to  keep  a 
vessel  so  comparatively  worthless,  so  long  at  her  anchors.  I  will 
cause  to  be  sent  to  the  Alabama,  the  Sumler's  chronometers,  and 
other  nautical  instruments  and  charts,  and  the  remainder  of  her 
officers  and  crew. 

In  conclusion,  permit  me  to  thank  you  for  this  new  proof  of  your 
confidence,  and  for  your  kind  intention  to  nominate  me  as  one  of 
the  "  Captains,"  under  the  new  navy  bill.  I  trust  I  shall  prove 
myself  worthy  of  these  marks  of  your  approbation. 

I  was  delayed  several  very  anxious  weeks  in  Nassau,  wait 
ing  for  an  opportunity  to  return  to  Europe.  The  Alabama,  I 
knew,  was  nearly  ready  for  sea,  and  it  was  all-important  that 
she  should  be  gotten  out  of  British  waters,  as  speedily  as  pos 
sible,  because  of  the  espionage  to  which  I  have  referred.  But 
there  was  no  European -bound  vessel  in  Nassau,  and  I  was 
forced  to  wait.  Lieutenant  Sinclair  having  had  a  passage 
offered  him,  in  an  English  steamer  of  war,  as  far  as  Halifax, 
availed  himself  of  the  invitation,  intending  to  take  the  mail- 
steamer  from  Halifax  for  England.  As  he  would  probably  ar 
rive  a  week  or  two  in  advance  of  myself,  I  wrote  to  Captain 
Bullock  by  him,  informing  him  of  my  having  been  appointed 
to  the  command  of  the  Alabama,  and  requesting  him  to  hurry 
that  ship  off  to  her  rendezvous,  without  waiting  for  me.  I 
could  join  her  at  her  rendezvous.  As  the  reader  will  here 
after  see,  this  was  done. 


354  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  passed  the  time  of  my  enforced  delay  at  Nassau,  as  com 
fortably  as  possible.  The  hotel  was  spacious  and  airy,  and  the 
sea-breeze  being  pretty  constant,  we  did  not  suffer  much  from 
the  heat.  I  amused  myself,  watching  from  my  windows,  with 
the  aid  of  an  excellent  glass,  the  movements  of  the  blockade- 
runners.  One  of  these  vessels  went  out,  and  another  returned, 
every  two  or  three  clays ;  the  returning  vessel  always  bring 
ing  us  late  newspapers  from  the  Confederacy.  The  fare  of  the 
hotel  was  excellent,  particularly  the  fish  and  fruits,  and  the 
landlord  was  accommodating  and  obliging.  With  Maffitt,  Kell, 
Gait,  Stribling,  and  other  Confederate  officers,  and  some  very 
pretty  and  musical  Confederate  ladies,  whose  husbands  and 
brothers  were  engaged  in  the  business  of  running  the  block 
ade,  the  time  would  have  passed  pleasantly  enough,  but  for  the 
anxiety  which  I  felt  about  my  future  movements. 

Maffitt,  in  particular,  was  the  life  of  our  household.  He  knew 
everybody,  and  everybody  knew  him,  and  he  passed  in  and 
out  of  all  the  rooms,  sans  ceremonie,  at  all  hours.  Being  a 
jaunty,  handsome  fellow,  young  enough,  in  appearance,  to  pass 
for  the  elder  brother  of  his  son,  a  midshipman  who  was  to  go 
with  rne  to  the  Alabama,  he  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
ladies.  He  was  equally  at  home,  with  men  or  women,  it  being 
all  the  same  to  him,  whether  he  was  wanted  to  play  a  game  of 
billiards,  take  a  hand  at  whist,  or  join  in  a  duet  with  a  young 
lady  —  except  that  he  had  the  good  taste  always  to  prefer  the 
lady.  Social,  gay,  and  convivial,  he  was  much  courted  and  flat 
tered,  and  there  was  scarcely  ever  a  dining  or  an  evening 
party,  at  which  he  was  not  present.  But  this  was  the  mere 
outside  glitter  of  the  metal.  Beneath  all  this  bagatelle  and 
dolcefar  niente,  Maffitt  was  a  remarkable  man.  At  the  first  blast 
of  war,  like  a  true  Southerner  —  he  was  a  North  Carolinian 
by  birth  —  he  relinquished  a  fine  property  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington,  which  was  afterward  confiscated  by  the  enemy,  re 
signed  his  commission  in  the  Federal  Navy,  and  carne  South, 
to  tender  his  services  to  his  native  State.  Unlike  many  other 
naval  men,  he  had  the  capacity  to  understand  the  nature  of 
the  Government  under  which  he  lived,  and  the  honesty  to  give 
his  allegiance,  in  a  cross-fire  of  allegiances,  where  his  judg 
ment  told  him  it  was  due. 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       355 

He  was  a  perfect  master  of  his  profession,  not  only  in  its 
practical,  but  in  its  more  scientific  branches,  and  could  handle 
his  ship  like  a  toy.  Brave,  cool,  and  full  of  resource,  he  was 
equal  to  any  and  every  emergency  that  could  present  itself  in 
a  sailor's  life.  He  made  a  brilliant  cruise  in  the  Florida,  and 
became  more  famous  as  a  skilful  blockade-runner  than  any 
other  man  in  the  war.  This  man,  whose  character  I  have  not 
at  all  overdrawn,  was  pursued  by  the  Yankee,  after  his  resig 
nation,  with  a  vindictiveness  and  malignity  peculiarly  Puri 
tan —  to  his  honor  be  it  said.  With  Maury,  Buchanan,  and 
other  men  of  that  stamp,  who  have  been  denounced  with  equal 
bitterness,  his  fame  will  survive  the  filth  thrown  upon  it  by  a 
people  who  seem  to  be  incapable  of  understanding  or  appreci 
ating  noble  qualities  in  an  enemy,  and  devoid  of  any  other 
standard  by  which  to  try  men's  characters,  than  their  own  sec 
tional  prejudices.  We  should  rather  pity  than  contemn  men 
who  have  shown,  both  during  and  since  the  war,  so  little  mag 
nanimity  as  our  late  enemies  have  done.  The  savage  is  full 
of  prejudices,  because  he  is  full  of  ignorance.  His  intellec 
tual  horizon  is  necessarily  limited;  he  sees  but  little,  and 
judges  only  by  what  he  sees.  His  own  little  world  is  the 
world,  and  he  tries  all  the  rest  of  mankind  by  that  stand 
ard.  Cruel  in  war,  he  is  revengeful  and  implacable  in  peace. 
Better  things  are  ordinarily  expected  of  civilized  men.  Edu 
cation  and  civilization  generally  dispel  these  savage  traits. 
The}r  refine  and  soften  men,  and  implant  in  their  bosoms 
the  noble  virtues  of  generosity  and  magnanimity.  The  New 
England  Puritan  seems  to  have  been,  so  far  as  we  may  judge 
him  by  the  traits  which  have  been  developed  in  him  during 
and  since  the  war,  an  exception  to  this  rule.  With  all  his  pre 
tensions  to  learning,  and  amid  all  the  appliances  of  civilization 
by  which  he  has  surrounded  himself,  he  is  still  the  same  old 
Ply  mouth- Eock  man,  that  his  ancestor  was,  three  centuries 
ago.  He  is  the  same  gloomy,  saturnine  fanatic ;  he  has  the 
same  impatience  of  other  men's  opinions,  and  is  the  same 
vindictive  tyrant  that  he  was  when  he  expelled  Roger  Wil 
liams  from,  his  dominions.  The  cockatrice's  egg  has  hatched 
a  savage,  in  short,  that  refuses  to  be  civilized. 

The  Oreto  was  in  court  whilst  I  was  in  Nassau ;  the  Attorney- 


356  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

General  of  the  colony  having  libelled  her  for  a  breach  of  the 
British  Foreign  Enlistment  Act.  After  a  long  and  tedious  trial, 
during  which  it  was  proved  that  she  had  left  England  unarmed 
and  unprovided  with  a  warlike  crew,  she  was  released,  very 
much  to  the  gratification  of  my  friend,  Maffitt,  who  had  been 
anxiously  awaiting  the  result  of  the  trial.  This  energetic  offi 
cer  throwing  himself  and  Stribling  on  board  of  her,  with  such 
other  officers  and  men  as  he  could  gather  on  short  notice,  ran 
the  blockade  of  the  enemy's  cruisers,  the  following  night,  and 
the  next  morning  found  himself  on  the  high  seas,  with  just 
five  firemen,  and  fourteen  deck  hands!  His  hope  was  to  get 
his  armament  on  board,  and  after  otherwise  preparing  his  ship 
for  sea,  to  recruit  his  crew  from  the  neutral  sailors  always  to 
be  found  on  board  the  enemy's  merchant-ships. 

Arriving  at  Green  Key,  the  rendezvous,  which  had  been  con 
certed  between  himself,  and  our  agent  at  Nassau,  Mr.  J.  B. 
Lafitte,  he  was  joined  by  a  schooner,  on  board  which  his  bat 
tery  and  stores  had  been  shipped,  and  forthwith  set  himself  at 
work  to  arm  and  equip  his  ship.  So  short-handed  was  he, 
that  he  was  obliged  to  strip  off  his  own  coat,  and  in  company 
with  his  officers  and  men,  assist  at  the  stay-tackles,  in  hoisting 
in  his  heavy  guns.  The  work  was  especially  laborious,  under 
the  ardent  rays  of  an  August  sun,  but  they  toiled  on,  and  at 
the  end  of  five  days  of  incessant  labor,  which  well-nigh  ex 
hausted  all  their  energies,  they  were  enabled  to  dismiss  their 
tender,  and  steam  out  upon  the  ocean,  and  put  their  ship  in 
commission.  The  English  flag,  which  the  Oreto  had  worn,  was 
hauled  down,  and  arnid  the  cheers  of  the  crews  of  the  two 
vessels,  the  Confederate  States  flag  was  hoisted  to  the  peak  of 
the  Florida. 

A  number  of  the  men  by  this  time,  were  unwell.  Their 
sickness  was  attributed  to  the  severity  of  the  labor  they  had 
undergone,  in  the  excessive  heats  that  were  prevailing.  The 
Captain's  steward  died,  and  was  buried  on  the  afternoon  on 
which  the  ship  was  commissioned.  At  sunset  of  that  day, 
Captain  Maffitt  called  Lieutenant  Stribling  into  his  cabin,  and 
imparted  to  him  the  startling  intelligence  that  the  yellow  fever 
was  on  board!  The  sick,  now  constantly  increasing  in  num 
ber,  were  separated  from  the  well,  and  the  quarter-deck  became 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      S57 

a  hospital.  There  being  no  surgeon  on  board,  Maffitt  was  com 
pelled  to  assume  the  duties  of  this  officer,  in  addition  to  his 
own,  already  onerous.  He  devoted  himself  with  untiring  zeal 
to  the  welfare  of  his  stricken  crew,  without  intermission,  by 
night  or  by  day.  On  the  fifth  day  after  leaving  Green  Key, 
the  Florida  found  herself  off  the  little  island  of  Anguila.  By 
this  time  the  epidemic  had  reduced  her  working  crew  to  one 
fireman,  and  four  deck  hands. 

It  was  now  no  longer  possible  to  keep  the  sea,  and  Maffitt 
evading  the  blockade  of  the  enemy  —  a  happy  chance  having 
drawn  them  off  in  chase  —  ran  his  ship  into  the  port  of  Carde 
nas,  in  the  island  of  Cuba.  Here  he  was  received  kindly  by 
the  authorities  and  citizens,  but  as  the  yellow  fever  was  epi 
demic  on  shore,  no  medical  aid  could  be  obtained.  Stribling 
was  now  dispatched  to  Havana  for  a  surgeon,  and  to  ship  a 
few  men,  if  possible.  Helpless  and  sad,  the  suffering  little 
crew  awaited  his  return.  One  by  one,  the  officers  were  attacked 
by  the  disease,  until  Maffitt  was  left  almost  alone,  to  nurse,  and 
administer  remedies  to  the  patients.  But  things  were  not  yet 
at  their  worst.  On  the  13th  of  August,  Maffitt  was  himself 
attacked.  On  the  afternoon  of  that  day  he  sent  for  his  clerk, 
and  when  the  young  gentleman  had  entered  his  cabin,  said  to 
him:  "I  Ve  written  directions  in  regard  to  the  sick,  and 
certain  orders  in  relation  to  the  vessel;  also  some  private 
letters,  which  you  will  please  take  charge  of."  Upon  the 
clerk's  asking  him  why  this  was  done,  he  informed  him  that 
"he  had  all  the  symptoms  of  yellow  fever,  and  as  he  was 
already  much  broken  down,  he  might  not  survive  the  attack." 
He  had  made  all  the  necessary  preparations  for  his  own  treat 
ment,  giving  minute  written  directions  to  those  around  him 
how  to  proceed,  and  immediately  betook  himself  to  his  bed  — 
the  fever  already  flushing  his  cheeks,  and  parching  his  veins. 
There  was  now,  indeed,  nothing  but  wailing  and  woe  on  board 
the  little  Florida. 

In  two  or  three  days  Stribling  returned  from  Havana,  bring 
ing  with  him  twelve  men ;  and  on  the  day  after  his  return,  Dr. 
Barrett,  of  Georgia,  hearing  of  their  helpless  condition,  vol 
unteered  his  services,  and  became  surgeon  of  the  ship.  On 
the  22d,  young  Laurens,  the  captain's  son — whilst  his  father 


358  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

was  unconscious — breathed  his  last ;  black  vomit  having 
assailed  him,  in  twenty-four  hours  after  he  had  been  taken 
down  with  the  fever ;  so  virulent  had  the  disease  now  become. 
He  was  a  fine,  brave,  promising  lad,  greatly  beloved,  and  deeply 
regretted  by  all.  On  the  23d,  the  Third  Assistant  Engineer 
died.  The  sick  were  now  sent  to  the  hospital  on  shore,  and 
nearly  all  of  them  died.  Dr.  Gilliard,  surgeon  of  a  Spanish  gun 
boat  in  the  harbor,  now  visited  the  Captain,  and  was  exceed 
ingly  kind  to  him.  On  the  24th,  a  consultation  of  physicians 
was  held,  and  it  was  decided  that  Maffitt's  case  was  hopeless. 
But  it  so  happened  that  the  disease  just  then  had  reached  its 
crisis,  and  a  favorable  change  had  taken  place.  The  patient 
had  not  spoken  for  three  days,  and  greatly  to  the  surprise  of 
all  present,  after  one  of  the  physicians  had  given  his  opinion, 
he  opened  his  eyes,  now  beaming  with  intelligence,  and  said 
in  a  languid  voice :  "You  are  all  mistaken — I  have  got  too 
much  to  do,  and  have  no  time  to  die." 

He  convalesced  from  that  moment.  On  the  28th,  Major 
Helm,  our  agent  in  Havana,  telegraphed  that,  for  certain  rea 
sons,  the  Captain-General  desired  that  the  Florida  would  corne 
round  to  Havana,  and  remain  until  the  health  of  her  crew 
should  be  restored.  The  Captain- General  probably  feared  that  in 
an  undefended  port  like  Cardenas,  some  violence  might  be  com 
mitted  upon  the  Florida  by  the  Federal  cruisers,  in  violation 
of  Spanish  neutrality.  Accordingly,  on  the  30th  the  Florida 
got  under  way,  and  proceeded  for  Havana,  where  she  arrived 
the  next  day.  The  reader  naturally  wonders,  no  doubt,  where 
the  Federal  cruisers  were,  all  this  time.  Maffitt  remained  here 
only  a  day,  finding  it  impossible,  owing  to  the  stringent  orders 
of  neutrality  that  were  being  enforced,  to  do  anything  in  the 
way  of  increasing  his  crew,  or  refitting  his  ship.  Getting  his 
ship  under  way,  again  on  the  1st  of  September,  he  now  resolved 
to  run  into  Mobile.  At  two  P.  M.  on  the  4th  of  that  month 
Fort  Morgan  was  made,  when  it  was  found  that  three  of  the 
enemy's  cruisers  lay  between  the  Florida  and  the  bar.  Maffitt 
was  assisted  on  deck,  being  too  weak  yet  to  move  without 
assistance.  Having  determined  that  his  ship  should  not  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  he  had  made  suitable  prepara 
tions  for  blowing  her  up,  if  it  should  become  necessary.  He  now 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      359 

hoisted  the  English  ensign  and  pennant,  and  stood  boldly  on. 
His  very  boldness  staggered  the  enemy.  He  must  certainly 
be,  they  thought,  an  English  gunboat.  The  Oneida,  the  flag 
ship  of  Commander  Preble,  the  commanding  officer  of  the 
blockading  squadron,  attempted  to  throw  herself  in  the  Flori 
da's  path,  first  having  hailed  her  and  commanded  her  to  stop. 
But  the  latter  held  on  her  course  so  determinedly,  that  the  for 
mer,  to  prevent  being  run  down,  was  obliged  to  stop,  herself, 
and  reverse  her  engine. 

Preble,  now  undeceived  as  to  the  possibility  of  the  Florida's 
being  an  Englishman,  opened  fire  upon  her,  as  did  the  other 
two  ships.  The  Oneidd's  broadside,  delivered  from  a  distance 
of  a  few  yards  only,  cut  away  the  Florida1  s  hammocks,  smashed 
her  boats,  and  shattered  some  of  her  spars.  The  three  enemy's 
vessels  now  grouped  themselves  around  the  daring  little  craft, 
and  fired  broadside  after  broadside  at  her,  during  the  chase 
which  ensued.  One  eleven-inch  shell  entering  the  Florida! s 
side,  only  a  few  inches  above  the  water-line,  passed  entirely 
through  her,  before  the  fuse  had  time  to  explode  it.  If  the 
enemy  had  been  a  little  farther  off,  the  Florida  must  have  been 
torn  in  pieces  by  the  explosion.  Another  shell  entered  the 
cabin.  The  fore-topmast  and  fore-gaff  were  shot  away.  In 
short,  when  it  is  recollected  that  she  was  nearly  two  hours 
under  this  tremendous  fire,  the  wonder  is  that  she  escaped  with 
a  whole  spar,  or  a  whole  timber. 

Maffitt,  meantime,  had  not  cast  loose  a  gun.  He  had  no 
crew  with  which  to  man  his  battery.  What  few  sailors  he 
had,  he  had  sent  below,  except  only  the  man  at  the  wheel,  that 
they  might  be  less  exposed.  But  they  were  not  safe,  even 
here,  for  the  shell  which  we  have  described  as  passing  through 
the  ship,  took  off  one  man's  head,  and  seven  others  were 
wounded  by  splinters.  My  ex-lieutenant  of  the  Sumier,  Strib- 
ling,  merited,  on  this  occasion,  the  praise  I  have  bestowed 
on  him,  in  drawing  his  portrait.  He  is  described  by  an  eye 
witness  to  have  been  as  cool  and  self-possessed,  as  if  there  had 
been  no  enemy  within  a  hundred  miles  of  him.  To  make  a 
long  story  short,  the  gallant  little  Florida  finally  escaped  her 
pursuers,  and,  in  a  shattered  condition,  ran  in  and  anchored 
near  Fort  Morgan.  As  the  reader  may  suppose,  her  English 


360  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

flag  was  exchanged  for  her  own  stars  and  bars,  as  soon  as  the 
enemy  opened  upon  her.  This  was  the  most  daring  and  gal 
lant  running  of  a  blockade  that  occurred  during  a  war  so 
fruitful  of  daring  and  gallant  acts.  After  repairing  and  re 
fitting  his  vessel,  my  gallant  friend  dashed  again  through  the 
enemy's  fleet,  now  much  increased  in  numbers,  and  com 
menced  that  career  on  the  high  seas,  which  has  rendered  his 
name  one  of  the  notable  ones  of  the  war.  He  lighted  the  seas 
with  a  track  of  fire,  wherever  he  passed,  and  sent  consterna 
tion  and  alarm  among  the  enemy's  shipping.  A  correspondent 
of  a  Northern  paper,  writing  from  Havana,  thus  speaks  of 
Maffitt  and  his  craft :  — 

"  The  rebel  man-of-war,  privateer  or  pirate  Florida,  otherwise 
known  as  the  Oreto,  has  safely  arrived  in  this  port,  although  she 
was  chased  up  to  the  very  walls  of  the  Moro  Castle  by  the  Mobile 
blockading  squadron,  nine  in  number.  The  chase  was  a  most  excit 
ing  one,  but,  unfortunately,  without  the  result  so  much  to  be  desired. 

"  It  appears  that  the  pirate  Maffitt  came  out  of  the  port  of  Mobile 
with  as  much  impudence  as  he  entered  it.  The  steamer  seems  to 
have  been  well  punished  with  shot  and  shell  from  the  Federal  ships, 
and  it  is  reported  that  she  lost  her  first  lieutenant,  and  sixteen  men 
killed  by  a  shell  from  one  of  the  men-of-war. 

******* 

"  From  reliable  information,  I  am  enabled  to  state,  or,  rather,  I 
am  convinced,  that  this  vessel  will  sail  for  the  East  Indies  in  a  few 
days.  Our  Government  had  better  look  out  for  her  advent  in  those 
waters.  Captain  Maffitt  is  no  ordinary  character.  He  is  vigorous, 
energetic,  bold,  quick,  and  dashing,  and  the  sooner  he  is  caught  and 
hung,  the  better  will  it  be  for  the  interests  of  our  commercial  com 
munity.  He  is  decidedly  popular  here,  and  you  can  scarcely  ima 
gine  the  anxiety  evinced  to  get  a  glance  at  him." 

We  may  return  now  to  the  movements  of  the  writer.  After 
long  waiting  at  Nassau,  the  Bahama,  the  steamer  in  which 
Stribling  and  Howell  had  come  over  from  Hamburg,  was  ready 
to  return,  and  I  embarked  on  board  of  her,  with  my  staff;  and 
after  a  passage  of  some  three  weeks,  landed  in  Liverpool,  just 
in  time  to  find  that  the  bird  had  flown.  The  Alabama  had 
steamed  a  few  days  before,  for  her  rendezvous,  where,  in  due 
time,  we  will  follow  her. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

A    BRIEF     RESUME     OF    THE    HISTORY    OF    THE   WAR,    BE 
TWEEN   THE   COMMISSIONING   OF  THE    SUMTER   AND  THE 

COMMISSIONING   OF  THE    ALABAMA SECRETARY   MAL- 

LORY,  AND  THE  DIFFICULTIES  BY  WHICH  HE  WAS  SUR 
ROUNDED THE  REORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CONFED 
ERATE  STATES  NAVY. 

1  LTIIOUGTI,  as  before  remarked,  I  design  only  to  write  a 
f\  history  of  my  own  proceedings,  during  the  late  war,  yet 
it  will  be  necessary,  to  enable  the  reader  to  understand  these 
proceedings  correctly,  to  run  a  mere  thread  of  the  general  his 
tory  of  the  war  along  parallel  with  them.  I  have  done  this 
up  to  the  date  of  commissioning  the  Sumter.  It  will  now  be 
necessary  to  take  up  the  thread  again,  and  bring  it  down  to 
the  commissioning  of  the  Alabama.  I  shall  do  this  very 
briefly,  barely  enumerating  the  principal  military  events,  with 
out  attempting  to  describe  them,  and  glancing  very  cursorily 
at  the  naval  events. 

We  ran  the  blockade  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  Sumter,  as 
has  been  seen,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1861.  In  July  of  that 
year,  the  first  great  battle  of  Manassas  was  fought,  to  which 
allusion  has  already  been  made.  This  battle  gave  us  great 
prestige  in  Europe,  and  contributed  very  much  to  the  respect 
with  which  the  little  Sumter  had  been  received  by  foreign 
powers.  A  long  military  pause  now  ensued.  The  enemy  had 
been  so  astonished  and  staggered  by  this  blow,  that  it  took 
him  some  time  to  recover  from  its  effects.  He,  however,  turned 
it  to  useful  account,  and  set  himself  at  work  with  great  pa 
tience,  and  diligence,  at  the  same  time,  to  collect  and  thor 
oughly  drill  new  troops.  The  victory,  on  the  other  hand,  had 
an  unfavorable  effect  upon  our  own  people,  in  giving  them  an 

361 


362  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

undue  impression  of  their  superiority  over  their  enemy,  and 
lulling  them  into  supineness. 

During  the  summer  of  1861,  two  naval  expeditions  were 
fitted  out,  by  the  enemy,  and  sent  to  operate  against  our  coast.  . 
The  first  of  these  expeditions,  under  command  of  Commo 
dore  Stringham,  captured  two  hastily  constructed,  and  imper 
fect  earth-works  at  Hatteras  Inlet  on  the  coast  of  North  Caro 
lina,  and  made  a  lodgement  on  Pamlico  Sound.  The  capture 
of  these  works,  is  no  otherwise  remarkable,  in  a  naval  point 
of  view,  than  for  the  circumstance  that  a  Confederate  States 
naval  officer  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  for  the  first  time 
during  the  war.  Commodore  Samuel  Barron,  of  the  Confeder 
ate  States  Navy,  commanded  the  forts,  and  surrendered,  after  a 
gallant  resistance,  to  the  overwhelming  force  which  assaulted 
him,  on  condition  that  he  should  be  treated  as  a  prisoner  of 
war.  The  battle  of  Manassas  had  occurred  to  humble  the 
pride,  and  appeal  to  the  fears  of  the  enemy,  and  the  condition 
named  by  Barron  was  readily  assented  to.  The  other  naval 
expedition,  under  command  of  Commodore  Dupont,  captured 
Port  Eoyal,  in  South  Carolina  as  mentioned  in  a  former 
page.  The  "  Trent  Affair,"  already  described,  came  off  in 
November,  1861,  and  Commodore  Hollins'  attack  upon  the 
enemy's  fleet  at  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  in  which  he 
gave  him  such  a  scare,  occurred,  as  already  related,  in  October 
of  the  same  year.  This  brings  us  to  the  close  of  the  first  year 
of  the  war. 

The  year  1862  was  big  with  events,  which  we  will,  for  the 
most  part,  merely  string  on  our  thread.  The  Confederates,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  year,  occupied  a  position  at  Bowling 
Green,  in  Kentucky,  which  was  seemingly  a  strong  position, 
with  railroad  communication,  in  their  rear,  with  all  parts  of  the 
South,  but  they  could  not  hold  it,  for  the  simple  reason,  that 
the  enemy,  having  command  of  the  western  rivers  by  means 
of  his  superior  naval  force,  penetrated  into  their  rear,  and  thus 
compelled  a  retreat.  "When  the  enemy,  by  means  of  his  gun 
boats,  could  send  armies  up  the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee 
Rivers,  to  the  heart  of  Tennessee  and  Alabama,  it  was  folly  to 
think  of  holding  Bowling  Green,  with  our  limited  forces.  Our 
army  fell  back  to  Nashville,  and  even  abandoned  that  city, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      363 

after  the  fall  of  Forts  Henry  and  Donelson,  which  were  cap 
tured  by  the  Federal  forces,  in  February,  1862. 

The  evacuation  of  all  these  points,  one  after  another,  and 
afterward  the  loss  of  Island  No.  10,  on  the  Mississippi,  and 
New  Madrid,  were  serious  blows  for  us.  But  our  disasters 
did  not  end  here.  The  battle  of  Shiloh  followed,  in  which  we 
were  defeated,  and  compelled  to  retreat,  after  we  had,  to  all 
appearance,  gained  a  victory  almost  complete  on  the  first  day 
of  the  fight.  Naval  disasters  accompanied,  or  followed  our 
disasters  upon  the  land.  Early  in  1862,  a  naval  expedition 
of  the  enemy,  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Goldsbor- 
ough,  entered  Pamlico  Sound,  and  captured  Roanoke  Island. 
Commodore  Lynch,  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  with  six 
or  seven  small,  ill-armed  gunboats,  which  had  been  improvised 
from  light  and  frail  river  steamers,  assisted  in  the  defence  of 
the  island,  but  was  obliged  to  withdraw  before  the  superior 
forces  of  the  enemy.  The  enemy,  pursuing  his  advantages, 
followed  Lynch's  retreating  fleet  to  Elizabeth  City,  in  North 
Carolina,  where  he  captured  or  destroyed  it. 

The  enemy  was  now  not  only  in  possession  of  the  western 
waters  —  Vicksburg  and  Port  Hudson  alone  obstructing  his 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  as  far  down  as  New  Orleans — 
but  Pamlico  and  Albemarle  Sounds,  in  North  Carolina,  and  the 
bay  of  Port  Eoyal  in  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  were  open 
to  him.  To  complete  the  circle  of  our  disasters,  New  Orleans 
was  captured  by  Farragut  and  Porter,  in  April  —  the  small 
Confederate  fleet  under  Commodore  John  K.  Mitchell,  making 
a  gallant  but  disastrous  defence,  in  which  it  was  totally  de 
stroyed,  with  great  loss  of  life  of  both  officers  and  men. 

Let  us  turn  now  to  a  more  pleasing  picture ;  for  all  was  not 
disaster  for  the  Confederates,  during  the  year  1862.  In  March 
of  that  year,  the  memorable  naval  engagement  occurred  in 
Hampton  Roads,  between  the  Confederate  States  iron-clad 
steamer  Virginia,  and  the  enemy's  fleet,  resulting  in  the  de 
struction,  by  the  Virginia,  of  two  of  the  enemy's  wooden 
frigates.  Great  consternation  and  alarm  were  produced  in  the 
enemy's  fleet,  and  at  Fortress  Monroe,  by  Admiral  Buchanan 
and  his  armored  ship,  as  well  there  might  be,  for  the  ship  was 
perfectly  invulnerable,  and  but  for  her  great  draught  of  water, 


364  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

might  have  destroyed  or  driven  off  the  whole  Federal  fleet. 
Our  people  were  greatly  elated  by  this  victory,  coming  as  it 
did,  in  the  midst  of  so  many  disasters.  It  attracted  great  at 
tention  in  Europe,  also,  as  being  decisive  of  the  fate  of  all  the 
old-time  wooden  ships,  which  had,  up  to  that  period,  composed 
the  navies  of  the  world.  It  so  happened,  that  the  Federals 
had  completed  the  first  of  their  Monitors,  at  this  very  time, 
and  this  little  iron  ship,  arriving  opportunely,  engaged  the 
Virginia  on  the  second  day  of  the  fight.  Like  her  great  an 
tagonist,  she,  too,  was  invulnerable,  and  the  result  was  a  drawn 
battle.  From  this  time  onward,  the  enemy  multiplied  his 
armored  ships  very  rapidly,  and  it  is  scarcely  too  much  to  say, 
that  he  is  almost  wholly  indebted  to  them,  for  his  success  in 
the  war. 

Another  very  creditable  affair  for  the  Confederates  came  off 
on  the  15th  of  May.  In  the  interval  between  the  fight  of  the 
Virginia,  with  the  enemy's  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  the 
day  last  named,  Norfolk  had  been  evacuated,  and  the  Virginia, 
which  had  passed  under  the  command  of  Commodore  Tatnall, 
was  blown  up.  The  consequence  was  that  the  James  Eiver 
was  open  to  the  navigation  of  the  enemy.  Taking  advantage 
of  this  state  of  things,  five  of  the  enemy's  gunboats,  two  of 
which  were  iron-clad,  ascended  the  river,  with  intent  to  reach, 
and  shell  Richmond,  if  practicable.  They  met  with  no  serious 
obstruction,  or  any  opposition,  until  they  reached  Drury's 
Bluff.  Here  the  river  had  been  obstructed,  and  a  Confederate 
earth- work  erected.  The  earth- work  was  commanded  by  Cap 
tain  Eben  Farrand,  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  who  had 
some  sailors  and  marines  under  him.  The  Federal  fleet  having 
approached  within  600  yards,  opened  fire  upon  the  fort,  which 
it  kept  up  for  the  space  of  three  hours.  It  was  so  roughly 
handled,  however,  by  Farrand  and  his  sailors,  that  at  the  end 
of  that  time,  it  was  obliged  to  retire,  with  several  of  its  ves 
sels  seriously  damaged.  No  further  attempt  was  made  during 
the  war,  to  reach  Richmond  by  means  of  iron-clads ;  the  dose 
which  Farrand  had  given  them  was  quite  sufficient. 

But  the  greatest  of  all  the  triumphs  which  crowned  the  Con 
federate  arms  during  this  year  of  1862,  were  the  celebrated 
campaigns  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        365 

and  the  seven  days'  fighting  before  Richmond.  I  will  barely 
string  these  events,  as  I  pass  along.  Banks,  Fremont,  and 
Shields,  of  the  enemy,  were  all  operating  in  this  valley,  with 
forces  greatly  outnumbering  those  of  Jackson.  The  latter,  by 
a  series  of  rapid  and  masterly  movements,  fell  upon  his  ene 
mies,  one  after  the  other,  and  defeated  them  all ;  Banks,  in 
particular,  who  having  been  bred  to  civil  life,  was  devoid 
of  all  military  training,  and  apparently  wanting,  even,  in  that 
first  and  most  common  requisite  of  a  soldier,  courage,  flying 
in  disorder,  and  abandoning  to  his  pursuer  all  the  supplies 
and  materiel  of  a  large  and  well-appointed  army.  Such  frantic 
efforts  did  he  make  to  escape  from  Jackson,  that  he  marched 
thirty-five  miles  in  a  single  day  ;  passing  through  the  good  old 
town  of  Winchester,  which  he  had  formerly  occupied,  with  so 
many  signs  of  trepidation  and  alarm,  that  the  citizens  received 
him  and  his  troops,  with  shouts  of  derisive  laughter ! 

The  enemy,  after  his  defeat  at  Manassas,  put  General  McClel- 
lan  in  command  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  balance 
of  the  year  1861  was  devoted,  by  this  officer,  to  the  collecting 
and  drilling  of  troops.  In  the  spring  of  1862,  he  landed  at 
Fortress  Monroe,  with  a  splendidly  appointed  army  of  90,000 
men,  provided  with  55  batteries  of  artillery,  consisting  of  350 
field  pieces.  Magruder  held  him  in  check,  for  some  time,  with 
11,000  men,  which  enabled  the  Confederate  commanders  to 
gather  together  their  forces,  for  the  defence  of  Richmond.  He 
moved  at  length,  was  checked  a  while  at  Williamsburg,  by 
Longstreet,  but  finally  deployed  his  immense  forces  on  the 
banks  of  the  Chickahominy. 

A  series  of  battles  now  took  place,  commencing  on  the 
30th  of  May,  and  extending  through  the  month  of  June,  which 
resulted  in  the  raising  of  the  siege,  and  the  total  rout  and 
precipitate  retreat  of  the  Federal  commander.  I  will  barely 
enumerate  these  battles,  as  follows :  Seven  Pines  ;  Mechanics- 
ville  and  Beaver  Dam ;  Games'  Mills ;  Savage  Station ;  Fra- 
zer's  Farm;  and  Malvern  Hill;  —  names  sufficient  alone  to 
cover  the  Confederate  cause  with  immortal  glory,  in  the 
minds  of  all  true  men,  as  the  highest  qualities  of  courage, 
endurance,  patriotism,  and  self-sacrifice,  that  any  men  could  be 
capable  of,  were  exhibited  on  those  fields,  destined  to  become 
classic  in  American  annals. 


366  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Following  up  the  defeat  of  McClellan,  by  Johnston  and  Lee, 
Stonewall  Jackson  gained  his  splendid  victory  of  the  Second 
Manassas  over  Pope ;  defeating  him  with  great  loss,  and  driv 
ing  him  before  him  to  the  gates  of  Washington.  Thus,  not 
withstanding  our  disasters  in  the  West  and  South,  an  entirely 
new  face  had  been  put  upon  the  war  in  Virginia.  The  enemy's 
capital,  instead  of  Eichmond,  was  in  danger,  and  McClellan 
was  hastily  withdrawn  from  Fortress  Monroe,  for  its  defence. 

We  must  now  pause,  for  we  have  brought  the  thread  of  the 
war  down  to  the  commissioning  of  the  Alabama,  and  the  reader 
will  see  with  what  forebodings,  as  well  as  hopes,  we  took  the 
sea,  in  that  ship.  The  war  may  be  said  now  to  have  been  at 
its  height.  Both  the  belligerents  were  thoroughly  aroused, 
and  a  few  blows,  well  struck,  on  the  water,  might  be  of  great 
assistance.  I  resolved  to  attempt  to  strike  these  blows. 

A  few  words,  now,  as  to  the  status  of  the  Confederate  States 
Navy.  As  remarked  in  the  opening  of  these  memoirs,  the 
Confederate  States  had  no  navy  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
and  the  South  being  almost  entirely  agricultural,  with  few  or 
no  ships,  and  but  little  external  commerce,  except  such  as  was 
conducted  in  Northern  bottoms,  had  but  very  indifferent  means 
of  creating  one.  Whilst  the  North  was  one  busy  hive  of  manu 
facturing  industry,  with  its  ship-yards  and  work-shops,  re 
sounding,  by  night  and  by  day,  with  the  busy  strokes  of  the 
hammer,  the  adze,  and  the  caulking-iron ;  whilst  its  steam-mills 
and  foundries  were  vomiting  forth  their  thick  smoke  from 
their  furnaces,  and  deafening  the  ears  of  their  workmen  by 
the  din  of  the  trip-hammer  and  the  whirr  of  the  lathe ;  and 
whilst  foreign  material  of  every  description  was  flowing  into 
open  ports,  the  South  had  neither  ship-yards  nor  work-shops, 
steam-mills  nor  foundries,  except  on  the  most  limited  scale, 
and  all  her  ports  were  as  good  as  hermetically  sealed,  so  far  as 
the  introduction  of  the  heavy  materials  of  which  she  stood  in 
need  was  concerned. 

It  will  be  seen  what  a  difficult  task  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  had  before  him,  and  how  unjust  are  many  of  the  cen 
sures  that  were  cast  upon  him,  by  persons  unconversant  with 
naval  affairs.  Indeed,  it  is  rather  a  matter  of  surprise,  that  so 
much  was  accomplished  with  our  limited  means.  Work-shops 


and  foundries  were  improvised,  wherever  it  was  possible  to 
establish  them;  but  the  great  difficulty  was  the  want  of  the 
requisite  heavy  machinery.  We  had  not  the  means,  in  the 
entire  Confederacy,  of  turning  out  a  complete  steam-engine,  of 
any  size,  and  many  of  our  naval  disasters  are  attributable  to 
this  deficiency.  Well-constructed  steamers,  that  did  credit  to 
the  Navy  Department  and  its  agents,  were  forced  to  put  to 
sea,  and  to  move  about  upon  our  sounds  and  harbors,  with 
engines  disproportioned  to  their  size,  and  incapable  of  driving 
them  at  a  speed  greater  than  five  miles  the  hour. 

The  casting  of  cannon,  and  the  manufacture  of  small  arms, 
were  also  undertaken  by  the  Secretary,  under  the  direction  of 
skilful  officers,  and  prosecuted  to  considerable  efficiency.  But 
it  took  time  to  accomplish  all  these  things.  Before  a  ship 
could  be  constructed,  it  was  necessary  to  hunt  up  the  requisite 
timber,  and  transport  it  considerable  distances.  Her  armor, 
if  she  was  to  be  armored,  was  to  be  rolled  also  at  a  distance, 
and  transported  over  long  lines  of  railroad,  piecemeal ;  her 
cordage  was  to  be  picked  up  at  one  place,  and  her  sails  and 
hammocks  at  another.  I  speak  knowingly  on  this  subject,  as 
I  had  had  experience  of  many  of  the  difficulties  I  mention, 
in  fitting  out  the  Sumter  in  New  Orleans.  I  was  two  months 
in  preparing  this  small  ship  for  sea,  practising,  all  the  while, 
every  possible  diligence  and  contrivance.  The  Secretary  had 
other  difficulties  to  contend  with.  By  the  time  he  had  gotten 
many  of  his  ship-yards  well  established,  and  ships  well  on 
their  way  to  completion,  the  enemy  would  threaten  the  locus  in 
quo,  by  land,  and  either  compel  him  to  attempt  to  remove 
everything  movable,  in  great  haste,  and  at  great  loss,  or 
destroy  it,  to  prevent  it  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy.  Many  fine  ships  were,  in  this  way,  burned  on  the 
very  eve  of  completion, 

It  must  be  recollected,  too,  that  in  the  early  days  of  the  war, 
we  had  no  finances.  These  were  to  be  improvised  along  with 
other  things.  I  travelled  to  the  North,  on  the  mission  which 
has  been  described  in  these  pages;  on  money  borrowed  from  a 
private  banker.  If  we  had  had  plenty  of  funds  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  war,  it  is  possible  that  we  might  have  accomplished 

more  than  we  did,  in  Europe,  in  the  matter  of  getting  out 
24 


368  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ships  to  prey  upon  the  enemy's  commerce  —  that  is,  in  the  way 
of  purchase,  for  it  soon  became  evident,  from  the  experience  we 
had  had,  in  building  the  Alabama,  and  other  ships  contracted 
for  by  the  Navy  Department,  that  we  could  not  rely  upon  con 
structing  them.  The  neutral  powers  became  too  watchful,  and 
were  too  much  afraid  of  the  Federal  power.  When  the  Govern 
ment  did  put  the  Secretary  in  funds,  several  months  had 
elapsed,  the  war  had  begun,  the  coast  was  blockaded,  and  all 
the  nations  of  Europe  were  on  the  alert. 

"With  reference  to  the  personnel  of  the  Navy,  a  few  words  will 
describe  the  changes  which  had  taken  place  in  its  organization, 
since  I  last  referred  to  the  subject.  It  will  be  recollected  that 
it  then  consisted  of  but  four  captains,  four  commanders,  and 
about  thirty  lieutenants,  and  that  the  writer  was  the  junior,  but 
one,  of  the  four  commanders.  A  considerable  accession  was 
made  to  the  navy-list,  as  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  other 
States  seceded,  and  joined  their  fortunes  with  those  of  their  more 
impulsive  sisters,  the  Cotton  States.  A  number  of  old  officers, 
past  service,  disdaining  to  eat  the  bread  of  ignoble  pensioners 
upon  the  bounty  of  the  Northern  States,  which  were  seeking 
to  subjugate  the  States  of  their  birth  or  adoption,  came  South, 
bringing  with  them  nothing  but  their  patriotism  and  their 
gray  hairs.  These  all  took  rank,  as  has  been  remarked,  accord 
ing  to  the  positions  they  had  held  in  the  old  service.  These 
old  gentlemen,  whilst  they  would  have  commanded,  with  great 
credit,  fleets  and  squadrons  of  well-appointed  and  ^ell-offi 
cered  ships,  were  entirely  unsuited  for  such  service  as  the 
Confederacy  could  offer  them.  It  became  necessary,  in  conse 
quence,  to  re-organize  the  Navy ;  and  although  this  was  not 
done  until  May,  1863,  some  months  after  the  Alabama  was 
commissioned,  I  will  anticipate  the  subject  here,  to  avoid  the 
necessity  of  again  referring  to  it.  I  had  been  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain  in  the  Regular  Navy,  in  the  summer  of  1862. 
The  Act  of  May,  1863,  established  what  was  called  the  Provi 
sional  Navy ;  the  object  being,  without  interfering  with  the 
rank  of  the  officers  in  the  Eegular  Navy,  to  cull  out  from  that 
navy-list,  younger  and  more  active  men,  and  put  them  in  the 
Provisional  Navy,  with  increased  rank.  The  Eegular  Navy 
became,  thus,  a  kind  of  retired  list,  and  the  Secretary  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR     BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      369 

Navj  was  enabled  to  accomplish  "his  object  of  bringing  for 
ward  younger  officers  for  active  service,  without  wounding  the 
feelings  of  the  older  officers,  by  promoting  their  juniors  over 
their  heads,  on  the  same  list.  As  late  as  December,  1861,  we  had 
had  no  admirals  in  our  Navy.  On  the  24th  of  that  month,  the 
Act  organizing  the  Navy  was  so  amended,  as  to  authorize  the 
appointment  of  four  officers  of  this  grade.  There  was  but  one 
of  these  admirals  appointed,  up  to  the  time  of  which  I  am 
writing  —  Buchanan,  who  was  promoted  for  his  gallant  fight 
in  the  Virginia,  with  the  enemy's  fleet  in  Hampton  Eoads. 
Buchanan,  being  already  an  admiral  in  the  Kegular  Navy,  was 
now  transferred  to  the  Provisional  Nav}^,  with  the  same  rank ; 
and  the  captains'  list  of  this  latter  Navy  was  so  arranged  that 
Barron  stood  first  on  it,  and  myself  second.  I  was  thus,  the 
third  in  rank  in  the  Provisional  Navy,  soon  after  I  hoisted 
my  pennant  on  board  the  Alabama.  In  reviewing  these 
matters,  my  only  regret  now  is,  that  the  older  officers  of 
whom  I  have  spoken,  and  who  made  so  many  sacrifices  for 
principle  —  sacrifices  that  have  hastened  several  of  them  to  the 
tomb,  were  not  made  admirals  on  the  regular  or  retired  list. 
The  honors  would  have  been  barren,  it  is  true,  as  no  com 
mands,  commensurate  with  the  rank,  could  have  been  given 
them,  but  the  bestowal  of  the  simple  title  would  have  been 
a  compliment,  no  more  than  due  to  veterans,  who  had  com- 
manded  squadrons  in  the  old  service,  and  who  had  aban 
doned  all  for  the  sake  of  their  States.  The  reader  is  now  in  a 
condition  to  accompany  me,  whilst  I  describe  to  him  the  com 
missioning  of  the  Alabama. 


CHAPTEE  XXIX. 

THE  LEGALITY  OF  THE  EQUIPMENT  OF  THE  ALABAMA, 
AND  A  FEW  PRECEDENTS  FOR  HER  CAREER,  DRAWN 
FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  WAR  OF  1776. 

BEFORE  I  read  my  commission  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the 
Alabama,  I  desire  to  say  a  word  or  two  as  to  the  legality 
of  her  equipment,  and  to  recall  to  the  recollection  of  the  reader 
a  few  of  the  incidents  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  of  1776,  to 
show  how  inconsistent  our  Northern  brethren  have  been,  in  the 
denunciations  they  have  hurled  against  that  ship.  Mr.  Seward, 
the  Federal  Secretary  of  State,  and  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
who  was  the  United  States  Minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James, 
during  the  late  war  between  the  States,  have  frequently  lost  their 
temper,  when  they  have  spoken  of  the  Alabama,  and  denounced 
her  as  a  "pirate."  In  cooler  moments,  when  they  come  to  read 
over  the  intemperate  despatches  they  have  been  betrayed 
into  writing,  they  will  probably  be  ashamed  of  them  them 
selves  ;  since  these  despatches  not  only  contradict  the  truth  of 
history,  and  set  at  defiance  the  laws  of  nations,  but  stultify 
themselves  in  important  particulars. 

Great  stress  has  been  laid,  by  both  of  these  gentlemen,  on 
the  foreign  origin  of  the  Alabama,  forgetting  entirely,  not  only 
what  was  done  by  their  ancestors  in  the  war  of  1776,  but  what 
was  attempted  to  be  done  by  Mr.  Gideon  Welles,  their  own 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  the  year  of  grace  1861.  I  will  re 
fresh  their  memories  on  both  these  points,  and  first,  as  to  the 
latter.  Mr.  Welles  attempted  to  do,  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  the  Confederate  States  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Mr.  Mai- 
lory,  did  in  the  matter  of  building  the  Alabama  —  that  is  to 
say,  he  endeavored  to  build  some  Alabamas  in  England  him 
self,  but  failed !  This  little  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Fede 
ral  Navy  Department  is  curious,  and  worthy  of  being  pre- 
370 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  371 

served  as  a  practical  commentary  on  so  much  of  the  des 
patches  of  Messrs.  Seward  and  Adams,  as  relates  to  the 
foreign  origin  of  my  ship.  The  facts  were  published  soon 
after  their  occurrence,  and  have  not  been,  and  cannot  be  de 
nied.  They  were  given  to  the  public  by  Mr.  Laird,  the  gen 
tleman  who  built  the  Alabama,  and  who  was  the  party  with 
whom  the  Federal  Navy  Department  endeavored  to  treat. 

Mr.  Laird  was  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  and 
having  been  abused,  without  stint,  as  an  aider  and  abettor  of 
"  pirates,"  by  the  Northern  newspapers,  as  soon  as  it  became 
known  that  he  was  the  builder  of  the  Alabama,  he  made  a 
speech  in  the  House  of  Commons,  in  defence  of  himself,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  stated  the  fact  I  have  charged,  to  wit: 
that  Mr.  Welles  endeavored  to  make  a  contract  with  him,  for 
building  some  Federal  Alabamas.  Here  is  so  much  of  his 
speech  as  is  necessary  to  establish  the  charge: — "In  1861," 
said  he,  "just  after  the  war  broke  out,  a  friend  of  mine,  whom 
I  have  known  for  many  years,  was  over  here,  and  came  to  me 
with  a  view  of  getting  vessels  built  in  this  country,  for  the 
American  Government  —  the  Northern  Government.  Its  agent 
in  this  country  made  inquiries;  plans  and  estimates  were  given 
to  my  friend,  and  transmitted  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Ameri 
can  Navy.  I  will  read  an  abstract  from  this  gentleman's  let 
ter,  dated  the  30th  of  July,  1861.  It  is  written  from  Wash 
ington,  and  states: — 'Since  my  arrival  here,  I  have  had  fre 
quent  interviews  with  our  Department  of  Naval  Affairs,  and 
am  happy  to  say  that  the  Minister  of  the  Navy  is  inclined  to 
have  an  iron-plated  ship  built  out  of  the  country.  This  ship 
is  designed  for  a  specific  purpose,  to  accomplish  a  definite 
object.  I  send  you,  herewith,  a  memorandum  handed  me 
last  evening  from  the  Department,  with  the  request  that  I 
would  send  it  to  you,  by  steamer's  mail  of  to-morroAV,  and 
ask  your  immediate  reply,  stating  if  you  will  agree  to 
build  such  a  ship  as  desired,  how  soon,  and  for  how  much,  with 
such  plans  and  specifications  as  you  may  deem  it  best  to 
send  me.'  The  extract  from  the  memorandum  states,  that  the 
ship  is  to  be  finished  complete,  with  guns  and  everything  ap 
pertaining.  On  the  14th  of  August,  I  received  another  letter 
from  the  same  gentleman,  from  which  the  following  is  an  ex- 


372  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

tract: —  'I  have  this  morning  a  note  from  the  Assistant  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy,  in  which  he  says,  "  I  hope  your  friends  will 
tender  for  the  two  iron-plated  steamers.'"  After  this,  the  firm 
with  which  I  was  lately  connected,  having  made  contracts  to  a 
large  extent  with  other  persons,  stated  that  they  were  not  in  a 
condition  to  undertake  any  orders  to  be  done  in  so  short  a  time. 
This  was  the  reply: — 'I  sent  your  last  letter,  received  yester 
day,  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  was  very  desirous  to 
have  you  build  the  iron-plated  or  bomb-proof  batteries,  and 
I  trust  that  he  will  yet  decide  to  have  you  build  one  or 
more  of  the  gun-boats.' 

"I  think,  perhaps,  in  the  present  state  of  the  law  in  America, 
I  shall  not  be  asked  to  give  the  name  of  my  correspondent, 
but  he  is  a  gentleman  of  the  highest  respectability.  If  any 
honorable  member  wishes,  I  shall  have  no  objection  in  hand 
ing  the  whole  correspondence,  with  the  original  letters,  into 
the  hands  of  you,  sir,  [the  Speaker  of  the  House,]  or  of  the 
First  Minister  of  the  Crown,  in  strict  confidence,  because  there 
are  communications  in  these  letters,  respecting  the  views  of 
the  American  Government,  which  I  certainly  should  not 
divulge,  and  which  I  have  not  mentioned  or  alluded  to  before. 
But,  seeing  the  American  Government  are  making  so  much 
work  about  other  parties,  whom  they  charge  with  violating 
or  evading  the  law,  when,  in  reality,  they  have  not  done  so,  I 
think  it  only  fair  to  state  these  facts." 

It  thus  appears  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
preceded  us  in  the  English  market,  having  endeavored,  a 
whole  year  before  the  Alabama  was  built,  to  contract  with 
Mr.  Laird  for  the  building  of  iron-plated,  and  other  ships,  and 
that  the  only  reason  why  the  contract  was  not  made,  was,  that 
Mr.  Laird  had  taken  already  so  much  work  in  hand,  that  he 
could  not  take  "  any  new  orders,  to  be  done  in  so  short  a 
time" — as  that  prescribed  by  Mr.  Welles,  for  it  seems  that  he 
was  in  a  hurry.  The  explanation  probably  is,  that  we  had 
offered  Mr.  Laird  better  terms  than  Mr.  Welles,  and  this  is 
the  only  reason  why  the  Alabama  was  a  Confederate,  instead 
of  a  Federal  ship!  This  speech  of  Mr.  Laird  caused  no  little 
merriment  in  the  House  of  Commons,  for,  as  before  remarked, 
the  Federal  press,  knowing  nothing  of  these  secret  transactions 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.      373 

between  Mr.  Welles  and  Mr.  Laird,  had  been  denouncing  the 
latter  for  building  the  Alabama,  in  the  coarse  and  offensive 
language  to  which,  by  this  time,  it  had  become  accustomed. 
The  disclosures  could  not  but  be  ludicrous. 

To  dispose,  now,  of  Mr.  Seward's  objection,  that  the  Alabama 
was  foreign-built.  The  reader  will  see,  in  a  moment,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  this  objection,  when  he  reflects  that  a  ship 
of  war,  in  the  light  in  which  we  are  considering  her,  is  a  per 
sonification,  and  not  a  mere  material  thing.  If  her  personifica 
tion  be  true,  and  unobjectionable,  it  matters  not  of  what 
materials  she  may  be  composed,  whence  those  materials  may 
have  been  drawn,  or  where  they  may  have  been  fashioned. 
It  is  the  commission  which  a  sovereign  puts  on  board  a  ship, 
that  causes  her  to  personify  the  sovereign  power,  and  it  is 
obviously  of  no  importance  how  the  sovereign  becomes  pos 
sessed  of  the  ship.  It  can  make  no  difference  to  other  nations, 
so  far  as  her  character  of  ship  of  war  is  concerned,  whether  she 
is  fashioned  out  of  the  pines  of  Norway,  or  of  Florida,  or 
whether  the  copper  on  her  bottom  comes  from  Lake  Superior 
or  Peru  ;  or,  finally,  whether  Englishmen,  or  Frenchmen,  or 
Americans  shall  have  put  her  frame  together,  in  either  of  their 
respective  countries.  Even  if  she  be  built,  armed,  and  equipped 
in  neutral  territory,  in  plain  violation  of  the  neutral  duty  of 
that  territory,  she  is  purged  of  this  offence,  so  far  as  her  char 
acter  of  ship  of  war  is  concerned,  the  moment  she  reaches  the 
high  seas,  and  is  commissioned. 

To  apply  this  reasoning  to  the  Alabama.  If  it  be  true,  as 
stated  by  Mr.  Seward,  that  she  was  built  in  England,  in  vio 
lation  of  the  neutrality  of  that  country,  this  might  have  sub 
jected  her  to  detention  by  England,  or  it  might  have  raised  a 
question  between  the  United  States  and  England ;  but  the  ship, 
having  once  escaped,  and  been  commissioned,  her  origin  is 
necessarily  lost  sight  of,  and  neither  England  nor  any  other 
country  can  afterward  inquire  into  it.  Indeed,  there  can  be 
no  principle  of  the  laws  of  nations  plainer  than  this,  that  when 
a  ship  is  once  commissioned  by  a  sovereign  power,  no  other 
power  can  look  into  the  antecedents  of  the  ship.  From  the 
moment  that  her  commission  is  read  on  her  quarter-deck,  she 
becomes  the  personification  of  the  sovereign  power,  and  the 


374  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sovereign  avows  himself  responsible  for  all  her  acts.  No  one 
of  these  acts  can  be  impeached  on  the  ground,  that  antecedently 
to  her  becoming  a  ship  of  war,  she  committed  some  offence 
against  the  laws  of  nations,  or  against  the  municipal  law  of 
some  particular  nation. 

This  point  was  settled  years  before  our  war,  by  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  in  the  case  of  the  Santissima  Trin 
idad.  It  was  alleged  that  that  ship  had  been  fitted  out  in  the 
United  States,  in  violation  of  the  neutrality  laws  —  during  a 
war  between  Spain  and  her  colonies  —  and  the  question  arose 
whether  this  invalidated  her  commission,  as  a  ship  of  war. 
Mr.  Justice  Story  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  court,  in  the 
course  of  which  he  said :  — 

"  In  general,  the  commission  of  a  public  ship,  signed  by  the  proper 
authorities  of  the  nation  to  which  she  belongs  [the  nation  to  which 
the  Santissima  Trinidad  belonged,  was  the  de  facto  nation  of  Bu 
enos  Ayres]  is  complete  proof  of  her  national  character.  A  bill  of 
sale  is  not  necessary  to  be  produced,  nor  will  the  courts  of  a  foreign 
country  inquire  into  the  means  by  which  the  title  to  the  property 
has  been  acquired.  It  would  be  to  exert  the  right  of  examining 
into  the  validity  of  the  acts  of  the  foreign  sovereign,  and  to  sit  in 
judgment  upon  them  in  cases  where  he  has  not  conceded  the  juris 
diction,  and  where  it  would  be  inconsistent  with  his  own  supre 
macy.  The  commission,  therefore,  of  a  public  ship,  when  duly  authen 
ticated,  so  far  at  least  as  foreign  courts  are  concerned,  imports  abso 
lute  verity,  and  the  title  is  not  examinable.  The  property  must  be 
taken  to  be  duly  acquired,  and  cannot  be  controverted.  This  has 
been  the  settled  practice  between  nations,  and  it  is  a  rule  founded 
in  public  convenience  and  policy,  and  cannot  be  broken  in  upon, 
without  endangering  the  peace  and  repose,  as  well  of  neutral  as  of 
belligerent  sovereigns. 

"  The  commission  in  the  present  case  is  not  expressed  in  the 
most  unequivocal  terms,  but  its  fair  import  and  interpretation  must 
be  deemed  to  apply  to  a  public  ship  of  the  government.  If  we  add 
to  this,  the  corroborative  testimony  of  our  own,  and  the  British  Con 
sul  at  Buenos  Ayres,  as  well  as  that  of  private  citizens,  to  the  noto 
riety  of  her  claim  of  a  public  character,  and  her  admission  into  our 
own  ports  as  a  public  ship,  with  the  immunities  and  privileges 
belonging  to  such  a  ship,  with  the  express  approbation  of  our  own 
Government,  it  does  not  seem  too  much  to  assert,  whatever  may  be 
the  private  suspicion  of  a  lurking  American  interest,  that  she  must 
be  judicially  held  to  be  a  public  ship  of  the  country,  whose  com 
mission  she  bears." 

This  was  a  very  strong  case.     The  ship  had  not  only  been 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      375 

fitted  oat  in  violation  of  the  neutrality  laws  of  the  United 
States,  but  the  court  intimates  that  she  might  also  be  Ameri 
can  owned  ;  but  whether  she  was  or  not,  was  a  fact  into  which 
the  court  could  not  inquire,  the  commission,  in  the  language 
of  the  court,  importing  "absolute  verity." 

But  it  is  not  true,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  that  the  Alabama 
violated  either  the  laws  of  nations,  or  the  municipal  law  of  Eng 
land.  The  next  question  which  presents  itself  for  our  consid 
eration  is,  Was  the  Alabama  properly  commissioned  by  a  sov 
ereign  power?  No  question  has  ever  been  raised  as  to  the 
bona  fides,  or  form  of  her  commission.  Mr.  Seward  even  has 
not  attacked  these.  Our  question,  then,  will  be  reduced  to  this, 
Was  she  commissioned  by  a  sovereign  power  ?  The  answer 
to  this  question  is,  that  a  de  facto  government  is  sovereign,  for 
all  the  purposes  of  war,  and  that  the  Confederate  States  were  a 
de  facto  government ;  -so  acknowledged  by  the  United  States 
themselves,  as  well  as  by  the  other  nations  of  the  earth.  The 
United  States  made  this  acknowledgment,  the  moment  Presi 
dent  Lincoln  issued  his  proclamation  declaring  a  blockade  of 
the  Southern  ports ;  and  they  acted  upon  the  doctrine  that  we 
were  belligerents  during  the  whole  war,  by  treating  with  us 
for  the  exchange  of  prisoners  of  war. 

This  was  no  concession  on  their  part.  We  had  become 
strong  enough  to  compel  them  to  this  course,  in  spite  of  them 
selves.  In  other  words,  we  had  become  strong  enough  to 
make  war,  and  when  this  is  the  case,  let  us  see  what  Vattel 
says  is  the  duty  of  the  other  party :  "  The  sovereign  indeed, 
never  fails  to  bestow  the  appellation  of  'rebels '  on  all  such  of 
his  subjects  as  openly  resist  him  ;  but  when  the  latter  have  ac 
quired  sufficient  strength  to  give  him  effectual  opposition,  and 
to  oblige  him  to  carry  on  the  war  against  them,  according  to 
the  established  rules,  he  must  necessarily  submit  to  the  use  of 
the  term  '  civil  war.'  It  is  foreign  to  our  purpose  in  this  place, 
to  weigh  the  reasons  which  may  authorize  and  justify  a  civil 
war.  We  have  elsewhere  treated  of  cases  in  which  subjects 
may  resist  their  sovereign.  Setting,  therefore,  the  justice  of 
the  case  wholly  out  of  the  question,  it  only  remains  for  us  to 
consider  the  maxims  which  ought  to  be  observed  in  a  civil 
war  and  to  explain  whether  the  sovereign  is,  on  such  occa- 


376  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sions,  bound  to  conform  to  the  established  laws  of  war.  A 
civil  war  breaks  the  bands  of  society  and  government,  or  at 
least  suspends  their  force  and  effect ;  it  produces  in  the  nation 
two  independent  parties,  which  consider  each  other  as  enemies, 
and  acknowledge  no  common  judge.  These  two  parties,  there 
fore,  must  necessarily  be  considered  as  constituting,  at  least  for  a 
time,  two  separate  bodies,  two  distinct  societies.  Though  one 
of  the  parties  may  have  been  to  blame  in  breaking  the  unity 
of  the  State,  and  resisting  the  lawful  authority,  they  are  not  the 
less  divided  in  fact.  Besides,  who  shall  judge  them?  Who 
shall  pronounce  on  which  side  the  right  or  wrong  lies  ?  On 
earth  they  have  no  common  superior.  They  stand,  therefore, 
in  precisely  the  same  predicament  as  two  nations,  who  engage 
in  a  contest,  and  being  unable  to  come  to  an  agreement,  have 
recourse  to  arms."  This  was  the  law  of  nations  as  expounded 
by  Vattel  more  •  than  a  century  ago.  He  tells  us  that  when 
even  a  revolt  or  rebellion  has  acquired  sufficient  magnitude 
and  strength,  to  make  "  effectual  opposition  to  the  sovereign,"  it 
is  the  duty  of  that  sovereign  to  talk  of  "civil  war,"  and  not 
of  "rebellion,"  and  to  cease  to  call  his  former  subjects  "  rebels." 
How  much  more  was  it  the  duty  of  the  Northern  States,  in  a  war 
which  was  a  war  from  the  beginning,  waged  by  States  against 
States,  with  all  the  forms  and  solemnities  of  war,  and  with 
none  of  the  characteristics  of  a  secret  revolt  or  rebellion,  to 
treat  us  as  belligerents,  even  if  they  denied  the  de  jures  of  our 
movement  ?  But  even  according  to  the  law  laid  down  by  Vat 
tel,  the  United  States,  and  the  Confederate  States  stood  "pre 
cisely  in  the  same  predicament,"  with  regard  to  all  the  rights, 
duties,  and  obligations  growing  out  of  the  war.  That  is  to 
say,  they  were,  quoad  the  war,  the  equals,  one  of  the  other,  and 
whatever  one  of  them  might  do,  the  other  might  do. 

Hence  it  follows,  that  if  the  United  States  could  build  Ala- 
bamas,  and  capture  the  ships  of  her  enemy,  so  could  the  Con 
federate  States.  And  if  Mr.  Welles,  the  Federal  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  could  go  into  the  ship-yards  on  the  Mersey,  and  en 
deavor  to  contract  for  the  delivery  to  him  of  a  ship  or  ships 
of  war,  "  to  be  finished  complete,"  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Laird's 
correspondent,  "  with  guns,  and  everything  appertaining,"  it  is 
difficult  to  perceive,  why  Mr.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      377 

Confederate  States  Navy,  might  not  go  into  the  same  ship 
yards,  and  contract  for  the  delivery  to  him,  of  an  incomplete 
ship,  without  any  guns  at  all! 

But  further,  with  reference  to  the  right  of  the  Confederate 
States  to  be  regarded  as  a  de  facto  government,  invested  with  all 
the  rights  of  war.  The  Supreme  Court  of  the  enemy  himself 
affirmed  this  right,  early  in  the  war.  When  the  Federal  naval 
officers — the  Southern  renegades,  who  have  been  before  alluded 
to,  among  the  rest — began  to  grow  rich  by  the  capture  of  block 
ade  runners,  it  became  necessary,  of  course,  to  condemn  the  prizes 
before  they  could  get  hold  of  their  prize-money.  Some  of  these 
cases  went  up  to  the  Supreme  Court,  on  writ  of  error,  and  I  shall 
quote  from  a  case,  known  as  the  "Prize  Case/'  reported  in  2d  Black, 
635.  This  case  was  decided  as  early  as  the  .December  Term, 
1862,  and  Mr.  Justice  Greer  delivered  the  opinion  of  the  court. 
The  question  arose  upon  the  capture  of  some  English  ships 
which  had  attempted  to  run  the  blockade.  These  ships  could 
not  be  condemned,  unless  there  was  a  lawful  blockade,  which 
they  had  attempted  to  break;  and  there  could  not  be  a  lawful 
blockade,  unless  there  was  a  war,  and  not  a  mere  insurrection, 
as  Mr.  Seward,  with  puerile  obstinacy,  had  so  long  maintained; 
and  there  could  not  be  a  war  without,  at  least,  two  parties  to 
it,  both  of  whom  must  be  belligerents ;  and  it  is  of  the  essence 
of  belligerency,  as  has  been  seen,  that  the  parties  belligerent 
should  be  equal,  with  reference  to  all  the  objects  of  the  war. 
The  vessels  were  claimed  by  the  neutral  owners,  on  Mr. 
Seward's  own  ground,  to  wit :  that  the  war,  not  being  a  war, 
but  an  insurrection,  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  a  blockade 
predicated  of  it.  Mr.  Justice  Greer,  in  delivering  the  opinion 
of  the  court,  among  other  things  said  :  "  It  [the  war]  is  not  the 
less  a  civil  war,  with  belligerent  parties  in  hostile  array,  be 
cause  it  may  be  called  an  '  insurrection '  by  one  side,  and  the 
insurgents  be  considered  as  rebels  and  traitors.  It  is  not 
necessary  that  the  independence  of  the  revolted  Province  or 
State  be  acknowledged,  in  order  to  constitute  it  a  party  belli 
gerent  in  a  war,  according  to  the  laws  of  nations.  Foreign 
nations  acknowledge  it  as  a  war,  by  a  declaration  of  neutrality. 
The  condition  of  neutrality  cannot  exist,  unless  there  be  two 
belligerent  parties.  In  the  case  of  the  Santissima  Trinidad 


378  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

(7  Wheaton,  337)  this  court  says  :  *  The  Government  of  the 
United  States  has  recognized  the  existence  of  a  civil  war 
between  Spain  and  her  colonies,  and  has  avowed  her  deter 
mination  to  remain  neutral  between  the  parties.  Each  party 
is,  therefore,  deemed  by  us  a  belligerent,  having,  so  far  as  con 
cerns  us,  the  sovereign  rights  of  war.'" 

The  belligerent  character  of  the  Confederate  States  was  thus 
acknowledged  by  the  highest  judicial  tribunal  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  prizes  were  condemned  to  the  captors  ;  and  a 
precedent  is  cited  by  the  court,  in  which  the  United  States 
recognized  the  right  of  the  revolted  Spanish  colonies,  such  as 
Columbia,  Buenos  Ay  res,  and  Mexico,  who  were  then  in  consi- 
mili  casu  with  the  Confederate  States,  to  build  and  equip  Ala- 
lamas  to  prey  upon  Spanish  commerce,  not  as  a  mere  matter 
of  power  simply,  but  in  the  exercise  of  the  "  sovereign  rights 
of  war,"  under  the  laws  of  nations. 

With  regard  to  the  new  American  republics,  thus  acknowl 
edged  by  the  United  States  as  belligerents,  it  will  be  recol 
lected  that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Mr.  John  Quincy  Adams, 
when  he  became  President  of  the  United  States,  was  to  recom 
mend  the  passage  of  a  law  authorizing  him  to  send  members 
to  a  Congress  of  all  the  American  States,  to  be  assembled  at 
Panama.  Under  this  law,  members  of  that  Congress  were 
actually  appointed  —  though  they  never  proceeded  to  their 
destination  —  and  Mr.  Clay,  then  Secretary  of  State,  and  who 
had  been  among  the  foremost  to  advocate  the  recognition  of 
the  independence  of  the  South  American  republics,  prepared 
an  elaborate  and  eloquent  letter  of  instructions  for  their  guid 
ance,  in  which  he  dwelt  upon  the  very  principles  I  am  now 
invoking.  The  republics,  whose  ambassadors  it  was  thus  pro 
posed  to  meet,  in  an  International  Congress,  were  nothing  more 
than  de  facto  governments,  like  the  Confederate  States,  the 
independence  of  neither  one  of  them  having  been  acknowledged, 
as  yet,  by  Spain. 

I  may  further  mention,  as  a  matter  of  historical  notoriety, 
that  it  was  a  common  practice  for  the  cruisers  of  those  young 
republics,  to  carry  their  prizes  into  the  ports  of  the  United 
States,  and  there  have  them  condemned  and  sold.  The  San- 
tissima  Trinidad  referred  to  in  the  case  from  the  Supreme  Court 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      379 

above  quoted,  was  one  of  these  cruisers,  with  nothing  more 
behind  her  than  a  de  facto  government,  and  she  was  held  to  be 
a  belligerent,  and  to  be  possessed,  as  such,  of  all  the  "sovereign 
rights  of  war,"  under  the  laws  of  nations.  What  renders  these 
transactions  the  more  remarkable,  in  the  light  of  recent  events, 
and  in  the  face  of  the  denunciations  which  have  been  hurled 
against  the  Alabama  by  the  Federal  Government,  because  of 
her  foreign  origin,  is,  that  most  of  these  cruisers  were,  in  fact, 
American  ships,  not  only  built  and  equipped  in  the  United 
States,  but  officered  and  manned  by  citizens  of  the  Northern 
States,  who  had  gone  southward  in  quest  of  plunder!  Many 
of  these  ships  were  fitted  out  on  speculation,  in  the  United 
States,  and  sailed  from  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and 
Baltimore,  fully  armed  and  equipped  for  war,  with  enlisted  crews 
on  board. 

A  case  of  this  kind  came  under  my  own  actual  observation. 
I  was  serving  as  a  midshipman  on  board  the  old  sailing  sloop- 
of-war  Erie.  We  happened  in  at  the  Swedish  Island  of  St. 
Bartholomew,  in  the  West  Indies,  during  the  war  between 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Spain.  We  were  on  our  way  from  New 
York  to  one  of  the  South  American  ports,  to  land  General 
William  H.  Harrison,  afterward  President  of  the  United  States, 
who  had  been  appointed,  by  President  John  Quincy  Adams, 
Minister  to  Colombia.  In  St.  Bartholomew  we  found  at  anchor 
a  Buenos  Ayrean  cruiser  called  the  Federal.  This  was  a  Bal 
timore-built  schooner  —  Baltimore  in  those  days  being  famous 
above  all  the  other  American  ports,  for  building  fast  vessels  of 
this  class.  Her  captain,  and  all  her  officers,  and  a  large  pro 
portion  of  her  crew,  were  Americans.  This  vessel,  we  ascer 
tained,  had  boarded  an  American  ship  a  few  days  before,  and 
taken  from  on  board  of  her  a  portion  of  her  cargo,  under  the 
pretence  that  it  was  Spanish  property.  This  being  in  our  view 
a  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations  (as  whether  the  property  was 
Spanish  or  not,  we  held  that  "  free  ships  made  free  goods  "), 
we  resolved  to  commit  one  of  those  outrages  against  neutral 
rights  which  have  become  so  common  in  our  day,  by  seizing 
the  cruiser.  Admitting  the  act  of  the  cruiser  to  have  been 
wrongful,  the  argument,  so  far  as  her  seizure  by  us  was  con 
cerned,  was  all  against  us,  and  might  have  been  contained  in  a 


380  MEMOIRS     OF     SERVICE     AFLOAT 

"  nutshell ;  "  but  our  captain,  if  he  had  ever  read  any  interna 
tional  law,  which  was  exceedingly  doubtful,  had  read  it,  like 
"VVilkes,  wrong  end  foremost,  and  "  went  it  blind,"  being  quite 
sure  of  popular  applause  from  the  b'hoys  at  home,  and  stand 
ing  in  no  fear  of  consequences  so  far  as  Buenos  Ayres  was 
concerned,  as  she  was  so  weak  that  the  Great  Republic  might 
kick  her  with  impunity. 

We  first  demanded  her  of  the  Governor  of  the  island,  as  a 
"pirate."  The  Governor  replied,  that  she  was  a  commissioned 
ship,  with  a  de  facto  government  behind  her,  and  that  she  could 
not,  so  long  as  she  retained  this  character,  be  guilty  of  piracy. 
Further,  that  if  she  were  a  pirate,  she  was  hostis  humani  generis, 
and  Sweden,  within  whose  waters  she  was,  was  as  competent 
to  deal  with  her,  as  the  United  States.  He  ended  by  inform 
ing  us,  that  in  whatever  category  the  vessel  might  be  placed, 
being  in  neutral  jurisdiction,  she  could  not  be  dealt  with  for 
cibly  by  the  captain  of  the  Erie,  and  notified  us,  that  if  we 
attempted  it,  he  would  fire  upon  us.  The  Federal  was  moored 
under  the  guns  of  the  fortification  which  protected  the  harbor, 
and  the  following  night,  we  fitted  out  a  boat  expedition,  pulled 
in  under  cover  of  the  darkness  —  the  night  being  black  and 
squally —and  boarded  her,  and  brought  her  out;  the  Gover 
nor  being  as  good  as  his  word,  and  firing  upon  us,  though 
without  effect,  as  soon  as  he  discovered  the  movement.  This 
was  rny  first  indoctrination  in  the  laws  of  the  sea  !  and  the 
first  occasion  on  which  I  ever  heard  a  shot  fired  in  anger. 
Sweden  remonstrated,  and  the  United  States  apologized,  and 
there  the  matter  ended.  -I  have  mentioned  the  incident  to 
show,  that  the  very  cruisers  which  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  was  protecting  by  its  decisions,  were  nothing 
more  than  American  vessels,  under  belligerent  flags,  holding 
commissions  under  de  facto  governments. 

But  I  have  another  precedent  or  two,  to  which  to  call  the 
attention  of  the  reader.  It  is  a  very  useful  practice  for  nations 
to  pause  occasionally,  and  look  back  upon  their  own  history. 
It  teaches  them  many  lessons,  which  they  would  not  otherwise 
learn.  It  shows  them  how  to  avoid  inconsistencies,  and  pre 
vents  them  from  becoming  dishonest  as  circumstances  change. 
But,  above  all,  it  teaches  them  that  man  is  a  poor,  weak  crea- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      381 

ture,  selfish  and  corrupt,  guided  by  the  instincts  and  inspira 
tions  of  the  moment;  and  that  his  reason — that  God-like 
attribute,  which  distinguishes  him  from  the  brute  —  is  so  fal 
lible,  that  he  rarely  sees  a  truth,  if  that  truth  militate  against 
his  supposed  interests.  It  makes  all  the  difference  in  the 
world,  whether  a  man's  bull  gores  his  neighbor's  ox,  or  his 
neighbor's  ball  gores  his  ox.  The  Yankee  ship-owners  and 
ship-masters  cried  out,  in  pain,  as  the  Sumter  and  Alabama 
were  capturing  and  destroying  their  ships,  and  called  both  of 
these  cruisers  "pirates."  I  design  now  to  show  how  the 
Yankee  ship-owners  and  ship-masters,  of  a  generation  or  two 
back,  captured  and  burned  English  ships,  and  took  great 
credit  to  themselves  for  their  exploits,  not  dreaming  that  they 
were  pirates. 

The  precedents  which  I  design  to  cite  will  be  drawn  from 
the  history  of  the  war  of  1776 ;  it  will  be  necessary,  therefore 
to  run  a  brief  parallel  between  that  war  and  the  war  of  1861, 
to  show  that  the  precedents  established  in  the  former  are  ap 
plicable  to  the  circumstances  of  the  latter.  To  lay  aside, 
entirely,  the  question  of  the  right  of  the  Southern  States  to 
secede,  and  to  put  the  war  between  the  States  on  no  higher 
ground  than  that  between  the  Colonies  and  Great  Britain, 
which  was  a  mere  rebellion,  the  following  parallel  appears:  — 
The  original  thirteen  Colonies,  when  they  formed  a  part  of 
the  British  Government,  declared  their  independence  of  that 
Government.  The  Confederate  States  did  the  same  against  the 
United  States.  Great  Britain  made  war  upon  the  Colonies  in 
consequence  of  this  declaration ;  so  did  the  United  States 
against  the  Confederate  States.  The  Colonies  claimed  and 
exercised  the  rights  of  war.  So  did  the  Confederate  States. 
The  Colonies,  in  the  exercise  of  these  rights,  destroyed  much 
of  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain.  So  did  the  Confederate 
States,  with  regard  to  the  United  States.  Both  the  Colonies 
and  the  Confederate  States  were  de  facto  governments,  when 
this  property  was  destroyed.  Now,  it  can  obviously  make  no 
difference  that  the  Colonies  achieved  their  independence,  and 
that  the  Confederate  States  failed  to  achieve  theirs.  If  what 
the  Colonies  did  was  right,  when  they  did  it  —  that  is  to  say; 
when  they  were  still  a  de  facto  government  —  what  the  Con- 


382  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

federate  States  did  must  have  been  right  for  the  same  reason. 
The  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  of  the  Colonies  by 
the  parent  country,  whilst  it  had  the  effect  to  make  them  so 
many  nations  of  the  earth,  could  add  nothing  to  any  rights 
they  before  possessed,  as  belligerents,  for  they  did  not  derive 
these  rights  from  their  status  de  jure,  but  from  their  status  de 
facto  •  nor  did  they  derive  them  from  Great  Britain,  but  from 
the  laws  of  nations.  It  follows,  that  if  nothing  could  be  added 
to  these  rights  by  the  successful  termination  of  the  war,  so 
nothing  could  be  taken  away  from  them,  by  its  unsuccessful 
termination.  The  parallel  thus  appears  perfect,  in  every  par 
ticular,  so  far  as  belligerent  rights  are  concerned,  and,  of 
course,  it  is  only  of  these  rights  that  we  are  now  speaking. 

With  this  introduction  I  proceed  to  produce  the  precedents. 
Mr.  James  Fenimore  Cooper,  the  Naval  Historian  of  the 
United  States,  is  the  author  whom  I  shall  quote,  and  his  au 
thority  will  certainly  not  be  disputed  north  of  the  Potomac. 
One  of  the  earliest  cruises  of  the  war  of  1776,  was  made  by 
Captain,  afterward  Commodore,  John  Paul  Jones.  This  gen 
tleman,  in  command  of  a  vessel  called  the  Providence,  in  the 
summer  of  1776,  made  a  foray  among  the  British  fishermen, 
on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  taking  no  less  than  twelve 
sail,  and  returning  to  Newport,  in  Khode  Island,  at  the  end  of 
his  cruise,  having  made  sixteen  prizes  in  all.  The  Alabama 
never  flew  at  such  small  game  as  this.  Although  she  cruised, 
as  the  reader  will  see  a  little  further  on,  for  some  time  off  these 
same  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  she  never  deprived  a  Yankee 
fisherman  of  his  "catch  of  cod." 

Jones  commanded  a  regular  ship  of  war,  but  it  \vas  the  pri 
vateers  that  were  the  most  numerous  and  destructive.  With 
reference  to  this  class  of  vessels,  the  historian  tells  us  that 
"Most  of  the  Colonies  had  their  respective  cruisers  at  sea  or  on 
their  own  coasts,  and  the  ocean  literally  began  to  swarm  with 
privateers  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  though  New  England 
took  the  lead  in  that  species  of  warfare.  Robert  Morris,  in 
one  of  his  official  letters,  of  a  date  later  than  that  precise  time, 
remarks  that  the  passion  for  privateering  was  so  strong  in  this 
particular  part  of  the  country,  that  even  agriculture  was  aban 
doned  in  order  to  pursue  it." 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        383 

In  another  place,  the  historian  tells  us,  that  "As  soon  as  the 
struggle  commenced  in  earnest,  the  habits  of  the  people,  their 
aptitude  for  sea-service,  and  the  advantages  of  both  a  public 
and  private  nature,  that  were  to  be  obtained  from  successful 
cruising,  induced  thousands  to  turn  their  longing  eyes  to  an 
element  that  promised  so  many  flattering  results.  Nothing  but 
the  caution  of  Congress,  which  body  was  indisposed  at  first 
to  act  as  if  general  warfare,  instead  of  a  redress  of  grievances, 
was  its  object,  prevented  a  rushing  toward  the  private  cruisers, 
that  would  probably  have  given  the  commerce  of  England  a 
heavier  and  more  sudden  blow  than  it  had  ever  yet  received. 
But  a  different  policy  was  pursued,  and  the  orders  to  capture, 
first  issued,  were  confined  to  vessels  bringing  stores  and  sup 
plies  to  the  British  forces  in  America.  It  was  as  late  as  No 
vember,  1775,  before  Massachusetts,  the  colony  which  was  the 
seat  of  war,  and  which  may  be  said  to  have  taken  the  lead  in 
the  revolt,  established  Courts  of  Admiralty,  and  enacted  laws 
for  the  encouragement  of  nautical  enterprise." 

The  reader  observes,  from  the  above  passage,  from  the  his 
torian,  how  "circumstances  alter  cases."  The  "nautical  en 
terprise  "  here  spoken  of,  is  the  same  kind  of  nautical  enterprise 
which  has  been  charged,  by  virtuous  Massachusetts,  whose 
people  were  in  such  haste  to  grow  rich  by  privateering,  against 
the  Alabama,  as  "piracy."  The  rush  was  not,  it  seems,  to  the 
ships  of  war  of  the  regular  navy,  to  fight  the  battles  of  the 
country,  but  to  the  privateers,  which  promised  so  many  "flat 
tering  results."  It  took  a  little  time  to  warm  the  Congress  and 
the  people  up  to  their  work,  but  when  they  were  once  fairly 
warmed,  they  took  their  jackets  off  and  went  at  it  with  a  will, 
as  is  the  wont  of  us  Americans. 

Let  us  dip  a  little  further  into  Mr.  Cooper,  and  see  what 
more,  these  staid  New  Englanders,  who  now  have  such  a  horror  of 
"piracy,"  did.  "The  proceedings  in  Congress,"  he  continues,  "in 
reference  to  assailing  British  commerce,  as  has  been  seen,  were 
reserved  and  cautious.  War  not  being  regularly  declared,  and 
accommodation  far  from  hopeless,  the  year  1775  was  suffered  to 
pass  away,  without  granting  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal, 
for  it  was  the  interest  of  the  nation  to  preserve  as  many  friends 
in  England  as  possible.  As  the  breach  widened,  this  forbear- 


384  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ing  policy  was  abandoned,  and  the  summer  of  1776  let  loose 
the  nautical  enterprise  of  the  country  upon  British  commerce. 
The  effect  was  at  first  astounding.  Never  before  had  England 
found  an  enemy  so  destructive  to  her  trade,  and  during  the 
first  two  years  of  privateering  that  followed,  something  like 
eight  hundred  sail  of  merchantmen  were  captured.  After  this 
period,  the  efforts  of  the  Americans  necessarily  lessened,  while 
the  precautions  of  the  enemy  increased.  Still  these  enterprises 
proved  destructive  to  the  end  of  the  war;  and  it  is  a  proof  of 
the  efficiency  of  this  class  of  cruisers  to  the  last,  that  small 
privateers  constantly  sailed  out  of  the  English  ports,  with  a  view 
to  make  money  by  recapturing  their  own  vessels;  the  trade 
of  America  at  this  time,  offering  but  few  inducements  to  such 
undertakings. 

"Among  the  vessels  employed  [the  historian  tells  us  there 
were  several  hundred  of  them],  the  Halker,  the  Black  Prince, 
the  Pickering,  the  Wild  Gat,  the  Vengeance,  the  Marlborough, 
in  addition  to  those  elsewhere  named,  were  very  conspicuous. 
The  Marlborough  is  said  to  have  made  twenty-eight  prizes  in 
one  cruise.  Other  vessels  were  scarcely  less  fortunate.  Many 
sharp  actions  occurred,  and  quite  as  often  to  the  advantage  of 
the  cruisers,  as  to  that  of  the  enemy.  In  repeated  instances 
they  escaped  from  British  ships  of  war,  under  favorable  cir 
cumstances,  and  there  is  no  question  that  in  a  few  cases 
they  captured  them.  *  *  *  The  English  West  India  trade,  in 
particular,  suffered  largely  by  the  private  warfare  of  the 
day.  Two  and  fifty  sail,  engaged  in  this  branch  of  the  com 
merce,  are  stated  to  have  been  captured  as  early  as  Febru 
ary,  1777.  The  whole  number  of  captures  made  by  the 
Americans  in  this  contest,  is  not  probably  known,  but  six  hun 
dred  and  fifty  prizes  are  said  to  have  been  gotten  into  port. 
Many  others  were  ransomed,  and  some  were  destroyed  at  sea. 
There  can  be  no  minute  accuracy  in  these  statements,  but  the 
injury  done  to  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain  was  enormous, 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt,  that  the  constant  hazards  it  ran, 
had  a  direct  influence  in  obtaining  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  which  great 
event  took  place  on  the  20th  of  January,  1783." 

We  thus  see  how  history  repeats  itself,  and  how  prone  men 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        385 

are  to  forget  history.  The  "rebel  pirates"  of  the  Colonies — • 
for  such  they  were,  if  we  apply  to  them  the  polite  nomencla 
ture  which  became  fashionable  during  our  late  war  —  less  than 
a  century  ago,  were  capturing,  burning,  and  otherwise  destroy 
ing  the  commerce  of  Great  Britain.  The  historian  dwells 
upon  the  record  with  pleasure,  as  an  evidence  of  the  patriotism, 
and  "nautical  enterprise"  of  his  countrymen;  and  this  was 
but  natural  in  the  historian  of  a  commercial  people.  But 
when  the  commerce  of  the  same  people  becomes  the  object  of 
capture,  in  a  war  far  more  justifiable,  than  the  war  of  1776, 
since  it  was  waged  by  sovereign  States,  in  defence  of  their 
very  existence,  and  not  a  mere  rebellion,  the  cry  is  changed. 
It  is  the  wrong  bull  now  which  is  goring  the  ox,  and  the  Ala 
bama  and  her  consorts  are  committing  unheard-of  crimes  and 
atrocities. 

I  call  the  reader's  particular  attention  to  the  fact,  that  some 
of  the  prizes  of  the  Colonial  cruisers  were  " destroyed  at  sea" 
This  same  act  when  committed  by  the  Sumter  and  Alabama 
was  barbarous,  atrocious !  Now  let  me  run  a  brief  parallel 
between  the  times  of  Paul  Jones,  bv  whom  some  of  this  burn 
ing  of  British  ships  was  done,  and  my  own,  to  show  how  much 
less  excuse  Jones  had  for  such  conduct,  than  I.  In  Jones'  day, 
all  the  commerce  of  the  world  was  conducted  in  sailing  ships, 
and  all  the  navies  of  the  world  were  also  composed  of  sailing 
ships.  The  consequence  was,  that  there  was  no  such  thing 
known,  as  a  stringent  blockade ;  for  the  simple  reason,  that 
every  gale  of  wind  which  arose,  blew  off  the  blockading  ships 
from  before  the  blockaded  ports,  and  it  was,  sometimes,  days 
before  they  could  regain  their  stations.  Besides,  it  is  well 
known  to  readers  of  American  history,  that  Great  Britain  did 
not,  at  any  time  during  the  Colonial  war,  attempt  to  blockade 
all  the  ports  of  the  Colonies.  With  a  coast-line — from  the  St. 
Croix  to  St.  Mary's  in  Georgia  —  of  fifteen  hundred  miles,  this 
would  have  been  impossible,  even  with  her  great  navy.  The 
Colonial  cruisers  had,  therefore,  at  all  times  during  the  entire 
war,  some  of  their  ports  open  into  which  to  send  their  prizes. 
Still  they  "  destroyed  some  of  them  at  sea." 

Some  ninety  years  now  pass  away,  and  a  second,  and  £ 
greater  war  ensues  for  American  principles  —  this  time  be- 


S86  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tween  the  States  themselves.  In  the  meantime,  the  great  and 
powerful  steamship  has  made  her  appearance  upon  the  scene, 
revolutionizing  not  only  the  commerce  of  the  world,  but  the 
navies  of  the  world.  During  the  first  months  of  the  war,  all 
the  principal  ports  of  the  Confederacy  were  blockaded,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  every  little  nook  and  inlet  was  either  in 
possession  of  the  enemy,  or  had  one  or  more  ships  watching  it. 
These  ships  were  not  the  old-time  sailing  ships,  dependent 
upon  the  winds  and  the  weather  for  efficiency  —  they  were 
steamers,  independent  of  both,  having  the  ability  "to  hold  on" 
to  the  blockaded  port,  both  by  day  and  by  night,  with  a  tena 
city  little  less  than  that  of  fate.  Though  it  was  possible  for 
fast  steam  blockade-runners,  taking  advantage  of  the  darkness, 
sometimes  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  these  patient  watchers,  it 
was  utterly  impossible  for  a  sailing  vessel  to  do  so  —  and  with 
a  rare  exception,  here  and  there,  all  my  prizes  would  be  sail 
ing  ships.  Not  only  were  all  the  Confederate  ports  thus  her 
metically  sealed  to  me,  but  the  ports  of  neutrals  had  also  been 
closed  against  me,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  by  unfriendly  procla 
mations  and  orders  in  council.  In  short,  during  my  whole 
career  upon  the  sea,  I  had  not  so  'much  as  a  single  port  open  to 
me,  into  which  I  could  send  a  prize. 

What  was  expected  of  me  under  these  circumstances  ?  I 
had  shown  every  disposition,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  to  avoid 
the  necessity  of  burning  my  prizes.  I  had  sent  prizes,  both 
into  Cuba  and  Venezuela,  with  the  hope  that  at  least  some  of 
the  nations  of  the  earth  would  relent,  and  let  me  in;  but  the 
prizes  were  either  handed  over  to  the  enemy,  on  some  fraudu 
lent  pretext,  or  expelled.  Unlike  Jones,  I  had  no  alternative. 
There  was  nothing  left  for  me  but  to  destroy  my  prizes,  and 
this  course  had  been  forced  upon  me,  by  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  How  senseless  and  unjust,  then,  was  the  clamor  raised 
against  me  on  this  subject ;  especially  in  the  light  of  the  pre 
cedents  which  the  enemy  himself  had  set  me  ?  Some  senseless 
prints  even  went  so  far  as  to  declare  that  it  was  in  violation 
of  the  laws  of  war;  but  what  is  it  that  newspapers  will  not  say, 
during  such  a  contest  as  that  through  which  we  have  passed, 
when  reason  is  dethroned  by  the  passions,  and  no  longer  sits  in 
the  judgment-seat?  The  right  to  destroy  is  as  perfect,  as  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      387 

right  to  sell,  or  make  any  other  disposition  of  the  captured 
ship.  But  has  a  captor  the  right  to  destroy  before  adjudica 
tion  ?  the  reader  may  ask.  Certainly.  The  enemy  has  no 
right  to  adjudication  at  all.  Courts  of  Admiralty  are  not  es 
tablished  for  him.  He  has,  and  can  have  no  standing  in  such 
court.  He  cannot  even  enter  an  appearance  there,  either  in 
person,  or  by  attorney;  and  if  he  could,  he  would  have  nothing 
to  show,  for  his  very  status  as  an  enemy  would  be  sufficient 
ground  for  condemning  all  the  property  he  might  claim.  It 
is  only  neutrals  who  can  claim  adjudication,  and  it  is  for  the 
benefit  of  these  alone  that  Courts  of  Admiralty  have  been 
established.  And  if  any  neutrals  have  suffered  in  the  late 
war,  for  want  of  adjudication,  the  fault  is  with  their  own  gov 
ernment,  and  not  with  the  Confederate  cruisers,  as  the  reader 
has  just  seen.  To  instance  the  Cienfuegos  cases :  what  detri 
ment  could  have  arisen  to  Spain,  if  she  had  permitted  my 
prizes  to  remain  within  her  jurisdiction,  in  the  custody  of  my 
own  prize  agent,  until  a  prize  court  in  New  Orleans,  or  Mobile 
could  have  adjudicated  them  ? 


CHAPTER    XXX. 

THE     EQUIPMENT    OF    THE    ALABAMA     ILLUSTRATED     BY 
THAT    OF    SUNDRY     COLONIAL    CRUISERS,    DURING    THE 

WAR  OF  1776 BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN  AND  SILAS  DEANE, 

AS  CHIEFS  OF  A  NAVAL    BUREAU   IN    PARIS THE    SUR 
PRISE,  AND  THE   REVENGE WICKES  AND  CONYNGHAM, 

AND    PAUL   JONES. 

"Mutato  nomine 
De  te  fabula  narratur." 

IX  the  last  chapter,  I  gave  some  account  of  the  operations 
against  British  commerce,  of  certain  ships  of  war  and 
privateers,  fitted  out  in  the  home  ports  of  the  enemy ;  but  as 
stress  has  been  laid,  as  we  have  already  seen,  upon  the  foreign 
origin  of  the  Alabama,  and  it  has  been  objected  against  her, 
that  her  captures  were  illegal,  and  piratical,  on  that  account, 
it  will  be  incumbent  on  me  to  show  some  cases  on  this  point. 
The  naval  history  of  the  enemy  abounds  in  them,  but  I  will 
content  myself  with  adducing  only  a  few,  as  specimens  of  the 
rest.  I  design  to  show  that  the  United  States  have  produced 
ships,  the  very  counterparts  of  the  Alabama,  in  every  particu 
lar,  foreign  origin  and  all,  and  used  them  with  destructive 
effect,  against  the  commerce  of  their  enemy.  All  readers  of 
American  history  are  familiar  with  the  names  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  Silas  Deane,  and  John  Adams,  for  these  distinguished 
gentlemen  played  a  very  important  part  on  the  theatre  of  the 
American  Revolution.  As  they  had  much  to  do  with  the 
naval  affairs  of  the  Colonies  abroad,  it  is  of  them  and  their 
doings  that  I  would  now  speak.  They  were  all  Northern 
men,  were  leaders,  in  their  day,  of  Northern  public  opinion, 
and  their-  memories  are  justly  held  in  high  estimation,  both 
North  and  South.  I  shall  vouch  them  for  the  legality  of  the 

388 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  389 

origin  of  the  Alabama,  as  a  ship  of  war,  and  justify  by  their 
acts,  and  out  of  their  mouths,  all  the  doings  of  that  ship  upon 
the  high  seas.  I  again  have  recourse  to  Fenimore  Cooper. 
"  The  Reprisal  was  the  first  American  man-of-war,  that  ever 
showed  herself  in  the  other  hemisphere.  She  sailed  from 
home  not  long  after  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  ap 
peared  in  France,  in  the  autumn  of  1776,  bringing  in  with  her 
several  prizes,  and  having  Dr.  Franklin  on  board  as  a  pas 
senger."  It  is  well  known  that  Silas  Deane  followed  Dr. 
Franklin  soon  afterward,  and  it  was  not  long  before  these  two 
Commissioners,  who  were  sent  to  Europe,  to  look  after  the  in 
terests  of  the  Colonies,  just  as  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell  were 
sent,  in  our  day,  to  look  after  the  welfare  of  the  Confederate 
States,  went  to  work. 

Dr.  Franklin,  in  particular,  was  a  great  favorite  with  the 
French  people.  He  wore  short  breeches,  with  knee-buckles, 
and  silk  stockings,  and  had  the  portly  air,  and  bearing  of  a 
philosopher.  Having  learned  to  fly  kites  when  a  boy,  he  had 
turned  the  thing  to  some  account  when  he  had  gotten  to  be  a 
man,  and  was  also  well  known  as  the  author  of  "  Poor  Rich 
ard's  Almanac,"  a  book  full  of  axiomatic  wisdom,  and  wise  saws. 
He  had  a  much  better  field  before  him,  therefore,  than  Mr. 
John  Slidell  had.  "  Tempora  mutantur,  et  nos  mutamur  in  illis;" 
and  Slidell  found  that  the  "  philosophers "  who  had  petted 
Franklin,  and  the  fair  women  who  had  played  with  the  tassels 
of  his  three-cornered  hat,  showered  bouquets  upon  him,  and 
talked  prettily  of  the  new  doctrines  of  liberty  that  were  just  then 
coming  in  vogue,  had  all  passed  away.  Neither  philosophy, 
liberty,  or  knee-buckles  were  at  all  fashionable  at  the  French 
Court  when  Slidell  arrived  there.  In  short,  the  people  of 
France  had  found  out  that  this  thing  of  getting  up  a  revolution 
for  popular  rights,  however  well  it  might  suit  other  people, 
did  not  suit  Frenchmen,  and  they  were  tired  of  the  matter. 
They  had,  since  Franklin's  day,  cut  off  the  head  of  Louis 
XVL,  played  at  republics  a  while,  pretty  much  as  children 
play  at  card-houses,  now  setting  them  up,  and  now  knocking 
them  down  again,  and  having  gotten  tired  of  the  game,  like 
good  children  had  gone  back  quietly  to  their  old  form  of 
despotism,  under  Napoleon  III.,  and  were  content !  The 


390  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sympathy  which  they  had  bestowed  upon  Franklin,  and  which 
was  productive  of  so  many  good  results,  in  our  first  revolution, 
had  dried  up  in  the  second  and  greater  revolution. 

Having  thus  briefly  introduced  the  Commissioners  of  the 
Colonies  to  the  reader,  let  us  again  look  into  Cooper,  to  see 
what  their  business  was  in  France,  and  how  they  performed 
it.  "  In  order,"  says  this  writer,  "  to  complete  the  account  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  American  Commissioners  in  Paris,  so 
far  as  they  were  connected  with  naval  movements  during  the 
years  1776  and  1777,  it  is  necessary  to  come  next  to  the  affair 
of  Captain  Conyngham,  which,  owing  to  some  marked  circum 
stances,  made  more  noise  than  the  cruises  of  the  Reprisal  and 
Lexington,  though  the  first  exploits  of  the  latter  were  anterior 
as  to  time,  and  not  of  less  consequence  in  their  effects.  While 
the  Commissioners  were  directing  the  movements  of  Captain 
Wickes  [we  will  come  to  these  presently]  in  the  manner  that 
has  been  mentioned,  they  were  not  idle  in  other  quarters.  A 
small  frigate  was  building  at  Nantes,  on  their  account,  and  there 
will  be  occasion  to  speak  of  her  hereafter,  under  the  name  of 
the  Queen  of  France. 

"Some  time  in  the  spring  of  1777,  an  agent  was  sent  to 
Dover  by  the  American  Commissioners,  where  he  purchased  a 
fine,  fast-sailing,  English-built  cutter,  and  had  her  carried 
across  to  Dunkirk.  Here  she  was  privately  equipped  as  a 
cruiser,  and  named  the  Surprise.  To  the  command  of  this 
vessel,  Captain  Gustavus  Conyngham  was  appointed,  by  filling 
up  a  blank  commission  from  John  Hancock,  the  President  of 
Congress.  This  commission  bore  date,  March  1st,  1777,  and, 
it  would  seem,  as  fully  entitled  Mr.  Conyngham  to  the  rank 
of  captain  in  the  ISTavy,  as  any  other  that  was  ever  issued  by 
the  same  authority.  Having  obtained  his  officers  and  crew  at 
Dunkirk,  Captain  Conyngham  sailed  on  a  cruise  about  the  1st 
of  May,  and  on  the  4th  he  took  a  brig  called  the  Joseph"  &c. 

Now,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  with  reference  to  this  passage, 
that  the  Alabama,  though  built  in  England,  was  not  armed  or 
equipped  there,  nor  was  her  crew  enlisted  there ;  whilst  the 
Surprise  was  not  only  "privately  equipped  as  a  cruiser,"  at 
Dunkirk,  a  port  of  France,  then  at  peace  with  England — for 
France  had  not  yet  joined  the  Colonies  in  the  war  —  but  she  got 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      391 

all  her  officers  and  crew  there,  many  of  whom  were  French 
men.  And  when  she  got  up  her  anchor  for  a  cruise,  still 
lying  in  the  waters  of  France,  she  was  a  perfectly  armed  and 
equipped  ship  of  war.  She  could  have  engaged  an  enemy, 
immediately  upon  passing  beyond  the  marine  league,  whereas 
the  Alabama,  when  she  left  the  Mersey,  was  entirely  unarmed, 
and  without  an  enlisted  crew,  and  could  have  been  taken  pos 
session  of  by  an  enemy's  cruiser  as  easily  as  any  other  mer 
chant-ship.  Mr.  Seward  insisted,  with  much  vehemence,  with 
the  English  Government,  that  the  Alabama  was  not  entitled  to 
be  regarded  as  a  ship  of  war,  but  rather  a  "British  pirate," 
because  she  had  never  been  in  a  Confederate  port.  His  latest 
form  of  protest  is  found  in  a  letter  to  Lord  Stanley,  the  British 
Secretary  for  Foreign  Affairs,  of  the  date  of  January  12th, 
1867,  as  follows:  — 

"  Lord  Stanley  excuses  the  reception  of  the  vessels  complained 
of  in  British  ports,  subsequently  to  their  fraudulent  escapes  and 
armament,  on  the  ground  that  when  the  vessels  appeared  in  these 
ports,  they  did  so  in  the  character  of  properly  commissioned  cruisers 
of  the  Government  of  the  so-styled  Confederate  States,  and  that 
they  received  no  more  shelter,  provisions,  or  facilities,  than  was 
due  to  them  in  that  character.  This  position  is  taken  by  his  lord 
ship  in  full  view  of  the  facts  that  —  with  the  exception  of  the  Sum- 
ter  and  the  Florida  —  none  of  the  vessels  named  were  ever  found 
in  any  place  where  a  lawful  belligerent  commission  could  either  be 
conferred  or  received.  It  would  appear,  therefore,  that,  in  the 
opinion  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  a  British  vessel,  in  order  to 
acquire  a  belligerent  character  against  the  United  States,  had  only 
to  leave  the  British  port  where  she  was  built,  clandestinely,  and 
to  be  fraudulently  armed,  equipped,  and  manned  anywhere  in  Great 
Britain,  or  in  any  foreign  country,  or  on  the  high  seas  ;  and  in  some 
foreign  country,  or  upon  the  high  seas,  to  set  up  and  assume  the 
title  and  privileges  of  a  belligerent,  without  even  entering  the  so- 
called  Confederacy,  or  ever  corning  within  any  port  of  the  United 
States.  I  must  confess  that,  if  a  lawful  belligerent  character  can 
be  acquired  in  such  a  manner,  then  I  am  unable  to  determine  by 
what  different  course  of  proceeding  a  vessel  can  become  a  pirate 
and  an  enemy  to  the  peace  of  nations." 

Had  Mr.  Seward  forgotten,  when  he  wrote  the  above,  the 
case  of  Dr.  Franklin's  ship,  the  Surprise?  It  will  be  recol 
lected,  too,  that  Mr.  Adams,  the  United  States  Minister  at  the 
Court  of  London,  frequently  protested,  in  his  correspondence 


392  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

with  the  English  Foreign  Office,  against  the  Confederates  being 
permitted  to  have  "stationed  agents,"  at  Liverpool,  and  else 
where  in  the  British  dominions,  conducting  a  "  Naval  Bureau." 
Had  he  forgotten  the  "Naval  Bureau"  which  was  conducted 
in  France,  by  Dr.  Franklin  and  Silas  Deane,  who  were  "  sta 
tioned  agents  "  of  the  Colonies  ?  How  they  built,  and  pur 
chased,  and  equipped,  and  commissioned  ships,  all  in  neutral 
territory ;  even  filling  up  blank  commissions  sent  out  to  them 
by  the  Congress  for  the  purpose  ? 

But  to  continue  with  our  precedents.  The  career  of  the 
Surprise  was  not  a  very  long  one.  Having  carried  some  prizes 
into  a  French  port,  in  violation  of  a  treaty  then  existing  be 
tween  France  and  Great  Britain,  providing  that  neither  should 
permit  the  enemies  of  the  other  to  bring  their  prizes  into  her 
ports,  she  was  seized  by  the  French  authorities,  and  we  hear 
no  more  of  her.  But  we  do  hear  more,  and  that  immediately, 
from  the  Naval  Bureau  in  Paris,  under  the  guidance  of  Dr. 
Franklin  and  Silas  Deane.  As  soon  as  the  seizure  of  the  Sur 
prise  became  known  to  the  Commissioners,  they  dispatched  one 
of  their  agents,  a  Mr.  Hodge,  to  Dunkirk,  where  he  purchased 
another  cutter,  which  was  fitted  with  all  dispatch,  as  a  cruiser, 
as  the  Surprise  had  been.  This  second  vessel  was  called  the 
jRevenge,  and  "  Captain  Conyngham  and  his  people,"  to  use  the 
words  of  the  historian,  were  transferred  to  her.  A  new  •om- 
mission  was  given  to  Conyngham,  dated  on  the  2d  of  May, 
1777,  filled  up,  as  before,  by  the  Commissioners,  and  he  soon 
afterward  proceeded  to  sea  under  it. 

It  will  be  seen  with  what  indulgence,  and  even  connivance 
the  Commissioners  were  treated  by  the  French  authorities.  The 
seizure  of  the  Surprise  was  a  mere  blind,  intended  to  satisfy 
England.  The  ship  herself  was  suffered  to  pass  out  of  view, 
but  another  ship  was  permitted  to  be  equipped  in  her  stead, 
and  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  old  ship  were  transferred  to 
the  new  one,  with  little  or  no  disguise,  and  the  latter  was  suf 
fered  to  depart  on  a  cruise  without  molestation.  Here  was 
another  ship,  which  had  never  been  in  any  port  of  the  Colo 
nies,  and  which,  according  to  Mr.  Seward's  vocabulary,  was  a 
"pirate."  Let  us  see  what  she  did.  "The  Revenge"  continues 
the  historian,  "proved  exceedingly  successful,  making  prizes 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      393 

daily,  and  generally  destroying  them.  Some  of  the  more  valu 
able,  however,  were  ordered  into  Spain,  where  many  arrived; 
their  arrival  proving  of  great  moment  to  the  agents  of  the 
American  Government  in  Europe.  It  is  even  affirmed,  that 
the  money  advanced  to  Mr.  Adams  [the  Mr.  Adams,  here 
spoken  of,  was  John  Adams,  afterward  second  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  grandfather  of  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams, 
Federal  Minister  to  England  during  the  war;  and  the  antago 
nism  in  which  the  grandfather,  and  grandson  are  placed,  in 
reference  to  the  principles  I  am  discussing,  is  one  of  the 
curious  revolutions  of  history]  for  travelling  expenses,  when 
he  arrived  in  Spain,  a  year  or  two  later,  was  derived  from  this 
source." 

The  Revenge  now  disappears  from  view,  as  the  Surprise  had 
done  before  her,  and  the  historian  takes  up  the  Reprisal,  the 
ship,  as  we  have  seen,  which  carried  Dr.  Franklin  over  to 
France.  "The  Reprisal,  having  refitted,  soon  sailed  toward 
the  Bay  of  Biscay,  on  another  cruise.  Here  she  captured 
several  more  vessels,  and  among  the  rest  a  King's  packet,  that 
plied  between  Falmouth  and  Lisbon.  When  the  cruise  was 
up,  Captain  Wickes  went  into  Nantes,  taking  his  prizes  with 
him.  The  complaints  of  the  English  now  became  louder, 
and  the  American  Ministers  were  secretly  admonished  of  the 
necessity  of  using  greater  reserve.  The  prizes  were  directed 
to  quit  France,  though  the  Reprisal,  being  leaky,  was  suffered 
to  remain  in  port,  in  order  to  refit.  The  former  were  taken 
into  the  offing,  and  sold,  the  state  of  the  times  rendering  these  in 
formal  proceedings  necessary.  Enormous  losses  to  the  captors 
were  the  consequences,  while  it  is  not  improbable,  that  the 
gains  of  the  purchasers  had  their  influence  in  blinding  the  local 
authorities  to  the  character  of  the  transaction." 

Here  we  see  not  only  a  violation  of  neutrality,  but  a  little 
bribery  going  on,  these  "rebel  pirates"  having  an  eye  to  the 
"flattering  results,"  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Cooper,  some  pages  back. 
The  historian  proceeds.  "The  business  appears  to  have  been 
managed  with  dexterity,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sales,  such  as 
they  were,  proved  of  great  service  to  the  agents  of  the  Govern 
ment,  by  enabling  them  to  purchase  other  vessels"  We  see 
how  capitally  those  "stational  agents,"  Franklin  and  Deane, 


394  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

were  conducting  that  " Naval  Bureau,"  against  the  like  of 
which,  in  our  case,  Mr.  Adams  had  so  warmly  protested.  I 
again  quote:  "In  April,  the  Lexington  arrived  in  France,  and 
the  old  difficulties  were  renewed.  But  the  Commissioners  at 
Paris,  who  had  been  authorized  to  equip  vessels,  appoint  offi 
cers,  and  do  other  matters  to  annoy  the  enemy,  now  planned 
a  cruise  that  surpassed  anything  of  the  sort  that  had  yet  been 
attempted  in  Europe,  under  the  American  flag.  Captain 
Wickes  was  directed  to  proceed  to  sea,  with  his  own  vessel 
and  the  Lexington,  and  to  go  directly  off  Ireland,  in  order  to 
intercept  a  convoy  of  linen  ships,  that  was  expected  to  sail 
about  that  time.  A  cutter  of  ten  guns  called  the  Dolphin, 
that  had  been  detained  by  the  Commissioners,  to  carry  de 
spatches  to  America,  was  diverted  from  her  original  destination, 
and  placed  under  the  orders  of  Captain  Wickes.  The  Dolphin 
was  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Nicholson,  a  brother  of  the 
senior  captain,  and  a  gentleman  who  subsequently  died  at  the 
head  of  the  service.  Captain  Wickes,  in  command  of  this  light 
squadron,  sailed  from  Nantes,  about  the  commencement  of 
June,  going  first  into  the  Bay  of  Biscay,  and  afterward  entirely 
around  Ireland,  sweeping  the  sea  before  him,  of  everything 
that  was  not  of  a  force  to  render  an  attack  hopeless.  The 
linen  ships  were  missed,  but  many  vessels  were  taken  or  de 
stroyed. 

'•  The  sensation  produced  among  the  British  merchants,  by 
the  different  cruises  in  the  European  sea,  that  have  been  re 
corded  in  this  chapter,  is  stated  in  the  diplomatic  correspon 
dence  of  the  day  to  have  been  greater  than  that  produced  in 
the  previous  war  by  the  squadron  of  the  celebrated  Thurot. 
Insurance  rose  to  an  enormous  height,  and  in  speaking  of  the 
cruise  of  Captain  Wickes,  in  particular,  Mr.  Deane  observes 
in  one  of  his  letters  to  Robert  Morris,  that  it  'effectually 
alarmed  England,  prevented  the  great  fair  at  Chester,  occa 
sioned  insurance  to  rise,  and  even  deterred  the  English  mer 
chants  from  shipping  in  English  bottoms,  at  any  rate,  so  that, 
in  a  few  weeks,  forty  sail  of  French  ships  were  loading  in  the 
Thames,  on  freight,  an  instance  never  known  before.'  In  the 
same  letter  the  Commissioner  adds :  '  In  a  word,  Conyngham, 
by  his  first  and  second  bold  expeditions,  is  become  the  terror 


DTJKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      395 

of  all  the  eastern  coasts  of  England  and  Scotland,  and  is  more 
dreaded  than  Thurot  was  in  the  late  war.' " 

This  same  Captain  Conyngham,  afterward,  while  cruising  on 
the  American  coast,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  He  had, 
of  course,  become  odious  to  the  English  people,  and  they  had 
denounced  him  as  a  "pirate,"  as  our  Northern  people  have  de 
nounced  the  writer  of  these  pages.  Conyngham  was  closely 
confined,  and  the  English  admiral,  whose  fleet  was  then  sta 
tioned  in  the  waters  of  New  York,  threatened  to  send  him  to  Eng 
land  for  trial.  Let  us  see  what  steps  the  American  Congress  took 
in  behalf  of  this  "  rebel  pirate,"  as  soon  as  it  heard  of  these  pro 
ceedings.  The  subject  having  been  brought  to  its  notice,  it  direct 
ed  its  Secretary,  Charles  Thompson,  to  address  a  letter  of  remon 
strance  to  the  British  admiral,  threatening  retaliation,  if  he  dared 
to  execute  his  threats.  I  quote  from  the  journals  of  Congress :  — 

"  In  Congress  assembled,  July  1799. — A  letter  of  the  17th  instant, 
from  Ann  Conyngham,  and  a  petition  from  a  number  of  inhabitants 
of  Philadelphia  were  read,  representing  that  Captain  Gustavus 
Conyngham,  now  a  prisoner  with  the  enemy,  is  closely  confined, 
and  ordered  to  be  sent  to  England,  and  praying  that  measures  may 
be  taken  for  the  security  of  his  person :  Ordered,  That  the  same 
be  referred  to  a  committee  of  three.  The  members  chosen,  Mr. 
Morris,  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  Mr.  Whipple.  The  committee  to  whom 
were  referred  the  petition,  and  letter  respecting  Gustavus  Conyng- 
ham,  brought  in  a  report ;  whereupon,  Resolved,  That  the  follow 
ing  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  Congress,  be  written  to  the  admi 
ral,  or  other  commanding  officer  of  the  fleet,  or  ships  of  his  Bri 
tannic  Majesty,  lying  in  the  harbor  of  New  York,  viz. : 

" '  Sir,  I  am  directed  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  of 
America  to  inform  you,  that  they  have  received  evidence  that 
Gustavus  Conyngham,  a  citizen  of  America,  late  commander  of  an 
armed  vessel  in  the  service  of  the  said  States,  and  taken  on  board 
of  a  private  armed  cutter,  hath  been  treated  in  a  manner  contrary 
to  the  dictates  of  humanity,  and  the  practice  of  Christian,  civilized 
nations.  I  am  ordered,  in  the  name  of  Congress,  to  demand  that 
good  and  sufficient  reason  be  given  for  this  conduct,  or  that  the 
said  Gustavus  Conyngham  be  immediately  released  from  his  present 
rigorous,  and  ignominious  confinement. 

"  '  With  all  due  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  Sir, 

"  'Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant.' 

"  Eesolved,  That,  unless  a  satisfactory  answer  be  received  to  the 
foregoing  letter,  on  or  before  the  1st  day  of  August  next,  the 
Marine  Committee  do  immediately  order  to  be  confined,  in  close 
and  safe  custody,  so  many  persons  as  they  may  think  proper,  in 


396  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

order  to  abide  the  fate  of  the  said  Gustavus  Conyngham.  Ordered, 
That  the  above  letter  be  immediately  transmitted  to  New  York, 
by  the  Board  of  War,  and  that  copies  of  said  letter  and  resolution 
be  delivered  to  the  wife  of  Conyngham,  and  the  petitioners. 

"  Monday,  Dec.  \3th,  1779.  —  A  memorial  of  Christopher  Hale 
was  read,  praying  to  be  exchanged,  and  to  have  leave  to  go  to 
New  York,  upon  his  parole,  for  a  few  days,  to  procure  a  person  in 
his  room.  Resolved,  That  Mr.  Hale  be  informed,  that  the  prayer 
of  his  memorial  cannot  be  granted,  until  Captain  Conyngham  is 
released,  as  it  has  been  determined  that  he  must  abide  the  fate  of 
that  officer." 

Conyngham  was  afterward  released.  This  is  the  way  in 
which  the  ancestors  of  Mr.  Seward,  and  Mr.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  took  care  of  their  "  rebel  pirates." 

There  is  one  other  point  in  the  legal  history  of  the  Alabama, 
which  it  is  necessary  to  notice,  and  to  which  I  propose  to 
adduce  another  of  those  awkward  precedents,  which  I  have 
exhumed  from  those  musty  old  records,  which  our  Northern 
brethren  seem  so  thoroughly  to  have  forgotten.  It  has  been 
charged  against  the  Alabama,  that  her  crew  was  composed 
mostly  of  foreigners,  and  that  this  was  another  reason  why  she 
was  not  entitled  to  be  considered  as  a  Confederate  States 
ship  of  war.  Let  us  look  a  little  into  this  charge.  A  sovereign 
is  not  only  not  obliged  to  account  to  other  nations,  for  the 
manner  in  which  he  becomes  possessed  of  his  ships  of  war,  as 
we  have  seen,  but  he  cannot  be  questioned  as  to  the  nativity 
or  naturalization  of  the  persons  serving  on  board  of  them.  It 
could  have  been  of  no  sort  of  consequence  to  any  foreign 
officer,  demanding  to  see  my  commission,  whether  I  was  a 
native  of  England,  Germany,  or  France,  or  of  any  other  foreign 
power.  All  that  he  could  demand  of  me,  in  order  to  satisfy 
himself  that  I  was  entitled  to  exercise  belligerent  rights,  was 
a  sight  of  my  commission  as  a  Confederate  States  naval  officer. 
Nationality  is  presumed  in  all  such  commissions,  and  the  pre 
sumption  cannot  be  inquired  into.  Mr.  Justice  Story,  in  the 
decision  quoted  a  few  pages  back,  says,  as  the  reader  will 
recollect,  that  the  commission  of  a  ship  of  war  imports  such 
"  absolute  verity,"  that  it  cannot  be  inquired  into,  or  contra 
dicted.  It  is  like  proving  a  fact  by  a  record.  No  other  proof 
than  the  production  of  the  record  is  required,  or  indeed  per 
mitted.  The  commission  of  the  commander  is  the  commission 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     397 

of  bis  ship.  Neither  the  Sumter  nor  the  Alabama  had  any 
other  commission  than  my  own,  and  the  orders  assigning  me 
to  them.  If  this  be  the  law  with  regard  to  the  commander 
of  a  ship,  a  fortiori,  must  it  be  the  law  with  reference  to  the 
subordinate  officers  and  crew. 

The  writers  on  international  law,  without  exception,  lay 
down  the  rule,  that  a  sovereign  may  enlist  foreigners  to  assist 
him  in  his  wars;  and  that  the  men  thus  enlisted  are  entitled  to 
all  the  protection  of  belligerents,  equally  with  native  citizens. 
The  Swiss  foreign  legions,  so  well  known  in  history,  are 
notable  illustrations  of  this  doctrine ;  and  no  one  has  ever  heard 
of  a  Swiss  being  hung  because  he  served  under  a  foreign  flag. 
Vattel,  who  has  the  rare  merit  of  having  so  thoroughly  ex 
hausted  all  these  subjects,  that  he  has  left  scarcely  anything 
for  those  who  have  followed  him  to  say,  lays  down  the  doctrine 
as  follows :  "  Much  has  been  said  on  the  question  whether  the 
profession  of  a  mercenary  soldier  be  lawful  or  not, — whether 
individuals  may,  for  money,  or  any  other  reward,  engage  to 
serve  a  foreign  prince  in  his  wars?  This  question  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  be  very  difficult  to  be  solved.  Those  who 
enter  into  such  engagements,  without  the  express  or  tacit  con 
sent  of  their  sovereign,  offend  against  their  duty  as  citizens. 
But  if  their  sovereign  leaves  them  at  liberty  to  follow  their 
inclination  for  a  military  life,  they  are  perfectly  free  in  that 
respect.  [Modern  nations,  and  especially  the  United  States, 
have  left  their  citizens  free  to  expatriate  themselves  at  plea 
sure.]  Now,  every  free  man  may  join  whatever  society  he 
pleases,  according  as  he  finds  it  most  to  his  advantage.  He 
may  make  its  cause  his  own,  and  espouse  its  quarrels.  He 
becomes,  in  some  measure,  at  least  for  a  time,  a  member  of 
the  State  in  whose  service  he  engages."  Again :  "  The  sov 
ereign  has  no  right  to  compel  foreigners ;  he  must  not  even 
employ  stratagem  or  artifice,  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
engage  in  a  contract,  which,  like  all  others,  should  be  founded 
on  candor  and  good  faith." 

But  it  was  scarcely  necessary  to  quote  oth.er  authority,  on  that 
point,  than  the  authority  of  the  enemy  himself.  Mr.  Secretary  Se- 
ward  knew,  at  the  very  time  he  was  denouncing  the  Alabama 
as  a  "pirate,"  because  of  her  having,  as  he  alleged,  a  British 


398  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

crew  on  board,  that  his  own  Government  was  filling  up  its  armies, 
and  its  navy,  too,  with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  raw  recruits 
from  Belgium,  Germany,  and  Ireland,  and  other  countries. 
Nay,  more,  that  by  an  act  of  the  Federal  Congress,  these  de 
based  and  ignorant  men,  drawn,  for  the  most  part,  from  the  idle 
and  thieving  classes  of  their  respective  countries,  were  invested, 
ip so  facto,  upon  enlistment,  with  all  the  functions  and  attributes 
of  American  citizens — the  function  of  robbery  more  especially 
included !  With  reference  to  the  conduct  of  the  enemy  in  this 
particular,  I  deem  it  not  amiss  to  introduce  a  short  extract  or 
two,  from  a  speech  made  by  Sir  Hugh  Cairnes,  her  Britannic 
Majesty's  Attorney-General,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  on  the 
12th  of  May,  1864.  The  discussion  grew  out  of  the  case  of 
the  Confederate  States  steamer  Georgia,  which  had  recently 
returned  to  Liverpool,  after  a  cruise.  Among  other  questions 
discussed  was  whether  the  Georgia  should  be  excluded  from 
British  ports,  because  of  some  alleged  infraction  on  her  part, 
of  the  British  Foreign  Enlistment  Act.  In  speaking  to  this 
question,  the  Attorney-General,  alluding  to  the  insufficiency  of 
the  proof  in  the  case,  said :  — 

"  The  case  of  the  Kearsarge  was  a  case  of  this  character.  Be 
yond  all  question,  a  considerable  amount  of  recruiting  was  carried 
on,  at  Cork,  for  the  purposes  of  that  ship,  she  being  employed  at 
the  time,  in  our  own  waters,  or  very  near  them,  in  looking  out  for 
the  enemy ;  and  she  was  furnished  with  a  large  addition  to  her 
crew  from  Ireland.  Upon  that  being  represented  to  Mr.  Adams,  he 
said,  as  might  have  been  expected,  that  it  was  entirely  contrary  to 
the  wishes  of  his  Government,  and  that  there  must  be  some  mis 
take.  The  men  were  afterward  relanded,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  there  had  been  a  violation  of  our  neutrality.  Neverthe 
less,  we  admitted  the  Kearsarge  afterward  into  English  waters. 
We  have  not  excluded  her  from  our  ports,  and  if  we  had,  I  think 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  would  have  considered  that 
they  had  some  cause  of  offence. 

''But  it  does  not  rest  here.  I  see  from  the  paper,  that  the  Honorable 
Member  for  Horsham,  wants  information  respecting  the  enlistment 
of  British  subjects  for  the  Federal  Army.  Now,  from  all  quarters 
reports  reach  us,  which  we  cannot  doubt  to  be  substantially  true, 
that  agents  for  recruiting  for  the  Federal  Army,  with,  or  without 
the  concurrence  of  the  Government,  are  in  Ireland,  and  engage  men 
under  the  pretext  of  employing  them  on  railways  and  public  works, 
but  really  with  the  intention  of  enlisting  them,  and  that  many  of 
these  men  are  so  enlisted.  In  Canada  and  New  Brunswick  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      399 

same  practices  prevail.  Representations  have  been  made  to  the 
United  States  Government  respecting  the  cases  of  particular  per 
sons,  who  have  been  kidnapped  into  the  service,  and  I  feel  bound 
to  say  that  those  representations  have  not  met  with  that  prompt 
and  satisfactory  attention  we  might  have  expected,"  &c. 

The  reader  thus  perceives,  that  if  the  Alabama  enlisted  some 
foreigners  to  complete  her  crew,  she  was  only  following  the 
example  set  her,  by  Mr.  Seward  himself;  but  there  was  this 
difference  between  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State  and  the 
writer.  The  former  resorted  to  deceit,  trickery,  and  fraud, 
whilst  no  man  can  say  of  the  latter,  that  he  inveigled  him  on 
board  the  Alabama. 

I  will  now  produce  the  precedent  I  spoke  of,  from  those 
musty  old  records.  It  is  drawn  from  the  career  of  that  re 
markable  sea-captain,  to  whom  I  have  before  referred,  and  with 
whose  history  every  American  is  acquainted  —  I  mean,  John 
Paul  Jones.  '  The  naval  engagement,  which  conferred  most 
honor  upon  Jones,  was  that  between  the  Bon  homme  Richard, 
(named  after  Dr.  Franklin's  "Poor  Richard,"  in  the  almanac,  of 
which  this  Chief  of  the  Naval  Bureau  in  Paris  was  the  author,) 
and  the  British  ships  Serapis  and  Countess  of  Scarborough.  Mr. 
Cooper  thus  describes  the  crew  of  Jones'  ship,  picked  up  at 
Dunkirk,  or  Nantes,  or  some  of  the  other  French  ports:  — 

"  To  manage  a  vessel  of  this  singular  armament  and  doubtful 
construction,  Commodore  Jones  was  compelled  to  receive  on  board 
a  crew  of  still  more  equivocal  composition.  A  few  Americans  were 
found  to  till  the  stations  of  sea  officers,  on  the  quarter  deck,  and  for 
ward,  but  the  remainder  of  the  people  were  a  mixture  of  Eng 
lish,  Irish,  Scotch,  Portuguese,  Norwegians,  Germans,  Spaniards, 
Swedes,  Italians,  and  Malays,  with  occasionally  a  man  from  one  of 
the  islands  [meaning  Sandwich  Islands].  To  keep  this  motley 
crew  in  order,  135  soldiers  were  put  on  board,  under  the  command 
of  some  officers  of  inferior  rank.  These  soldiers,  or  marines,  were 
recruited  at  random,  and  were  not  much  less  singularly  mixed  as 
to  countries,  than  the  regular  crew." 

I  had  something  of  a  mixture  on  board  the  Alabama,  but  1 
think  Jones  decidedly  beat  me,  in  the  number  of  nationalities 
he  had  the  honor  to  command. 

26 


CHAPTEE  XXXI. 

THE    AUTHOR    LEAVES     LIVERPOOL    TO    JOIN     THE    ALA 
BAMA ARRIVAL     AT      TERCEIRA DESCRIPTION      OF 

THE     ALABAMA PREPARING     HER     FOR     SEA THE 

PORTUGUESE    AUTHORITIES THE    COMMISSIONING     OF 

THE    SHIP A    PICTURE    OF    HER    BIRTH    AND    DEATH 

CAPTAIN     BULLOCK     RETURNS     TO     ENGLAND AU 
THOR   ALONE   ON   THE   HIGH   SEAS. 

HAYING-  cleared  the  way,  in  the  last  two  chapters,  for  the 
cruise  of  the  Alabama,  by  removing  some  of  the  legal 
rubbish  with  which  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Adams  had  sought  to 
encumber  her,  we  are  in  a  condition  to  put  the  ship  in  com 
mission.  I  was  at  last  accounts  in  Liverpool,  as  the  reader 
will  recollect,  having  just  arrived  there  in  the  steamer  Ba 
hama,  from  Nassau.  The  Alabama,  then  known  as  the  "290," 
had  proceeded,  a  few  days  before,  to  her  rendezvous,  the  island 
of  Terceira,  one  of  the  group  of  the  Azores.  The  name  "  290  " 
may  need  a  word  of  explanation.  The  newspapers  of  the 
enemy  have  falsely  charged  that  the  Alabama  was  built  by 
290  Englishmen,  of  "rebel"  proclivities,  and  hence,  they  say, 
the  name. 

One  Parson  Boynton  has  written  a  book,  which  he  calls  the 
"  History  of  the  Navy,"  but  which  is  rather  a  biography  of 
Mr.  Secretary  Welles,  his  Assistant  Secretary  Fox,  and  sev 
eral  ingenious  mechanics.  Judging  by  this  attempt,  parsons 
are  rather  bad  hands  to  write  histories.  Speaking  of  the  Ala 
bama,  this  gentleman  remarks:  " Insultingly,  this  vessel  was 
named  '  290,'  to  show,  by  the  large  number  that  contributed  to 
fit  her  out,  how  widespread  was  the  English  sympathy  for  the 
rebel  cause.  The  Alabama  was  not  regarded  as  a  rebel  vessel 
of  war.,  but  as  a  British  pirate,  or  rather,  perhaps,  as  an  Eng 
lish  man-of-war,  sent  forth  under  the  veil  of  the  rebel  flag,  to 

400 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  401 

sink  and  destroy  our  merchantmen."  It  is  thus  seen,  that  this 
history  repeats  the  stale  newspaper  slander.  Of  such  stuff  the 
Yankee  histories  of  the  war,  generally,  are  made,  especially 
such  of  them  as  are  written  by  amateur  parsons.  The  fact  is, 
as  the  reader  has  seen,  that  the  Alabama  was  built  by  the 
Messrs.  Laird  of  Birkenhead,  under  a  contract  with  the  Con 
federate  States,  and  was  paid  for  out  of  the  Confederate  Trea 
sury.  She  happened  to  be  the  290th  ship  built  by  those  gen 
tlemen,  and  hence  the  name. 

The  Alabama  had  been  built  in  perfect  good  faith  by  the 
Lairds.  When  she  was  contracted  for,  no  question  had  been 
raised  as  to  the  right  of  a  neutral  to  build,  and  sell  to  a  bel 
ligerent  such  a  ship.  The  reader  has  seen  that  the  Federal 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  himself  had  endeavored,  not  only  to 
build  an  Alabama,  but  iron-clads  in  England.  But  as  the 
war  progressed,  the  United  States,  foreseeing  the  damage  which 
a  few  fast  steamers  might  inflict  on  their  commerce,  took  the 
alarm,  and  began  to  insist  that  neutrals  should  not  supply  us, 
even  with  unarmed  ships.  The  laws  of  nations  were  clearly 
against  them.  Their  own  practice,  in  all  former  wars,  in  which 
they  had  been  neutrals,  was  against  them.  And  yet  they  main 
tained  their  ground  so  stoutly  and  defiantly,  threatening  war, 
if  they  were  not  listened  to,  that  the  neutral  powers,  and  espe- 
cialty  Great  Britain,  became  very  cautious.  They  were  indeed 
bullied  —  for  that  is  the  word  —  into  timidity.  To  show  the 
good  faith  which  the  Lairds  had  practised  throughout,  I  quote 
again  from  the  speech  made  by  the  senior  partner,  in  the 
House  of  Commons:  — 

"  I  can  only  say  from  all  I  know,  and  from  all  I  have  heard,  that 
from  the  day  the  vessel  was  laid  down,  to  her  completion  every 
thing  was  open  and  above  board,  in  this  country.  I  also  further 
say,  that  the  officers  of  the  Government  had  every  facility  afforded 
them  for  inspecting  the  ship,  during  the  progress  of  building. 
When  the  officers  came  to  the  builders,  they  were  shown  the  ship, 
and  day  after  day,  the  customs  officers  were  on  board,  as  they  were 
when  xhe  finally  left,  and  they  declared  that  there  was  nothing 
wrong.  They  only  left  her  when  the  tug  left,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  declare,  that  she  left  Liverpool  a  perfectly  legitimate  transaction." 

Notwithstanding  this  practice  of  good  faith,  on  our  part, 
t>nd  our  entire  innocence  of  any  breach  of  the  laws  of  nations, 


402  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

or  of  the  British  Foreign  Enlistment  Act,  Lord  John  Bussell 
had  been  intimidated  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  ship  came 
within  an  ace  of  being  detained.  But  for  the  little  ruse  which 
we  practised,  of  going  on  a  trial-trip,  with  a  party  of  ladies, 
and  the  customs  officers,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Laird,  on  board, 
and  not  returning,  but  sending  our  guests  back  in  a  tug,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  Alabama  would  have  been  tied  up,  as  the 
Or  do  or  Florida  had  been,  in  court.  She  must  have  been  finally 
released,  it  is  true,  but  the  delay  itself  would  have  been  of 
serious  detriment  to  us. 

After  a  few  busy  days  in  Liverpool,  during  which  I  was 
gathering  my  old  officers  of  the  Sumter  around  me,  and  making 
my  financial  arrangements  for  my  cruise,  with  the  house  of 
Frazer,  Trenholm  &  Co.,  I  departed  on  the  13th  of  August, 
1862,  in  the  steamer  Bahama,  to  join  the  Alabama.  Captain 
James  D.  Bullock,  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  a  Georgian, 
who  had  been  bred  in  the  old  service,  but  who  had  retired  from 
it  some  years  before  the  war,  to  engage  in  the  steam-packet 
service,  accompanied  me.  Bullock  had  contracted  for,  and 
superintended  the  building  of  the  Alabama,  and  was  now  going 
with  me,  to  be  present  at  the  christening  of  his  bantling.  I  am 
indebted  to  him,  as  well  the  Messrs.  Laird,  for  a  very  perfect 
ship  of  her  class. 

She  was  of  about  900  tons  burden,  230  feet  in  length,  32 
feet  in  breadth,  20  feet  in  depth,  and  drew,  when  provisioned 
and  coaled  for  a  cruise,  15  feet  of  water.  Her  model  was  of 
the  most  perfect  symmetry,  and  she  sat  upon  the  water  with 
the  lightness  and  grace  of  a  swan.  She  was  barkentine  rigged, 
with  long  lower  masts,  which  enabled  her  to  carry  large  fore-and- 
aft  sails,  as  jibs  and  try -sails,  which  are  of  so  much  importance 
to  a  steamer,  in  so  many  emergencies.  Her  sticks  were  of  the 
best  yellow  pine,  that  would  bend  in  a  gale,  like  a  willow 
wand,  without  breaking,  and  her  rigging  was  of  the  best  of 
Swedish  iron  wire.  The  scantling  of  the  vessel  was  light,  com 
pared  with  vessels  of  her  class  in  the  Federal  Navy,  but  this 
was  scarcely  a  disadvantage,  as  she  was  designed  as  a  scourge 
of  the  enemy's  commerce,  rather  than  for  battle.  She  was  to 
defend  herself,  simply,  if  defence  should  become  necessary. 
Her  engine  was  of  three  hundred  horse-power,  and  she  had 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     403 

attached  an  apparatus  for  condensing,  from  the  vapor  of  sea- 
water,  all  the  fresh  water  that  her  crew  might  require.  She  was 
a  perfect  steamer  and  a  perfect  sailing-ship,  at  the  same  time, 
neither  of  her  two  modes  of  locomotion  being  at  all  dependent 
upon  the  other.  The  reader  has  seen  that  the  Sumter,  when 
her  fuel  was  exhausted,  was  little  better  than  a  log  on  the 
water,  because  of  her  inability  to  hoist  her  propeller,  which 
she  was,  in  consequence,  compelled  to  drag  after  her.  The 
Alabama  was  so  constructed,  that  in  fifteen  minutes,  her  pro 
peller  could  be  detached  from  the  shaft,  and  lifted  in  a  well 
contrived  for  the  purpose,  sufficiently  high  out  of  the  water, 
not  to  be  an  impediment  to  her  speed.  When  this  was  done, 
and  her  sails  spread,  she  was,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
a  sailing-ship.  On  the  other  hand,  when  I  desired  to  use  her 
as  a  steamer,  I  had  only  to  start  the  fires,  lower  the  propeller, 
and  if  the  wind  was  adverse,  brace  her  yards  to  the  wind,  and 
the  conversion  was  complete.  The  speed  of  the  Alabama  was 
always  greatly  over-rated  by  the  enemy.  She  was  ordinarily 
about  a  ten-knot  ship.  She  was  said  to  have  made  eleven  knots 
and  a  half,  on  her  trial  trip,  but  we  never  afterward  got  it  out 
of  her.  Under  steam  and  sail  both,  we  logged  on  one  occa 
sion,  thirteen  knots  and  a  quarter,  which  was  her  utmost  speed. 

Her  armament  consisted  of  eight  guns ;  six  32-pounders, 
in  broadside,  and  two  pivot-guns  amidships ;  one  on  the  fore 
castle,  and  the  other  abaft  the  main-mast — the  former  a  100- 
pounder  rifled  Blakeley,  and  the  latter,  a  smooth-bore  eight- 
inch.  The  Blakeley  gun  was  so  deficient  in  metal,  compared 
with  the  weight  of  shot  it  threw,  that,  after  the  first  few  dis 
charges,  when  it  became  a  little  heated,  it  was  of  comparatively 
small  use  to  us,  to  such  an  extent  were  we  obliged  to  reduce 
the  charge  of  powder,  on  account  of  the  recoil.  The  average 
crew  of  the  Alabama,  before  the  mast,  was  about  120  men  ; 
and  she  carried  twenty-four  officers,  as  follows:  A  Captain, 
four  lieutenants,  surgeon,  paymaster,  master,  marine  officer, 
four  engineers,  two  midshipmen,  and  four  master's  mates,  a 
Captain's  clerk,  boatswain,  gunner,  sailmaker,  and  carpenter. 
The  cost  of  the  ship,  with  everything  complete,  was  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

On  the  morning  of  our  departure  from  Liverpool,  the  Ba- 


404  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

hama  had  dropped  some  distance  down  the  Mersey,  and  we 
joined  her  by  tug.  She  had  her  steam  up,  and  was  ready  to 
trip  her  anchor,  the  moment  we  arrived,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
after  getting  on  board,  we  were  under  way.  The  tug  cheered 
us,  as  she  turned  to  steam  back  to  the  city,  and  the  cheer  was 
answered  lustily  by  our  crew.  We  were  a  week  on  the  passage 
from  Liverpool  to  Terceira ;  our  old  friend,  Captain  Tessier, 
of  the  Bahama,  with  whom  I  had  made  the  passage  from 
Nassau  to  Liverpool,  rendering  our  time  very  comfortable. 
On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  August,  we  were  on  the  look 
out,  at  an  early  hour,  for  the  land,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
we  discovered  the  island,  looking,  at  first,  hazy  and  indistinct 
in  the  distance,  but  gradually  assuming  more  form  and  con 
sistency.  After  another  hour's  steaming,  Porto  Praya,  our 
place  of  rendezvous,  became  visible,  with  its  white  houses  dot 
ting  the  mountain  side,  and  we  now  began  to  turn  our  glasses 
upon  the  harbor,  with  no  little  anxiety,  to  see  if  our  ships  — 
for  a  sailing-ship,  with  the  Alabama's  battery  and  stores,  had 
preceded  her  some  days,  and  should  now  be  with  her — were 
all  right.  We  first  caught  sight  of  their  spars,  and  prettj 
soon,  raising  their  hulls  sufficiently  for  identification,  we  felt 
much  relieved.  Our  secret  had  been  well  kept,  and  the  enemy, 
notwithstanding  his  fine  "  smelling  qualities,"  had  not  scented 
the  prey. 

In  the  meantime,  our  own  approach  was  watched  with  equal 
anxiety  from  the  deck  of  the  Alabama.  We  might  be,  for 
aught  she  knew,  an  enemy's  steamer  coming  in  pursuit  of 
her ;  and  as  the  enemy  was  in  the  habit  of  kicking  all  the 
small  powers,  that  had  not  the  means  of  kicking  back,  a  neu 
tral  port,  belonging  to  effete  old  Portugal,  would  not  afford  her 
the  least  protection.  At  half-past  eleven  A.  M.,  we  steamed 
into  the  harbor,  and  let  go  our  anchor.  I  had  surveyed  my 
new  ship,  as  we  approached,  with  no  little  interest,  as  she  was 
to  be  not  only  my  home,  but  my  bride,  as  it  were,  for  the  next 
few  years,  and  I  was  quite  satisfied  with  her  external  appear 
ance.  She  was,  indeed,  a  beautiful  thing  to  look  upon.  The 
store-ship  was  already  alongside  of  her,  and  we  could  see  that 
the  busy  work  of  transferring  her  cargo  was  going  on.  Cap 
tain  Butcher,  an  intelligent  young  English  seaman,  who  had 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       405 

been  bred  in  the  mail-packet  service,  and  who  had  taken  the 
Alabama  out  from  Liverpool,  on  that  trial  trip  of  hers,  which 
has  since  become  historical  through  the  protests  of  Messrs. 
Seward  and  Adams,  now  came  on  board  of  us.  He  had  had 
a  rough  and  stormy  passage  from  Liverpool,  during  which  he 
had  suffered  some  little  damage,  and  consumed  most  of  his 
coal.  Considerable  progress  had  been  made,  in  receiving  on 
board  from  the  transport,  the  battery  and  stores,  and  a  few 
days  more  would  suffice  to  put  the  ship  in  a  condition  for 
defence. 

The  harbor  of  Porto  Praya  lies  open  to  the  eastward,  and 
as  the  wind  was  now  from  that  quarter,  and  blowing  rather 
freshly,  a  considerable  sea  had  been  raised,  which  rendered  it 
inconvenient,  if  not  unsafe,  for  the  transport  and  the  Alabama 
to  continue  to  lie  alongside  of  each  other;  which  was  never 
theless  necessary  for  the  transfer  of  the  remainder  of  the  heavy 
guns.  I  therefore  directed  Captain  Butcher  to  get  up  his  an 
chors  immediately,  and  follow  me  around  to  Angra  Bay,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  island,  where  we  should  find  a  lee,  and 
smooth  water.  This  was  done,  and  we  arrived  at  Angra  at 
four  o'clock,  on  the  same  afternoon.  Here  the  transshipment 
of  the  guns  and  stores  was  renewed,  and  here,  for  the  first  time, 
I  visited  the  Alabama.  I  was  as  much  pleased  with  her  inter 
nal  appearance,  and  arrangements,  as  I  had  been  with  her  ex 
ternally,  but  everything  was  in  a  very  uninviting  state  of 
confusion,  guns,  gun-carriages,  shot,  and  shell,  barrels  of  beef 
and  pork,  and  boxes  and  bales  of  paymaster's,  gunner's,  and 
boatswain's  stores  lying  promiscuously  about  the  decks ;  suffi 
cient  time  not  having  elapsed  to  have  them  stowed  in  their 
proper  places.  The  crew,  comprising  about  sixty  persons,  who 
had  been  picked  up,  promiscuously,  about  the  streets  of  Liver 
pool,  were  as  unpromising  in  appearance,  as  things  about  the 
decks.  What  with  faces  begrimed  with  coal  dust,  red  shirts, 
and  blue  shirts,  Scotch  caps,  and  hats,  brawny  chests  exposed, 
and  stalwart  arms  naked  to  the  elbows,  they  looked  as  little 
like  the  crew  of  a  man-of-war,  as  one  can  well  conceive.  Still 
there  was  some  physique  among  these  fellows,  and  soap,  and 
water,  and  clean  shirts  would  make  a  wonderful  difference  in 
their  appearance.  As  night  approached,  I  relieved  Captain 


406  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Butcher  of  his  command,  and  removing  my  baggage  on  board, 
took  possession  of  the  cabin,  in  which  I  was  to  spend  so  many 
weary  days,  and  watchful  nights.  I  am  a  good  sleeper,  and 
slept  soundly.  This  quality  of  sleeping  well  in  the  intervals 
of  harassing  business  is  a  valuable  one  to  the  sailor,  and  I  owe 
to  it  much  of  that  physical  ability,  which  enabled  me  to  with 
stand  the  four  years  of  excitement  and  toil,  to  which  I  was  sub 
jected  during  the  war. 

There  are  two  harbors  called  Angra,  in  Terceira  —  East  An- 
gra,  and  West  Angra.  We  were  anchored  in  the  latter,  and 
the  authorities  notified  us,  the  next  morning,  that  we  must 
move  round  to  East  Angra,  that  being  the  port  of  entry,  and 
the  proper  place  for  the  anchorage  of  merchant-ships.  We 
were  playing  merchant-ship  as  yet,  but  had  nothing  to  do,  of 
course,  with  ports  of  entry  or  custom-houses ;  and  as  the  day 
was  fine,  and  there  was  a  prospect  of  smooth  water  under  the 
lee  of  the  island,  I  got  under  way,  and  went  to  sea,  the  Bahama 
and  the  transport  accompanying  me.  Steaming  beyond  the 
marine  league,  I  hauled  the  transport  alongside,  and  we  got  on 
board  from  her  the  remainder  of  our  armament,  and  stores. 
The  sea  was  not  so  smooth,  as  we  had  expected,  and  there  was 
some  little  chafing  between  the  ships,  but  we  accomplished  our 
object,  without  serious  inconvenience.  This  occupied  us 
all  day,  and  after  nightfall,  we  ran  into  East  Angra,  and  an 
chored. 

As  we  passed  the  fort,  we  were  hailed  vociferously,  in  very 
bad  English,  or  Portuguese,  we  could  not  distinguish  which. 
But  though  the  words  were  unintelligible  to  us,  the  manner 
and  tone  of  the  hail  were  evidently  meant  to  warn  us  off. 
Continuing  our  course,  and  paying  no  attention  to  the  hail, 
the  fort  presently  fired  a  shot  over  us ;  but  we  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  this  either,  and  ran  in  and  anchored — the  bark  ac 
companying  us,  but  the  Bahama  hauling  off,  seaward,  and 
lying  off  and  on  during  the  night.  There  was  a  small  Portu 
guese  schooner  of  war  at  anchor  in  the  harbor,  and  about  mid 
night,  I  was  aroused  from  a  deep  sleep,  into  which  I  had  fallen, 
after  a  long  day  of  work  and  excitement,  by  an  officer  com 
ing  below,  and  informing  me,  very  coolly,  that  the  Portuguese 
man-of-war  was  firing  into  us!  "The  d — 1  she  is,"  said  I; 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      407 

.'  how  niany  shots  has  she  fired  at  us?"  "Three,  sir,"  replied 
the  officer.  "Have  any  of  them  struck  us?"  "No,  sir,  none 
of  them  have  struck  us  —  they  seem  to  be  firing  rather  wild." 
I  knew  very  well,  that  the  little  craft  would  not  dare  to  fire 
into  us,  though  I  thought  it  probable,  that,  after  the  fashion  of 
the  Chinese,  who  sound  their  gongs  to  scare  away  their  ene 
mies,  she  might  be  firing  at  us,  to  alarm  us  into  going  out  of 
the  harbor.  I  said  therefore  to  the  officer,  "  Let  him  fire  away, 
I  expect  he  won't  hurt  you,"  and  turned  over  and  went  to 
sleep.  In  the  morning,  it  was  ascertained,  that  it  was  not  the 
schooner  at  all,  that  had  been  firing,  but  a  passing  mail  steamer 
which  had  run  into  the  anchorage,  and  fired  three  signal  guns, 
to  awaken  her  sleeping  passengers  on  shore — with  whom  she 
departed  before  daylight. 

We  were  not  further  molested,  from  this  time  onward,  but 
were  permitted  to  remain  and  coal  from  the  bark ;  though 
the  custom-house  officers,  accompanied  by  the  British  Consul, 
paid  us  a  visit,  and  insisted  that  we  should  suspend  our  opera 
tion  of  coaling,  until  we  had  entered  the  two  ships  at  the  cus 
tom-house.  This  I  readily  consented  to  do.  I  now  called  the 
Bahama  in,  by  signal,  and  she  ran  in  and  anchored  near  us. 
Whilst  the  coaling  was  going  forward,  the  carpenter,  and 
gunner,  with  the  assistance  of  the  chief  engineer,  were  busy 
putting  down  the  circles  or  traverses  for  the  pivot  guns  ;  and 
the  boatswain  and  his  gang  were  at  work,  fitting  side  and 
train  tackles  for  the  broadside  guns.  The  reader  can  under 
stand  how  anxious  I  was  to  complete  all  these  arrangements. 
I  was  perfectly  defenceless  without  them,  and  did  not  know  at 
what  moment  an  enemy's  ship  might  look  in  upon  me.  The 
harbor  of  East  Angra,  where  we  were  now  anchored,  was  quite 
open,  but  fortunately  for  us,  the  wind  was  light,  and  from  the 
S.  W.,  which  gave  us  smooth  water,  and  our  work  went  on 
quite  rapidly. 

To  cast  an  eye,  for  a  moment,  now,  from  the  ship  to  the 
shore,  I  was  charmed  with  the  appearance  of  Terceira.  Every 
square  foot  of  the  island  seemed  to  be  under  the  most  elaborate 
cultivation,  and  snug  farm-houses  were  dotted  so  thickly  over 
the  hill-sides,  as  to  give  the  whole  the  appearance  of  a  ram 
bling  village.  The  markets  were  most  bountifully  supplied 


408  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

with  excellent  beef  and  mutton,  and  the  various  domestic  fowls, 
fish,  vegetables,  and  fruits.  My  steward  brought  off  every 
morning  in  his  basket,  a  most  tempting  assortment  of  the 
latter ;  for  there  were  apples,  plums,  pears,  figs,  dates,  oranges, 
and  melons  all  in  full  bearing  at  Terceira.  The  little  town 
of  Angra,  abreast  of  which  we  were  anchored,  was  a  perfect 
picture  of  a  Portuguese-Moorish  town,  with  its  red-tiled  roofs, 
sharp  gables,  and  parti-colored  verandas,  and  veranda  cur 
tains.  And  then  the  quiet,  and  love-in-a-cottage  air  which 
hovered  over  the  whole  scene,  so  far  removed  from  the  high 
ways  of  the  world's  commerce,  and  the  world's  alarms,  was 
charming  to  contemplate. 

I  had  arrived  on  Wednesday,  and  on  Saturday  night,  we 
had,  by  the  dint  of  great  labor  and  perseverance,  drawn  order 
out  of  chaos.  The  Alabama's  battery  was  on  board,  and  in 
place,  her  stores  had  all  been  unpacked,  and  distributed  to  the 
different  departments,  and  her  coal-bunkers  were  again  full. 
We  only  awaited  the  following  morning  to  steam  out  upon 
the  high  seas,  and  formally  put  the  ship  in  commission.  Satur 
day  had  been  dark  and  rainy,  but  we  had  still  labored  on 
through  the  rain.  Sunday  morning  dawned  bright  and  beau 
tiful,  which  we  hailed  as  a  harbinger  of  future  success.  All 
hands  were  turned  out  at  early  daylight,  and  the  first  lieutenant, 
and  the  officer  of  the  deck  took  the  ship  in  hand,  to  prepare 
her  for  the  coming  ceremony.  She  was  covered  with  coal  dust 
and  dirt  and  rubbish  in  every  direction,  for  we  had  hitherto 
had  no  time  to  attend  to  appearances.  But  by  dint  of  a  few 
hours  of  scrubbing,  inside  and  out,  and  of  the  use  of  that  well- 
known  domestic  implement,  the  holy-stone,  that  works  so  many 
wonders  with  a  dirty  ship,  she  became  sweet  and  clean,  and 
when  her  awnings  were  snugly  spread,  her  yards  squared,  and 
her  rigging  hauled  taut,  she  looked  like  a  bride,  with  the 
orange-wreath  about  her  brows,  ready  to  be  led  to  the  altar. 

I  had  as  yet  no  enlisted  crew,  and  this  thought  gave  me 
some  anxiety.  All  the  men  on  board  the  Alabama,  as  well  as 
those  who  had  come  out  with  me,  on  board  the  Bahama,  had 
been  brought  thus  far,  under  articles  of  agreement  that  were 
to  be  no  longer  obligatory.  Some  of  them  had  been  shipped 
for  one  voyage,  and  some  for  another,  but  none  of  them  for  ser- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     409 

vice  on  board  a  Confederate  cruiser.  This  was  done  to  avoid 
a  breach  of  the  British  Foreign  Enlistment  Act.  They  had, 
of  course,  been  undeceived  from  the  day  of  our  departure 
from  Liverpool.  They  knew  that  they  were  to  be  released 
from  the  contracts  they  had  made,  but  /  could  not  know  how 
many  of  them  would  engage  with  me  for  the  Alabama.  It  is  true 
I  had  had  a  talk  with  some  of  the  leaders  of  the  crew,  who  had 
promised  to  go  with  me,  and  to  influence  others,  but  no  crea 
ture  can  be  more  whimsical  than  a  sailor,  until  you  have 
bound  him  past  recall,  unless  indeed  it  be  a  woman. 

The  ship  having  been  properly  prepared,  we  steamed  out, 
on  this  bright  Sunday  morning,  under  a  cloudless  sky,  with  a 
gentle  breeze  from  the  southeast,  scarcely  ruffling  the  surface 
of  the  placid  sea,  and  under  the  shadow  of  the  smiling  and 
picturesque  island  of  Terceira,  which  nature  seemed  to  have 
decked  specially  for  the  occasion,  so  charming  did  it  appear, 
in  its  checkered  dress  of  a  lighter  and  darker  green,  composed, 
of  corn-fields  and  orange-groves,  the  flag  of  the  new-born  Con 
federate  States  was  unfurled,  for  the  first  time,  from  the  peak 
of  the  Alabama.  The  Bahama  accompanied  us.  The  cere 
mony  was  short  but  impressive.  The  officers  were  all  in  full 
uniform,  and  the  crew  neatly  dressed,  and  I  caused  "all  hands" 
to  be  summoned  aft  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  mounting  a  gun- 
carriage,  I  read  the  commission  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  appoint 
ing  me  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  and  the  order 
of  Mr.  Stephen  E.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  direct 
ing  me  to  assume  command  of  the  Alabama.  Following  my 
example,  the  officers  and  crew  had  all  uncovered  their  heads, 
in  deference  to  the  sovereign  authority,  as  is  customary  on 
such  occasions;  and  as  they  stood  in  respectful  silence  and  lis 
tened  with  rapt  attention  to  the  reading,  and  to  the  short 
explanation  of  my  object  and  purposes,  in  putting  the  ship  in 
commission  which  followed,  I  was  deeply  impressed  with  the 
spectacle.  Virginia,  the  grand  old  mother  of  many  of  the 
States,  who  afterward  died  so  nobly ;  South  Carolina,  Georgia, 
Alabama,  and  Louisiana,  were  all  represented  in  the  persons  of 
my  officers,  and  I  had  some  of  as  fine  specimens  of  the  daring 
and  adventurous  seaman,  as  any  ship  of  war  could  boast. 

While   the  reading  was  going  on,  two  small    balls  might 


410  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

have  been  seen  ascending  slowly,  one  to  the  peak,  and  the 
other  to  the  main-royal  mast-head.  These  were  the  ensign 
and  pennant  of  the  future  man-of-war.  These  balls  were  so 
arranged,  that  by  a  sudden  jerk  of  the  halliards  by  which 
they  had  been  sent  aloft,  the  flag  and  pennant  would  unfold 
themselves  to  the  breeze.  A  curious  observer  would  also 
have  seen  a  quartermaster  standing  by  the  English  colors, 
which  we  were  still  wearing,  in  readiness  to  strike  them,  a 
band  of  music  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  a  gunner  (lock-string 
in  hand)  standing  by  the  weather-bow  gun.  All  these  men 
had  their  eyes  upon  the  reader ;  and  when  he  had  concluded, 
at  a  wave  of  his  hand,  the  gun  was  fired,  the  change  of  flags 
took  place,  and  the  air  was  rent  by  a  deafening  cheer  from 
officers  and  men ;  the  band,  at  the  same  time,  playing  "  Dixie," — 
that  soul-stirring  national  anthem  of  the  new-born  government. 
The  Bahama  also  fired  a  gun  and  cheered  the  new  flag.  Thus, 
amid  this  peaceful  scene  of  beauty,  with  all  nature  smiling 
upon  the  ceremony,  was  the  Alabama  christened;  the  name 
"  290  "  disappearing  with  the  English  flag.  This  had  all  been 
done  upon  the  high  seas,  more  than  a  marine  league  from  the 
land,  where  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  had  as  much  jurisdiction  as 
Mr.  Abraham  Lincoln.  Who  could  look  into  the  horoscope 
of  this  ship  —  who  anticipate  her  career?  Many  of  these 
brave  fellows  followed  me  unto  the  close. 

From  the  cradle  to  the  grave  there  is  but  a  step ;  and  that  I 
may  group  in  a  single  picture,  the  christening  and  the  burial 
of  the  ship,  let  the  reader  imagine,  now,  some  two  years  to 
have  rolled  over  —  and  such  a  two  years  of  carnage  and  blood, 
as  the  world  had  never  before  seen — and,  strangely  enough, 
another  Sunday  morning,  equally  bright  and  beautiful,  to  have 
dawned  upon  the  Alabama.  This  is  her  funeral  morning!  At 
the  hour  when  the  church-goers  in  Paris  and  London  were 
sending  up  their  orisons  to  the  Most  High,  the  sound  of  cannon 
was  heard  in  the  British  Channel,  and  the  Alabama  was  en 
gaged  in  her  death-struggle.  Cherbourg,  where  the  Alabama 
had  lain  for  some  days  previously,  is  connected  with  Paris  by 
rail,  and  a  large  number  of  curious  spectators  had  flocked 
down  from  the  latter  city  to  witness,  as  it  proved,  her  inter 
ment.  The  sun  rose,  as  before,  in  a  cloudless  sky,  and  the  sea- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     411 

breeze  has  come  in  over  the  dancing  waters,  mild  and  balmy. 
It  is  the  nineteenth  day  of  June,  1864.  The  Alabama  steams 
out  to  meet  the  Kearsarge  in  mortal  combat,  and  before  the 
sun  has  set,  she  has  gone  down  beneath  the  green  waters,  and 
lies  entombed  by  the  side  of  many  a  gallant  craft  that  had 
gone  down  before  her  in  that  famous  old  British  Channel; 
where,  from  the  time  of  the  Norseman  and  the  Danish  sea- 
king,  to  our  own  day,  so  many  naval  combats  have  been 
fought,  and  so  many  of  the  laurel  crowns  of  victory  have  been 
entwined  around  the  brows  of  our  naval  ancestors.  Many  of 
the  manly  figures  who  had  stood  with  uncovered  heads,  and 
listened  with  respectful  silence  to  the  christening,  went  down 
in  the  ship,  and  now  lie  buried  with  her,  many  fathoms  deep, 
with  no  other  funeral  dirge  than  the  roar  of  cannon,  and  the 
howling  winds  of  the  North  Sea.  Such  were  the  birth  and 
death  of  the  ship,  whose  adventures  I  propose  to  sketch  in  the 
following  pages. 

My  speech,  I  was  glad  to  find,  had  produced  considerable 
effect  with  the  crew.  I  informed  them,  in  the  opening,  that 
they  were  all  released  from  the  contracts  under  which  they  had 
come  thus  far,  and  that  such  of  them  as  preferred  to  return  to 
England  could  do  so  in  the  Bahama,  without  prejudice  to 
their  interests,  as  they  would  have  a  free  passage  back,  and 
their  pay  would  go  on  until  they  were  discharged  in  Liver 
pool.  I  then  gave  them  a  brief  account  of  the  war,  and  told 
them  how  the  Southern  States,  being  sovereign  and  independent, 
had  dissolved  the  league  which  had  bound  them  to  the  Northern 
States,  and  how  they  were  threatened  with  subjugation  by  their 
late  confederates,  who  were  the  stronger.  They  would  be 
fighting,  I  told  them,  the  battles  of  the  oppressed  against  the 
oppressor,  and  this  consideration  alone  should  be  enough  to 
nerve  the  arm  of  every  generous  sailor.  Coming  nearer 
home,  for  it  could  not  be  supposed  that  English,  Dutch,  Irish, 
French,  Italian,  and  Spanish  sailors  could  understand  much 
about  the  rights  or  wrongs  of  nations,  I  explained  to  them  the 
individual  advantages  which  they  might  expect  to  reap  from 
an  enlistment  with  me.  The  cruise  would  be  one  of  excite 
ment  and  adventure.  We  had  a  fine  ship  under  us ;  one  that 
they  might  fall  in  love  with,  as  they  would  with  their  sweet- 


412  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

hearts  about  Wapping.  We  should  visit  many  parts  of  the 
world,  where  they  would  have  "liberty"  given  them  on  proper 
occasions;  and  we  should,  no  doubt,  destroy  a  great  many  of 
the  enemy's  ships,  in  spite  of  the  enemy's  cruisers.  With  re 
gard  to  these  last,  though  fighting  was  not  to  be  our  principal 
object,  yet,  if  a  favorable  opportunity  should  offer  of  our 
laying  ourselves  alongside  of  a  ship  that  was  not  too  heavy 
for  us,  they  would  find  me  disposed  to  indulge  them. 

Finally  I  came  to  the  finances,  and  like  a  skilful  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  I  put  the  budget  to  them,  in  its  very  best  as 
pect.  As  I  spoke  of  good  pay,  and  payment  in  gold,  "hear! 
hear ! "  came  up  from  several  voices.  I  would  give  them,  I 
said,  about  double  the  ordinary  wages,  to  compensate  them  for 
the  risks  they  would  have  to  run,  and  I  promised  them,  in  case 
we  should  be  successful,  "  lots  of  prize-money,"  to  be  voted  to 
them  by  the  Confederate  Congress,  for  the  ships  of  the  enemy 
that  they  would  be  obliged  to  destroy.  When  we  "piped 
down,"  that  is  to  say,  when  the  boatswain  and  his  mates  wound 
their  "  calls  "  three  times,  as  a  signal  that  the  meeting  was  over, 
and  the  crew  might  disperse,  I  caused  the  word  to  be  passed 
for  all  those  who  desired  to  sign  the  articles,  to  repair  at  once 
to  the  paymaster  and  sign.  I  was  anxious  to  strike  whilst  the 
iron  was  hot.  The  Alabama  had  brought  out  from  the  Mer 
sey  about  sixty  men,  and  the  Bahama  had  brought  about  thirty 
more.  I  got  eighty  of  these  ninety  men,  and  felt  very  much 
relieved  in  consequence. 

The  democratic  part  of  the  proceedings  closed,  as  soon  as  the 
articles  were  signed.  The  "public  meeting  "just  described, 
was  the  first,  and  last  ever  held  on  board  the  Alabama,  and  no 
other  stump  speech  was  ever  made  to  the  crew.  When  I 
wanted  a  man  to  do  anything  after  this,  I  did  not  talk  to  him 
about  "nationalities,"  or  "liberties,"  or  "double  wages,"  but  I 
gave  him  a  rather  sharp  order,  and  if  the  order  was  not  obeyed 
in  "double-quick,"  the  delinquent  found  himself  in  limbo. 
Democracies  may  do  very  well  for  the  land,  but  monarchies 
and  pretty  absolute  monarchies  at  that,  are  the  only  success 
ful  governments  for  the  sea.  There  was  a  great  state  of  con 
fusion  on  board  the  ship,  of  course,  during  the  remainder  of 
this  day,  and  well  into  the  night.  Bullock  and  Butcher  were 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      413 

both  on  board  assisting  me,  and  we  were  all  busy,  as  well  as 
the  paymaster  and  clerk,  making  out  half-pay  tickets  for  the 
sailors'  wives  and  sweethearts,  drawing  drafts  for  small  amounts 
payable  to  relatives  and  dependants,  in  different  parts  of  Eng 
land,  for  such  of  the  sailors  as  wanted  them,  and  paying  ad 
vance-wages  to  those  who  had  no  pay-tickets  to  leave,  or  re 
mittances  to  make.  I  was  gratified  to  find,  that  a  large  pro 
portion  of  my  men  left  half  their  pay  behind  them.  "  A  man, 
who  has  children,  hath  given  hostages  to  fortune,"  and  you  are 
quite  as  sure  of  a  sailor,  who  sends  half  his  pay  to  his  wife  or 
sweetheart. 

It  was  eleven  p.  M.  before  my  friend  Bullock  was  ready  to 
return  to  the  Bahama,  on  his  way  back  to  England.  I  took  an 
affectionate  leave  of  him.  I  had  spent  some  days  with  him,  at 
his  quiet  retreat,  in  the  little  village  of  Waterloo,  near  Liver 
pool,  where  I  met  his  excellent  wife,  a  charming  Southern  wo 
man,  with  whom  hospitality  was  a  part  of  her  religious  faith. 
He  was  living  in  a  very  plain,  simple  style,  though  large  sums 
of  public  money  were  passing  through  his  hands,  and  he  has 
had  the  honor  to  come  out  of  the  war  poor.  He  paid  out 
moneys  in  good  faith,  to  the  last,  even  when  it  was  quite  evi 
dent  that  the  cause  had  gone  under,  and  there  would  be  no 
accounts  to  settle  with  an  Auditor  of  the  Treasury.  I  had  not 
only  had  the  pleasure  of  his  society  during  a  number  of  anx 
ious  days,  but  he  had  greatly  assisted  me,  by  his  counsel  and 
advice,  given  with  that  modesty  and  reserve  which  always 
mark  true  ability.  As  soon  as  the  Bahama  had  steamed  away, 
and  left  me  alone,  I  turned  my  ship's  head  to  the  north-east, 
set  the  fore-and-aft  sails,  and  directed  the  engineer  to  let  his 
fires  go  down.  The  wind  had  freshened  considerably,  and 
there  was  some  sea  on.  I  now  turned  into  an  unquiet  cot,  per 
fectly  exhausted,  after  the  labors  of  the  day,  and  slept  as  com 
fortably  as  the  rolling  of  the  ship,  and  a  strong  smell  of  bilge- 
water  would  permit. 


CHAPTEK  XXXII. 

THE  ALABAMA  A  SHIP  OF  WAR,  AND  NOT  A  PRIVATEER 
-  SKETCH  OF  THE  PERSONNEL  OF  THE  SHIP  -  PUT 
TING  THE  SHIP  IN  ORDER  FOR  SERVICE  -  SAIL  AND 
STEAM  -  THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SAILOR  -  THE  FIRST 
BLOW  STRUCK  AT  THE  WHALE  FISHERY  -  THE  HABI 
TAT  AND  HABITS  OF  THE  WHALE  -  THE  FIRST  CAP 
TURE. 


reader  has  seen  in  the  last  chapter,  that  the  Alabama 
_|_  is  at  length  upon  the  high  seas,  as  a  commissioned  ship 
of  war  of  the  Confederate  States,  her  commission  having  been 
signed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  who  had  all  the  de  facto  right, 
and  much  more  of  the  de  jure  right,  to  sign  such  a  commission 
than  John  Hancock,  who  signed  Paul  Jones'  commission. 
The  Alabama  having  been  built  by  the  Government  of  the 
Confederate  States,  and  commissioned  by  these  States,  as  a 
ship  of  luar,  was,  in  no  sense  of  the  word,  a  privateer,  which  is 
a  private  armed  ship  belonging  to  individuals,  and  fitted  out 
for  purposes  of  gain.  And  yet,  throughout  the  whole  war, 
and  long  after  the  war,  when  she  was  not  called  a  "pirate" 
by  the  Northern  press,  she  was  called  a  privateer.  Even  high 
Government  officials  of  the  enemy  so  characterized  her.  Many 
of  the  newspapers  erred  through  ignorance,  but  this  misnomer 
was  sheer  malice,  and  very  petty  malice,  too,  on  the  part  of 
those  of  them  who  were  better  informed,  and  on  the  part  of 
the  Government  officials,  all  of  whom,  of  course,  knew  better. 
Long  after  they  had  acknowledged  the  war,  as  a  war,  which 
carried  with  it  an  acknowledgment  of  the  right  of  the  Con 
federate  States  to  fit  out  cruisers,  they  stultified  themselves 
by  calling  her  "  pirate,"  and  "  privateer."  They  were  afraid 
to  speak  the  truth,  in  conformity  with  the  facts,  lest  the  de- 

414 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  415 

struction  of  their  property,  for  which  they  hoped  ultimately 
to  be  paid,  should  seem  to  be  admitted  to  have  been  done 
under  the  sanction  of  the  laws  of  nations.  They  could  as 
logically  have  called  General  Eobert  E.  Lee  a  bandit,  as 
myself  a  pirate  ;  but  logic  was  not  the  forte  of  the  enemy, 
either  during  or  since  the  late  war. 

Before  we  commence  operations,  a  glance  at  the  personnel 
of  tli-j  ship  may  not  be  uninteresting.  If  the  reader  is  to  em 
bark  on  the  cruise  with  us,  he  will  very  naturally  desire  to 
know  something  of  his  future  shipmates.  Having  made  the 
cruise  in  the  Sumter,  he  is,  of  course,  acquainted  with  the  offi 
cers  of  that  ship,  and  if,  after  the  fashion  of  the  sailor,  he  has 
formed  a  liking  for  any  of  them,  he  will  naturally  be  inclined 
to  know  what  became  of  such  of  them  as  did  not  follow  me  to 
the  Alabama.  Of  the  lieutenants,  only  one  of  my  old  set  fol 
lowed  me.  Accident  separated  the  rest  from  me,  very  much 
to  my  regret,  and  we  afterward  played  different  roles  in  the 
war.  The  reader  has  not  forgotten  Chapman,  the  second  offi 
cer  of  the  Sumter,  who  made  such  a  sensation  in  Cienfuegos, 
among  the  fair  sex,  and  who  slept  in  such  a  sweet  pair  of 
sheets  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  that  he  dreamed  of  them  for 
weeks  afterward.  Chapman  finished  the  cruise  in  the  Sumter, 
serving  everybody  else  pretty  much  as  he  served  the  Cien- 
fuegos  people,  whenever  he  chanced  to  get  ashore.  He  was 
always  as  ready  "  to  tread  one  measure  —  take  one  cup  of 
wine,"  with  a  friend,  as  to  hurl  defiance  at  an  enemy.  He 
carried  the  garrison  mess  at  Gibraltar  by  storm.  There  was 
no  dinner-party  without  him.  He  talked  war  and  strategy 
with  the  colonel,  fox-hunted  with  the  major,  and  thrumbed 
the  light  guitar,  and  sang  delightful  songs,  in  company  with 
the  young  captains,  and  lieutenants,  beneath  the  latticed  win 
dows  of  their  lady-loves.  It  is  astonishing,  too,  the  progress 
he  made  in  learning  Spanish,  which  was  attributable  entirely 
to  the  lessons  he  took  from  some  bright  eyes,  and  musical 
tongues,  in  the  neighboring  village  of  San  Eoque,  only  a 
pleasant  canter  over  into  Spain,  from  Gibraltar.  Chapman 
was,  unfortunately,  going  from  London  to  Nassau,  in  a  block 
ade  runner,  while  I  was  returning  from  the  latter  place  to 
Liverpool,  preparatory  to  joining  the  Alabama.  It  was  thus 
'27 


416  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  missed  each  other ;  and  the  Alabama  was  on  the  wing  so 
soon  afterward,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  catch  her. 
He  served  in  the  Georgia,  a  while,  under  Captain  William 
Lewis  Maury,  and,  when  that  ship  was  laid  up  and  sold,  he 
returned  to  the  Confederate  States,  and  rendered  gallant  and 
efficient  service,  in  the  last  days  of  the  war,  in  doing  what 
was  possible  for  the  defence  of  Wilmington,  against  the  over 
whelming  fleet  of  Porter. 

Stribling,  the  third  of  the  Sumter,  was  assigned  by  me  to 
Maffitt's  command,  as  already  related.  He  died  of  yellow  fever 
in  Mobile,  deeply  regretted  by  the  whole  service. 

Evans,  the  fourth  of  the  Sumter,  missed  me  as  Chapman  had 
done,  and  like  Chapman,  he  took  service  on  board  the  Georgia, 
and  afterward  returned  to  the  Confederate  States.  He  served 
in  the  naval  batteries  on  the  James  Eiver,  until  the  evacuation 
of  Eichmond. 

I  took  with  me  to  the  Alabama,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  my 
old  and  well-tried  First  Lieutenant,  Kell.  He  became  the 
first  lieutenant  of  the  new  ship. 

Lieutenant  Eichard  F.  Armstrong,  of  Georgia,  whom,  as  the 
reader  will  recollect,  I  had  left  at  Gibraltar,  in  charge  of  the 
Sumter,  took  Chapman's  place,  and  became  second  lieutenant. 
Armstrong  was  a  young  gentleman  of  intelligence  and  char 
acter,  and  had  made  good  progress  in  his  profession.  He  was 
a  midshipman  at  the  Naval  School,  at  Annapolis,  when  the 
war  broke  out.  Though  still  a  mere  boy,  he  resigned  his 
appointment  without  hesitation,  and  came  South.  He  had 
made  the  cruise  with  me  in  the  Sumter,  and  been  since  pro 
moted. 

Midshipman  Joseph  D.  Wilson,  of  Florida,  also  an  eleve  of 
Annapolis,  and  who,  like  Armstrong,  had  made  the  cruise  with 
me  in  the  Sumter,  and  been  promoted,  took  Stribling's  place, 
and  became  third  lieutenant. 

My  fourth  lieutenant  in  place  of  Evans  was  Mr.  Arthur  Sin 
clair,  who,  though  not  bred  in  the  old  service,  belonged  to  one 
of  the  old  naval  families  of  Virginia,  both  his  father  and  grand 
father  having  been  captains  in  the  United  States  Navy.  These 
two  young  gentlemen  were  also  intelligent,  and  for  the  short 
time  they  had  been  at  sea,  well  informed  in  their  profession. 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     417 

My  fifth,  lieutenant  was  Mr.  John  Low,  of  Georgia,  a  capital 
seaman,  and  excellent  officer. 

Gait,  my  old  surgeon,  had  accompanied  me,  as  the  reader 
has  seen,  as  did  also  First  Lieutenant  Howell,  of  the  marines. 
Myers,  the  paymaster  of  the  Sumter,  was,  unfortunately  for 
me,  in  prison,  in  Fort  Warren,  when  the  Alabama  was  com 
missioned — the  Federal  authorities  still  gloating  over  the 
prize  they  had  made,  through  the  trickery  of  the  Consul  at 
Tangier,  of  one  of  the  "pirate's"  officers.  In  his  place  I  was 
forced  to  content  myself  with  a  man,  as  paymaster,  who  shall 
be  nameless  in  these  pages,  since  he  afterward,  upon  being 
discharged  by  me,  for  his  worthlessness,  went  over  to  the 
enemy,  and  became  one  of  Mr.  Adams'  hangers-on,  and  paid 
witnesses  and  spies  about  Liverpool,  and  the  legation  in  Lon 
don.  As  a  preparatory  step  to  embracing  the  Yankee  cause, 
he  married  a  mulatto  woman,  in  Kingston,  Jamaica,  (though 
he  had  a  wife  living,)  whom  he  swindled  out  of  what  little 
property  she  had,  and  then  abandoned.  I  was  quite  amused, 
when  I  saw  afterward,  in  the  Liverpool  and  London  papers, 
that  this  man,  who  was  devoid  of  every  virtue,  and  steeped  to 
the  lips  in  every  vice,  was  giving  testimony  in  the  English 
courts,  in  the  interest  of  the  nation  of  "grand  moral  ideas." 
This  was  the  only  recruit  the  enemy  ever  got  from  the  ranks 
of  my  officers. 

To  complete  the  circle  of  the  ward-room,  I  have  only  to 
mention  Mr.  Miles  J.  Freeman,  the  chief  engineer  of  the  Sumter, 
who  was  now  filling  the  same  place  on  board  the  Alabama,  and 
with  whom  the  reader  is  already  acquainted ;  Dr.  Llewellyn, 
an  Englishman  from  Wiltshire,  who  having  come  out  in  the 
Alabama  as  surgeon  when  she  was  yet  a  merchant-ship,  had  been 
retained  as  assistant  surgeon ;  and  Acting  Master  Bullock, 
brother  of  the  captai'n  already  named  in  these  pages.  My 
"  steerage  officers,"  who  are  too  numerous  to  be  named  indi 
vidually,  were  a  capital  set  of  young  men,  as  were  the  "for 
ward  officers."  Indeed,  with  the  exception  of  the  black  sheep 
in  the  ward-room,  with  Federal  propensities,  to  whom  I  have 
alluded,  I  had  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  my  officers  of  all 
grades. 

I  must  not  forget  to  introduce  to  the  reader  one  humble 


418  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

individual  of  the  Alabama's  crew.  He  was  my  steward,  and 
my  household  would  not  be  complete  without  him.  When  I 
was  making  the  passage  from  Nassau  to  Liverpool,  in  the  Ba 
hama,  I  noticed  a  pale,  rather  delicate,  and  soft-mannered  young 
man,  who  was  acting  as  steward  on  board.  He  was  an  obe 
dient,  respectful,  and  attentive  major-domo,  but,  unfortunately, 
was  rather  too  much  addicted  to  the  use  of  the  wine  which  he 
set  on  the  table,  every  day,  for  the  guests.  Poor  Bartelli — I 
thus  designate  him,  because  of  his  subsequent  sad  fate,  which 
the  reader  will  learn  in  due  time — did  not  seem  to  have  the 
power  of  self-restraint,  especially  under  the  treatment  he  re 
ceived,  which  was  not  gentle.  The  captain  was  rough  toward 
him,  and  the  poor  fellow  seemed  very  much  cowed  and  hum 
bled,  trembling  when  spoken  to  harshly.  His  very  forlorn- 
ness  drew  me  toward  him.  He  was  an  Italian,  evidently  of 
gentle  blood,  and  as,  with  the  Italians,  drinking  to  intoxication 
is  not  an  ineradicable  vice,  I  felt  confident  that  he  could  be 
reformed  under  proper  treatment.  And  so,  when  we  arrived 
at  Terceira,  I  asked  Bartelli  how  he  would  like  to  go  with  me, 
as  steward,  on  board  the  Alabama.  He  seemed  to  be  delighted 
with  the  proposal.  "  There  is  one  understanding,  however," 
I  said  to  him,  "  which  you  and  I  must  have :  you  must  never 
touch  a  drop  of  liquor,  on  board  the  ship,  on  duty.  When 
you  go  on  shore,  '  on  liberty,'  if  you  choose  to  have  a  little 
frolic,  that  is  your  affair,  provided,  always,  you  come  off  sober. 
Is  it  a  bargain ?  "  " It  is,  Captain,"  said  he ;  "I  promise  you  I 
will  behave  myself  like  a  man,  if  you  will  take  me  with  you." 
The  Captain  of  the  Bahama  had  no  objection,  and  Bartelli  was 
duly  installed  as  my  steward.  I  found  him,  as  I  had  expected, 
a  capital  servant.  He  was  faithful,  and  became  attached  to 
me,  and  kept  his  promise,  under  strong  temptation ;  for  there 
was  always  in  the  cabin-lockers  of  the  Alabama  the  best  of 
wines  and  other  liquors.  He  took  care  of  my  linen  like  a 
woman,  washing  it  himself  when  we  were  at  sea,  and  sending 
it  to  some  careful  laundress  when  in  port.  I  shall,  perhaps, 
astonish  a  great  many  husbands  and  heads  of  families,  when  I 
tell  them,  that  every  shirt-button  was  always  in  its  place,  and 
that  I  never  had  to  call  for  needle  and  thread  under  difficulties ! 
My  mess  affairs  never  gave  me  the  least  trouble.  My  table 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     419 

was  always  well  supplied,  and  when  guests  were  expected,  I 
could  safely  leave  the  arrangements  to  Bartelli ;  and  then  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  observe  the  air,  and  grace  of  manner  and 
speech,  with  which  he  would  receive  my  visitors  arid  conduct 
them  into  the  cabin.  Poor  Bartelli ! 

The  day  after  the  Bahama  left  us  was  cloudy,  and  cheerless 
in  aspect,  with  a  fresh  wind  and  a  rough  sea.  The  ship  was 
rolling  and  tumbling  about,  to  the  discomfort  of  every  one, 
and  confusion  still  reigned  on  board.  Below  decks  everything 
was  dirt  and  disorder.  Nobody  had  as  yet  been  berthed  or 
messed,  nor  had  any  one  been  stationed  at  a  gun  or  a  rope. 
Spare  shot-boxes  and  other  heavy  articles  were  fetching  way, 
and  the  ship  was  leaking  considerably  through  her  upper 
works.  She  had  been  put  together  with  rather  green  timber, 
and,  having  been  caulked  in  England,  in  winter,  her  seams  were 
beginning  to  gape  beneath  the  ardent  -heats  of  a  semi-tropical 
climate.  I  needed  several  days  yet,  to  put  things  "to  rights," 
and  mould  the  crew  into  a  little  shape.  I  withdrew,  therefore, 
under  easy  sail,  from  the  beaten  tracks  of  commerce ;  and  my 
first  lieutenant  went  to  work  berthing,  and  messing,  and  quar 
tering,  and  stationing  his  men.  The  gun-equipments  were  com 
pleted,  and  such  little  alterations  made  as  were  found  neces 
sary  for  the  easy  and  efficient  working  of  the  battery,  and  the 
guns  were  sealed  with  blank  cartridges,  and  put  in  a  proper 
condition  for  being  loaded  promptly.  We  now  devoted  several 
days  to  the  exercise  of  the  crew,  as  well  at  general,  as  division, 
quarters.  Some  few  of  the  guns'  crews  had  served  in  ships  of 
war  before,  and  proved  capital  drill-sergeants  for  the  rest.  The 
consequence  was,  that  rapid  progress  was  made,  and  the  Ala- 
lama  was  soon  in  a  condition  to  plume  her  wings  for  her  flight. 
It  only  remained  to  caulk  our  upper  works,  and  this  occupied 
us  but  a  day  or  two  longer. 

I  was  much  gratified  to  find  that  my  new  ship  proved  to  be 
a  fine  sailer,  under  canvas.  This  quality  was  of  inestimable 
advantage  to  me,  as  it  enabled  me  to  do  most  of  my  work 
under  sail.  She  carried  but  an  eighteen  days'  supply  of  fuel, 
and  if  I  had  been  obliged,  because  of  her  dull  sailing  qualities, 
to  chase  every  thing  under  steam,  the  reader  can  see  how  I 
should  have  been  hampered  in  my  movements.  I  should  have 


420  MEMOIRS     OF     SEEVICE     AFLOAT 

been  half  my  time  running  into  port  for  fuel.  This  would 
have  disclosed  my  whereabouts  so  frequently  to  the  enemy, 
that  I  should  have  been  constantly  in  danger  of  capture, 
whereas  I  could  now  stretch  into  the  most  distant  seas,  and 
chase,  capture,  and  destroy,  perfectly  independent  of  steam. 
I  adopted  the  plan,  therefore,  of  working  under  sail,  in  the 
very  beginning  of  my  cruise,  and  practised  it  unto  the  end. 
With  the  exception  of  half  a  dozen  prizes,  all  my  captures 
were  made  with  my  screw  hoisted,  and  my  ship  under  sail ; 
and  with  but  one  exception,  as  the  reader  will  see  hereafter, 
I  never  had  occasion  to  use  steam  to  escape  from  an  enemy. 

This  keeping  of  the  sea,  for  three,  and  four  months  at  a  time, 
had  another  great  advantage  —  it  enabled  me  to  keep  my 
crew  under  better  drill,  and  discipline,  and,  in  every  way,  bet 
ter  in  hand.  Nothing  demoralizes  a  crew  so  much  as  frequent 
visits  to  port.  The  sailor  is  as  improvident,  and  incapable 
of  self-government  as  a  child.  Indeed  he  is  regarded  by  most 
nations  as  a  ward  of  the  state,  and  that  sort  of  legislation  is 
thrown  around  him,  which  is  thrown  around  a  ward  in  chan 
cery.  The  moment  a  ship  drops  her  anchor  in  a  port,  like 
the  imprisoned  bird,  he  begins  to  beat  the  bars  of  his  cage,  if 
he  is  not  permitted  to  go  on  shore,  and  have  his  frolic ;  and 
when  on  shore,  to  carry  our  simile  still  further,  he  is  like  the 
bird  let  out  of  the  cage.  He  gives  a  loose  rein  to  his  passions, 
and  sometimes  plunges  so  deeply  into  debauchery,  that  he 
renders  himself  unfit  for  duty,  for  days,  and  sometimes  weeks, 
after  he  is  hunted  up  and  brought  on  board  by  the  police, 
which  is  most  frequently  the  manner  in  which  his  captain 
again  gets  possession  of  him.  Such  is  the  reckless  intemper 
ance  into  which  some  of  the  regular  old  salts  plunge,  that  I 
have  known  them  to  go  on  shore,  make  their  way  straight  to 
a  sailor-boarding-house,  which  is  frequently  a  dance-house, 
and  always  a  grog-shop,  give  what  money  they  have  about 
them  to  the  "landlord,"  and  tell  him  to  keep  them  drunk 
as  long  as  it  will  last,  and  when  they  have  had  the  worth  of 
it  in  a  good,  long,  big  drunk,  to  pick  them  up,  and  send  them 
off  to  their  ship !  The  very  d — 1  is  to  pay,  too,  when  a  lot 
of  drunken  sailors  is  brought  on  board,  as  every  first  lieutenant 
knows.  Frequently  they  have  to  be  knocked  down,  disarmed 


DUKING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      421 

of  the  dangerous  sheath-knives  which  they  wear,  and  confined 
in  irons  until  they  are  sober.  When  that  takes  place,  Jack 
comes  out  of  the  "Brig,"  his  place  of  confinement,  very  much 
ashamed  of  himself;  generally  with  a  blackened  eye  or  two, 
if  not  with  a  broken  nose,  and  looking  very  seedy  in  the 
way  of  apparel,  as  the  chances  are  that  he  has  sold  01 
exchanged  the  tidy  suit  in  which  he  went  on  shore,  for 
some  'long-shore  toggery,  the  better  to  enable  him  to  pro 
long  that  delightful  drunk  of  his.  It  was  quite  enough  tc 
have  such  scenes  as  these  repeated  once  in  three  or  foui 
months. 

When  I  had  put  my  ship  in  a  tolerable  state  of  defence,  and 
given  a  little  practice  at  the  guns,  to  my  crew,  I  turned  her 
head  toward  her  cruising  ground.  It  so  happened  that  this 
was  not  very  far  off.  Following  Porter's  example  in  the 
Pacific,  —  I  mean  the  first  Porter,  the  father  of  the  present 
Admiral  in  the  Federal  Navy,  —  I  resolved  to  strike  a  blow  at 
the  enemy's  whale-fishery,  off  the  Azores.  There  is  a  curious 
and  beautiful  problem  —  that  of  Providence  feeding  the  whale 
—  connected  with  this  fishery,  which  I  doubt  not  will  interest 
the  reader,  as  it  did  the  writer  of  these  pages,  when  it  first 
came  under  his  notice.  It  is  because  of  that  problem,  that 
the  Azores  are  a  whaling  station.  The  food  which  attracts 
the  whale  to  these  islands  is  not  produced  in  their  vicinity, 
but  is  carried  thither  by  the  currents — the  currents  of  the 
ocean  performing  the  same  functions  for  the  finny  tribe,  that 
the  atmosphere  does  for  the  plants.  The  fishes  of  the  sea,  in 
their  kingdom  beneath  the  waters,  have  thus  their  highways 
and  byways,  as  well  as  the  animals  upon  the  land,  and  are 
always  to  be  found  congregated  where  their  great  food-bearers, 
the  currents,  make  their  deposits.  Animalculas,  infusoria, 
small  fishes,  minute  Crustacea,  and  shell-fish  found  on  the 
algae,  or  floating  sea-weed,  sea-nettles,  and  other  food,  are  pro 
duced  in  the  more  calm  latitudes,  where  the  waters  are  com 
paratively  still,  taken  up  by  the  currents,  and  transported  to 
the  more  congenial  feeding-grounds  of  the  whales,  and  other 
fishes. 

Much  of  this  food  is  produced  in  the  tepid  waters  of  the  sea, 
into  which,  it  is  well  known,  some  descriptions  of  whales  can- 


422  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

not  enter.  The  equatorial  belt  of  waters  surrounding  the 
earth,  between  the  tropics,  whose  temperature  is  generally  80° 
of  Fahrenheit,  is  as  a  sea  of  fire  to  the  "right"  whale.  It 
would  be  as  certain  death  for  this  species  of  whale  to  attemptr 
to  cross  these  waters,  as  for  a  human  being  to  plunge  into  a 
burning  lake.  The  proof  of  this  is  that  the  "  right "  whale  of 
the  northern  hemisphere  is  never  found  in  the  southern  hem 
isphere,  or  e  converse.  It  is  a  separate  and  distinct  species  of 
fish.  See  how  beneficent,  therefore,  the  arrangement  is,  by 
which  the  food  for  these  monsters  of  the  deep  is  transported 
from  the  tepid  waters,  into  which  they  cannot  enter  in  pursuit 
of  it,  to  the  cooler  waters  in  which  they  delight  to  gambol. 
The  Gulf  Stream  is  the  great  food- carrier  for  the  extra-tropical 
whales  of  the  northern  hemisphere.  An  intelligent  sea-cap 
tain,  writing  to  Superintendent  Maury  of  the  National  Obser 
vatory,  some  years  before  the  war,  informed  him,  that  in  the 
Gulf  Stream,  off  the  coast  of  Florida,  he  fell  in  with  "such  a 
school  of  young  sea-nettles,  as  had  never  before  been  heard 
of."  The  sea  was  literally  covered  with  them  for  many  square 
leagues.  He  likened  them,  in  appearance,  to  acorns  floating  on 
the  water,  but  they  were  so  thick  as  completely  to  cover  the 
sea.  He  was  bound  to  England,  and  was  five  or  six  days  in 
sailing  through  them.  In  about  sixty  days  afterward,  on  his 
return  voyage,  he  fell  in  with  the  same  school  off  the  Azores, 
and  here  he  was  three  or  four  days  in  passing  them  again.  He 
recognized  them  as  the  same,  for  he  had  never  before  seen  any 
quite  like  them;  and  on  both  occasions  he  frequently  hauled 
up  buckets  full,  and  examined  them.  In  their  adventurous 
voyage  of  sixty  days,  during  which  they  must  have  been 
tossed  about  in  several  gales  of  wind,  these  little  marine  ani 
mals  had  grown  considerably,  and  already  the  whales  had  be 
gun  to  devour  them;  for  the  school  was  now  so  much  dimin 
ished  in  size,  that  the  captain  was  enabled  to  sail  through  it, 
in  three  or  four  days,  instead  of  the  five  or  six  which  it  had 
formerly  taken  him.  We  see,  thus,  that  the  fishes  of  the  sea 
have  their  seed-time  and  harvest ;  that  the  same  beneficent 
hand  that  decks  the  lilies  of  the  field  in  garments  more  superb 
than  those  of  Solomon,  and  feeds  the  young  raven,  seeds  down 
the  great  equatorial  belt  of  waters  for  the  fishes;  and  that 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        423 

when  the  harvest-time  has  come,  he  sends  in  his  reapers  and 
gleaners,  the  currents,  which  bind  up  the  sheaves,  and  bear 
them  off  three  thousand  miles,  to  those  denizens  of  the  great 
deep,  which,  perhaps,  but  for  this  beautiful  and  beneficent  ar 
rangement,  would  die  of  inanition. 

The  whaling  season  ends  at  the  Azores  about  the  first  of 
October,  when  the  first  winter  gales  begin  to  blow,  and  the 
food  becomes  scarce.  The  whales  then  migrate  to  other  feed 
ing-grounds,  and  the  adventurous  whaler  follows  them.  As 
we  were  now,  in  the  first  days  of  September,  on  board  the  Ala 
bama,  the  reader  will  see,  that  we  had  but  a  few  weeks  left,  in 
which  to  accomplish  our  purpose  of  striking  a  blow  at  the 
enemy's  whale  fishery.  In  the  afternoon  of  September  4th, 
the  weather  being  fine  and  clear,  we  made  Pico  and  Fayal, 
and  reducing  sail  to  topsails,  lay  off  and  on  during  the  night. 
The  next  day,  the  weather  being  cloudy,  and  the  wind  light 
from  the  eastward,  we  made  our  first  prize,  without  the  excite 
ment  of  a  chase.  A  ship  having  been  discovered,  lying  to,  with 
her  foretopsail  to  the  mast,  we  made  sail  for  her,  hoisting  the 
United  States  colors,  and  approached  her  within  boarding  dis 
tance,  that  is  to  say,  within  a  few  hundred  yards,  without  her 
moving  tack  or  sheet.  She  had  shown  the  United  States  col 
ors  in  return,  as  we  approached,  and  proved  to  be  a  whaler, 
with  a  huge  whale,  which  she  had  recently  struck,  made  fast 
alongside,  and  partially  hoisted  out  of  the  water  by  her  yard 
tackles.  The  surprise  was  perfect  and  complete,  although 
eleven  days  had  elapsed  since  the  Alabama  had  been  commis 
sioned  at  a  neighboring  island,  less  than  a  hundred  miles  off. 

The  captured  ship  proved  to  be  the  Ocmulgee,  of  Edgartown, 
Massachusetts,  whose  master  was  a  genuine  specimen  of  the 
Yankee  whaling  skipper ;  long  and  lean,  and  as  elastic,  appar 
ently,  as  the  whalebone  he  dealt  in.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  blank  stare  of  astonishment,  that  sat  on  his  face,  as  the 
change  of  flags  took  place  on  board  the  Alabama.  He  had 
been  engaged,  up  to  the  last  moment,  with  his  men,  securing 
the  rich  spoil  alongside.  The  whale  was  a  fine  "  sperm,"  and 
was  a  "big  strike,"  and  had  already  been  denuded  of  much  of 
its  blubber  when  we  got  alongside.  He  naturally  concluded, 
he  said,  when  he  saw  the  United  States  colors  at  our  peak,  that 


424  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  were  one  of  the  new  gunboats  sent  out  by  Mr.  "Welles  to 
protect  the  whale  fishery.  It  was  indeed  remarkable,  that  no 
protection  should  have  been  given  to  these  men;  by  their 
Government.  Unlike  the  ships  of  commerce,  the  whalers  are 
obliged  to  congregate  within  small  well-known  spaces  of  ocean 
and  remain  there  for  weeks  at  a  time,  whilst  the  whaling  sea 
son  lasts.  It  was  the  most  obvious  thing  in  the  world,  that 
these  vessels,  thus  clustered  together,  should  attract  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Confederate  cruisers,  and  be  struck  at.  There  are 
not  more  than  half  a  dozen  principal  whaling  stations  on  the 
entire  globe,  and  a  ship,  of  size  and  force,  at  each,  would  have 
been  sufficient  protection.  But  the  whalers,  like  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States  generally,  were  abandoned  to  their  fate. 
Mr.  Welles  did  not  seem  capable  of  learning  by  experience 
even ;  for  the  Shenandoah  repeated  the  successes  of  the  Ala- 
lama,  in  the  North  Pacific,  toward  the  close  of  the  war. 
There  were  Federal  steam  gunboats,  and  an  old  sailing  hulk 
cruising  about  in  the  China  seas,  but  no  one  seemed  to  think 
of  the  whalers,  until  Waddel  carried  dismay  and  consternation 
among  them. 

It  took  us  some  time  to  remove  the  crew  of  the  Ocmulgee, 
consisting  of  thirty-seven  persons,  to  the  Alabama.  We  also 
got  on  board  from  her  some  beef  and  pork,  and  small  stores, 
and  by  the  time  we  had  done  this,  it  was  nine  o'clock  at  night; 
too  late  to  think  of  burning  her,  as  a  bonfire,  by  night,  would 
flush  the  remainder  of  the  game,  which  I  knew  to  be  in  the 
vicinity ;  and  I  had  now  become  too  old  a  hunter  to  commit 
such  an  indiscretion.  With  a  little  management  and  caution, 
I  might  hope  to  uncover  the  birds,  no  faster  than  I  could  bag 
them.  And  so,  hoisting  a  light  at  the  peak  of  the  prize,  I 
permitted  her  to  remain  anchored  to  the  whale,  and  we  lay  by 
her  until  the  next  morning,  when  we  burned  her ;  the  smoke 
of  the  conflagration  being,  no  doubt,  mistaken  by  vessels  at  a 
distance,  for  that  of  some  passing  steamer. 

To  those  curious  in  such  matters,  I  may  state  that  a  large 
sperm  whale  will  yield  twenty-five  barrels  of  oil  from  the 
head  alone.  The  oil  is  found  in  its  liquid  state,  and  is  baled 
out  with  buckets,  from  a  hole  cut  in  the  top  of  the  head. 
What  can  be  the  uses  in  the  animal  economy  to  which  this 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     425 

immense  quantity  of  oil  in  the  head  of  the  fish  is  applied? 
They  are  probably  twofold.  First,  it  may  have  some  connec 
tion  with  the  sustenance  of  the  animal,  in  seasons  of  scarcity 
of  food,  and  secondly,  and  more  obviously,  it  appears  to  be  a 
provision  of  nature,  designed  on  the  same  principle  on  which 
birds  are  supplied  with  air-cells  in  their  bones.  The  whale, 
though  a  very  intelligent  fish,  and  with  an  affection  for  its 
"calf,"  almost  human,  has  but  a  small  brain,  the  great  cavity 
of  its  skull  being  filled  as  described.  As  the  specific  gravity 
of  oil  is  considerably  less  than  that  of  water,  we  can  be  at  no 
loss  to  conjecture  why  the  monster  has  so  bountiful  a  supply, 
nor  why  it  is  that  it  carries  the  supply  in  its  head.  As  is  well 
known,  the  whale  is  a  warm-blooded  mammal,  as  much  so  as 
the  cow  that  roams  our  pastures,  and  cannot  live  by  breathing 
the  water  alone.  Instead  of  the  gill  arrangement  of  other 
fishes,  which  enables  them  to  extract  from  the  water  sufficient 
air  to  vitalize  the  blood,  it  has  the  lungs  of  the  mammal,  and 
needs  to  breathe  the  atmosphere.  The  oil  in  the  head,  acting 
on  the  principle  of  the  cork,  enables  it  to  ascend  very  rapidly, 
from  great  depths  in  the  ocean,  when  it  requires  to  breathe,  or 
"  blow."  See  how  beautiful  this  oil  arrangement  is,  too,  in 
another  aspect.  It  enables  the  monster,  when  it  requires  rest, 
to  lay  its  head  on  the  softest  kind  of  a  pillow,  an  ocean  wave, 
and  sleep  as  unconcernedly  as  the  child  does  upon  the  bosom 
of  its  mother. 

On  the  day  after  the  capture  of  the  Ocmulgee,  we  chased  and 
overhauled  a  French  ship,  bound  to  Marseilles.  After  speaking 
this  ship,  and  telling  her  that  we  were  a  United  States  cruiser, 
we  bore  away  north,  half  west,  and  in  a  couple  of  hours  made 
the  island  of  Flores,  the  westernmost  of  the  Azores,  and  a 
favorite  island  to  be  sighted  by  the  whalers,  for  the  correction 
of  their  chronometers.  Approaching  it  just  .at  nightfall,  we 
shortened  sail,  and  lay  off  and  on  during  the  night.  This  is 
land  is  an  exceedingly  picturesque  object.  It  rises  like  a  huge 
mountain  from  the  depths  of  the  sea,  with  the  bluest  and  deep 
est  of  water  all  around  it.  It  is  rock-bound,  and  there  is 
scarcely  any  part  of  it,  where  a  ship  might  not  haul  alongside 
of  the  rocks,  and  make  fast  to  the  shore.  It  rises  to  the  height 
of  a  thousand  feet  and  more,  and  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant 


426  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

vegetation,  the  substratum  of  rock  being  overlaid  with  a  gen 
erous  soil.  The  climate  is  genial  for  three-fourths  of  the  year, 
but  almost  a  perpetual  gale  howls  over  it  in  winter.  At  a  dis 
tance,  the  island  appeared  like  an  unbroken  mountain,  but  as 
we  approached  it,  many  beautiful  valleys,  and  gaps  in  the 
mountain  presented  themselves,  with  the  neat  white  farm 
houses  of  the  lonely  dwellers  peeping  out  from  beneath  the 
dense  foliage.  It  was  indeed  a  beautiful  scene  to  look  upon, 
and  such  was  the  air  of  perfect  repose  and  peace  that  per 
vaded  it,  that  a  ship  of  war  seemed  out  of  place,  approach 
ing  its  quiet  shores. 

The  next  day,  Sunday,  dawned  beautiful  and  bright,  and  the 
Alabama  having  approached  this  semi-tropical  island,  suffi 
ciently  near  to  inhale  the  fragrance  of  its  shrubs  and  flowers, 
mustered  her  crew  for  the  first  time.  The  reader  has  now  been 
sufficiently  long  with  us  to  know,  that  when  we  speak  of  "mus 
ter"  on  board  a  ship  of  war,  we  do  not  mean  simply  the  calling 
of  the  roll,  but  a  ceremony  of  dress  and  inspection.  With 
clean,  white  decks,  with  the  brass  and  iron  work  glittering  like 
so  many  mirrors  in  the  sun,  and  with  the  sails  neatly  trimmed, 
and  the  Confederate  States  flag  at  our  peak,  we  spread  our 
awnings  and  read  the  Articles  of  War  to  the  crew.  A  great 
change  had  taken  place  in  the  appearance  of  the  men,  since  I 
made  that  stump  speech  to  them  which  has  been  described 
Their  parti-colored  garments  had  been  cast  aside,  and  they  were 
all  neatly  arrayed  in  duck  frocks  and  trousers,  well-polished 
shoes,  and  straw  hats.  There  was  a  visible  improvement  in 
their  health,  too.  They  had  been  long  enough  out  of  Liverpool 
to  recover  from  the  effects  of  their  debauches,  and  regain  their 
accustomed  stamina.  This  was  the  first  reading  of  the  Arti 
cles  of  War  to  them,  and  it  was  curious  to  observe  the  atten 
tion  with  which  they  listened  to  the  reading,  occasionally  eying 
each  other,  as  they  were  struck  by  particular  portions  of  them. 
These  Articles,  which  were  copied  from  similar  Articles,  for 
the  "better  government  of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States," 
were  quite  severe  in  their  denunciations  of  crime.  The  pen 
alty  of  death  frequently  occurred  in  them,  and  they  placed  the 
power  of  executing  this  penalty  in  the  hands  of  the  captain 
and  a  court-martial. 


DUKING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      427 

Jack  had  already  had  a  little  foretaste  of  discipline,  in  the  two 
weeks  he  had  been  on  board;  the  first  lieutenant  having 
brought  several  of  them  to  the  "  mast,"  whence  they  had  been 
sent  into  confinement  by  me,  for  longer  or  shorter  intervals, 
according  to  the  grade  of  their  offences  ;  and  he  now  began 
more  distinctly  to  perceive  that  he  had  gotten  on  board  a  ship 
of  war,  instead  of  the  privateer  he  had  supposed  the  Alabama 
to  be,  and  that  he  would  have  to  toe  a  pretty  straight  mark. 
It  is  with  a  disorderly  crew,  as  with  other  things,  the  first 
blows  are  the  most  effective.  I  had  around  me  a  large  staff 
of  excellent  officers,  who  always  wore  their  side  arms,  and 
pistols,  when  on  duty,  and  from  this  time  onward  we  never 
had  any  trouble  about  keeping  the  most  desperate  and  turbu 
lent  characters  in  subjection.  My  code  was  like  that  of  the 
Medes  and  Persians  —  it  was  never  relaxed.  The  moment  a 
man  offended,  he  was  seized  and  confined  in  irons,  and,  if  the 
offence  was  a  grave  one,  a  court-martial  was  sitting  on  his 
case  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours.  The  willing  and  obedient 
were  treated  with  humanity  and  kindness ;  the  turbulent 
were  jerked  down,  with  a  strong  hand,  and  made  submissive 
to  discipline.  I  was  as  rigid  with  the  officers  as  with  the 
crew,  though,  of  course,  in  a  different  way,  and,  both  officers 
and  men  soon  learning  what  was  required  of  them,  everything 
went  on,  on  board  the  Alabama,  after  the  first  few  weeks,  as 
smoothly,  and  with  as  little  jarring  as  if  she  had  been  a  well- 
constructed  and  well-oiled  machine. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

CAPTUEE    OF    THE     STAELIGHT,     OCEAN     EOVEE,     ALEET, 

WEATHEE-GAUGE A   EACE   BY  NIGHT CAPTUEE   OF 

THE    ALTAMAHA,     VIRGINIA,    AND     ELIJA    DUNBAE A 

EOUGH     SEA,     TOILING     BOATS,     AND     A     PICTUEESQUE 
BUENING   OF   A   SHIP   IN   A    GALE. 

WE  were  running  in,  while  the  muster  described  in  the 
last  chapter  was  going  on,  for  the  little  town,  or,  rather, 
sea-side  village  of  Lagens,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of 
Flores,  and,  having  approached  the  beach  quite  near,  we  hove 
the  ship  to,  and  hauling  alongside,  from  the  stern,  where  they 
had  been  towing,  the  whale-boats  of  the  captured  ship,  which 
we  had  brought  away  from  the  prize  for  this  purpose,  we 
paroled  our  prisoners,  and,  putting  them  in  possession  of  their 
boats,  shoved  them  off  for  the  shore.  I  had  two  motives  in 
thus  landing  my  prisoners  in  their  own  boats,  or,  to  speak 
more  properly,  in  the  boats  which  had  once  belonged  to  them. 
It  saved  me  the  trouble  of  landing  them  myself;  and,  as  the 
boats  were  valuable,  and  I  permitted  the  prisoners  to  put  in 
them  as  many  provisions  as  they  desired,  and  as  much  other 
plunder  as  they  could  pick  up  about  the  decks  of  their  ships 
—  excepting  always  such  articles  as  we  needed  on  board  the 
Alabama — the  sale  of  their  boats  and  cargoes  to  the  islanders 
gave  them  the  means  of  subsistence,  until  they  could  commu 
nicate  with  their  consul  in  the  neighboring  island  of  Fayal. 

We  had  scarcely  gotten  through  with  the  operation  of  land 
ing  our  prisoners,  before  the  cry  of  "  sail  ho ! "  came  to  us 
from  the  mast-head ;  and  we  made  sail  in  chase  of  a  schooner 
which  was  approaching  the  island,  hoisting  the  English  colors 
to  throw  the  stranger  off  his  guard.  As  the  two  vessels  were 
sailing  toward  each  other,  they  approached  very  rapidly,  and 

428 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  429 

in  the  course  of  an  hour  we  were  within  a  mile  of  each  other. 
Still  the  schooner  did  not  show  any  colors.  The  reason  was 
quite  plain ;  she  was  American  in  every  feature,  and  could 
show  us  no  other  colors  than  such  as  would  subject  her  to 
capture,  in  case  we  should  prove  to  be  her  enemy,  of  which 
she  seemed  to  be  suspicious.  Indeed,  the  gallant  little  craft, 
with  every  stitch  of  canvas  set,  sails  well  hoisted,  and  sheets  a 
little  eased,  was  now  edging  off  a  little  from  us,  and  endeavor 
ing  to  gain  the  shelter  of  the  well-known  marine  league,  the 
land  being  distant  only  about  five  miles.  Perceiving  her  ob 
ject,  and  seeing  that  I  had  only  a  couple  of  miles  to  spare,  I 
kept  my  own  ship  off,  the  better  to  throw  myself  across  the 
stranger's  path,  changed  my  colors,  and  fired  a  blank  cartridge 
to  heave  her  to.  But  she  neither  hove  to,  nor  showed  colors, 
being  evidently  intent  upon  giving  me  a  race.  Although  I 
already  had  the  little  craft  under  my  guns,  I  humored  her  for 
a  few  minutes,  just  to  show  her  that  I  could  beat  her  in  a  fair 
trial  of  speed,  and  when  I  had  proved  this,  by  gaining  rapidly 
upon  her,  I  sent  a  round  shot  from  one  of  the  bow  guns  between 
her  masts,  a  few  feet  only  over  the  heads  of  her  people.  If  the 
reader  has  heard  a  32-pounder  whistle,  in  such  close  proximity, 
he  knows  very  well  what  it  says,  to  wit,  that  there  must  be 
no  more  trifling.  And  so  the  captain  of  the  schooner  under 
stood  it,  for  in  a  moment  afterward  we  could  see  the  graceful 
little  craft  luffing  up  in  the  wind,  brailing  up  her  foresail,  and 
hauling  her  jib  sheet  to  windward.  The  welcome  stars  and 
stripes  fluttered  soon  afterward  from  her  peak.  The  master 
being  brought  on  board  with  his  papers,  the  prize  proved  to 
be  the  schooner  Starlight,  of  Boston,  from  Fayal,  bound  to 
Boston  by  the  way  of  Flores,  for  which  island  she  had  some 
passengers,  several  ladies  among  the  number. 

The  crew  consisted  of  seven  persons  —  all  good  Yankee  sailors. 
Having  heard,  by  this  time,  full  accounts  of  the  shameful  treat 
ment  of  my  paymaster  of  the  Sumter,  which  has  been  described. 
in  a  former  chapter,  I  resolved  to  practise  a  little  retaliation 
upon  the  enemy,  and  ordered  the  crew  of  the  Starlight  put  in 
irons.  I  pursued  this  practice,  painful  as  it  was,  for  the  next 
seven  or  eight  captures,  putting  the  masters  and  mates  of  the 
ships,  as  well  as  the  crews,  in  irons.  The  masters  would  fre- 


430  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

quently  rempnstrate  with  me,  claiming  that  it  was  an  indig 
nity  put  upon  them  ;  and  so  it  was,  but  I  replied  to  them,  that 
their  countrymen  had  put  a  similar  indignity  upon  an  officer 
and  a  gentleman,  who  had  worn  the  uniform  of  the  navies  of 
both  our  countries.     By  the  time  that  the  capture  of  the  Star 
light  had  been  completed,  the  sun  was  near  his  setting,  and  it 
was  too  late  to  land  the  passengers.     I  therefore  sent  a  prize 
crew  on  board  the  captured  ship,  directing  the  prize-master  to 
lie  by  me  during  the  night,  and  giving  him  especial  charge  to 
inform  the  passengers  that  they  should  be  safely  landed  in  the 
morning,  and,  in  the  meantime,  to  quiet  the  fears  of  the  ladies, 
who  had  been  much  alarmed  by  the  chase  and  the  firing,  we 
hoisted  a  light  at  the  peak  of  the  Alabama,  and  lay  to,  all 
night,  in   nearly  a  calm  sea.     There  were  some  dark   clouds 
hanging  over  the  island,  but  they  had  apparently  gone  there 
to  roost,  as  no  wind  came  from  them.     Among  the  papers  cap 
tured  on  board  the  Starlight  were  a  couple  of  despatches  from 
the  Federal  Consul  at  Fayal,  to  the  Sewards — father  and  son 
—  in  which  there  was  the  usual  amount  of  stale  nonsense 
about  "rebel  privateers,"  and  "pirates." 

The  weather  proved  fine,  the  next  morning,  and  standing  in, 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  little  town  of  Santa  Cruz,  we 
landed  both  passengers  and  prisoners,  putting  the  latter,  as 
usual,  under  parole.  In  the  meantime,  the  Governor  of  the 
island,  and  a  number  of  the  dignitaries  came  off  to  visit  us. 
They  were  a  robust,  farmer-looking  people,  giving  evidence, 
in  their  persons,  of  the  healthfulness  of  the  island,  and  were 
very  polite,  franking  to  us  the  ports  of  the  island,  and  inform 
ing  us  that  supplies  were  cheap,  and  abundant.  Their  visit 
was  evidently  one  of  curiosity,  and  we  treated  his  Excellency 
with  all  due  ceremony,  notwithstanding  the  smallness  of  his 
dominions.  We  talked  to  him,  however,  of  bullocks,  and 
sheep,  fish  and  turtles,  yams  and  oranges,  rather  than  of  the 
war  between  the  States,  and  the  laws  of  nations.  Bartelli 
made  the  eyes  of  the  party  dance  with  flowing  goblets  of 
champagne,  and  when  I  thought  they  had  remained  long 
enough,  I  bowed  them  out  of  the  cabin,  with  a  cigar  all  round, 
and  sent  them  on  shore,  with  rather  favorable  impressions,  I  do 
not  doubt,  of  the  "  pirate." 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.     431 

Hauling  off,  now,  from  the  island,  and  running  seaward  for 
a  space,  we  chased  and  overhauled  a  Portuguese  whaling  brig. 
Seeing  by  her  boats  and  other  indications  that  she  was  a  whaler, 
I  thought,  at  first,  that  I  had  a  prize,  and  was  quite  disap 
pointed  when  she  showed  me  the  Portuguese  colors.  Not  being 
willing  to  trust  to  the  verity  of  the  flag,  I  sent  a  boat  on  board 
of  her,  and  invited  the  master  to  visit  me  with  his  papers,  which 
he  did.  The  master  was  himself  a  Portuguese,  and  I  found 
his  papers  to  be  genuine.  Thanking  him  for  his  visit,  I 
dismissed  him  in  a  very  few  minutes.  I  had  no  right  to  com 
mand  him  to  come  on  board  of  me  —  he  being  a  neutral,  it  was 
my  business  to  go  on  board  of  him,  if  I  desired  to  examine  his 
papers,  but  he  waived  ceremony,  and  it  was  for  this  that  I  had 
thanked  him.  I  may  as  well  remark  here,  in  passing,  that  this 
was  the  only  foreign  whaling-ship  that  I  ever  overhauled;  the 
business  of  whaling  having  become  almost  exclusively  an 
American  monopoly  —  the  monopoly  not  being  derived  from 
any  sovereign  grant,  but  resulting  from  the  superior  skill, 
energy,  industry,  courage,  and  perseverance  of  the  Yankee 
whaler,  who  is,  perhaps,  the  best  specimen  of  a  sailor,  the  world 
over. 

Later  in  the  same  afternoon,  we  chased  a  large  ship,  looming 
up  almost  like  a  frigate,  in  the  northwest,  with  which  we  came 
up  about  sunset.  We  had  showed  her  the  American  colors, 
and  she  approached  us  without  the  least  suspicion  that  she  was 
running  into  the  arms  of  an  enemy ;  the  master  crediting  good 
old  Mr.  Welles,  as  the  master  of  the  Ocmulgee  had  done,  with 
sending  a  flashy-looking  Yankee  gunboat,  to  look  out  for  his 
whalebone  and  oil.  This  large  ship  proved  to  be,  upon  the 
master  being  brought  on  board  with  his  papers,  the  Ocean  Rover, 
of  New  Bedford,  Massachusetts.  She  had  been  out  three  years 
and  four  months,  cruising  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  had 
sent  home  one  or  two  cargoes  of  oil,  and  was  now  returning, 
herself,  with  another  cargo,  of  eleven  hundred  barrels.  The 
master,  though  anxious  to  see  his  wife,  and  dandle  on  his  knee 
the  babies  that  were  no  longer  babies,  with  true  Yankee  thrift 
thought  he  would  just  take  the  Azores  in  his  way  home,  and 
make  another  "strike,"  or  two,  to  fill  up  his  empty  casks.  The 
consequence  was,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  a  little  disappointment. 
28 


432  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

I  really  felt  for  the  honest  fellow,  but  when  I  came  to  reflect, 
for  a  moment,  upon  the  diabolical  acts  of  his  countrymen  of 
New  England,  who  were  out-heroding  Herod,  in  carrying  on 
against  us  a  vindictive  war,  filled  with  hate  and  vengeance,  the 
milk  of  human  kindness  which  had  begun  to  well  up  in  my 
heart  disappeared,  and  I  had  no  longer  any  spare  sympathies 
to  dispose  of. 

It  being  near  night  when  the  capture  was  made,  I  directed 
the  prize  to  be  hove  to,  in  charge  of  a  prize  crew  until  morning. 
In  the  meantime,  however,  the  master,  who  had  heard  from 
some  of  my  men,  that  I  had  permitted  the  master  of  the  Ocmul- 
gee,  and  his  crew,  to  land  in  their  own  boats,  came  to  me,  and 
requested  permission  to  land  in  the  same  manner.  We  were 
four  or  five  miles  from  the  land,  and  I  suggested  to  him, 
that  it  was  some  distance  to  pull.  "Oh!  that  is  nothing,"  said 
he,  "we  whalers  sometimes  chase  a  whale,  on  the  broad  sea, 
until  our  ships  are  hull-down,  and  think  nothing  of  it.  It  will 
relieve  you  of  us  the  sooner,  and  be  of  some  service  to  us  be 
sides."  Seeing  that  the  sea  was  smooth,  and  that  there  was 
really  no  risk  to  be  run,  for  a  Yankee  whale-boat  might  be 
made,  with  a  little  management,  to  ride  out  an  ordinary  gale  of 
wind,  I  consented,  and  the  delighted  master  returned  to  his  ship, 
to  make  the  necessary  preparations.  I  gave  him  the  usual  per 
mission  to  take  what  provisions  he  needed,  the  whaling  gear 
belonging  to  his  boats,  and  the  personal  effects  of  himself  and 
men.  He  worked  like  a  beaver,  for  not  more  than  a  couple  of 
hours  had  elapsed,  before  he  was  again  alongside  of  the  Alabama, 
with  all  his  six  boats,  with  six  men  in  each,  ready  to  start  for 
the  shore.  I  could  not  but  be  amused  when  I  looked  over  the 
side  into  these  boats,  at  the  amount  of  plunder  that  the  rapa 
cious  fellow  had  packed  in  them.  They  were  literally  loaded 
down,  with  all  sorts  of  traps,  from  the  seamen's  chests  and  bed 
ding,  to  the  tabby  cat  and  parrot.  Nor  had  the  "  main  chance  " 
been  overlooked,  for  all  the  "cabin  stores"  had  been  secured, 
and  sundry  barrels  of  beef  and  pork,  besides.  I  said  to  him, 
"  Captain,  your  boats  appear  to  me,  to  be  rather  deeply  laden ; 
are  you  not  afraid  to  trust  them  ?  "  "  Oh !  no,"  he  replied ;  "  they 
are  as  buoyant  as  ducks,  and  we  shall  not  ship  a  drop  of  water." 
After  a  detention  of  a  few  minutes,  during  which  my  clerk  was 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        433 

putting  the  crew  under  parole,  I  gave  the  master  leave  to 
depart. 

The  boats,  shoving  off  from  the  side,  one  by  one,  and  falling 
into  line,  struck  out  for  the  shore.  That  night-landing  of  this 
whaler's  crew  was  a  beautiful  spectacle.  I  stood  on  the  horse 
block,  watching  it,  my  mind  busy  with  many  thoughts.  The 
moon  was  shining  brightly,  though  there  were  some  passing 
clouds  sailing  lazily  in  the  upper  air,  that  fleckered  the  sea. 
Flores,  which  was  sending  off  to  us,  even  at  this  distance,  her 
perfumes  of  shrub  and  flower,  lay  sleeping  in  the  moonlight, 
with  a  few  fleecy,  white  clouds  wound  around  the  mountain- 
top,  like  a  turban.  The  rocky  islets  that  rise  like  so  many 
shafts  out  of  the  sea,  devoid  of  all  vegetation,  and  at  different 
distances  from  the  shore,  looked  weird  and  unearthly,  like 
sheeted  ghosts.  The  boats  moving  swiftly  and  mysteriously 
toward  the  shore,  might  have  been  mistaken,  when  they  had 
gotten  a  little  distance  from  us,  for  Venetian  gondolas,  with 
their  peaked  bows  and  sterns,  especially  when  we  heard  coming 
over  the  sea,  a  song,  sung  by  a  powerful  and  musical  voice,  and 
chorussed  by  all  the  boats.  Those  merry  fellows  were  thus 
making  light  of  misfortune,  and  proving  that  the  sailor,  after 
all,  is  the  true  philosopher.  The  echo  of  that  night-song  lin 
gered  long  in  my  memory,  but  I  little  dreamed,  as  I  stood  on 
the  deck  of  the  Alabama,  and  witnessed  the  scene  I  have  de 
scribed,  that  four  years  afterward,  it  would  be  quoted  against 
me  as  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  war !  And  yet  so  it  was.  It 
was  alleged  by  the  malice  of  my  defamers,  who  never  have, 
and  never  can  forgive  me  for  the  destruction  of  their  property, 
that  miles  away  at  sea,  in  rough  and  inclement  weather,  I  com 
pelled  my  prisoners  to  depart  for  the  shore,  in  leaky  and  un 
sound  boats,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  designing  and  desir 
ing  to  drown  them !  And  this  was  all  the  thanks  I  received 
for  setting  some  of  these  fellows  up  as  nabobs,  among  the 
islanders.  Why,  the  master  of  the  Ocean  Rover,  with  his  six 
boats,  and  their  cargoes,  was  richer  than  the  Governor,  when 
he  landed  in  Flores ;  where  the  simple  islanders  are  content 
with  a  few  head  of  cattle,  a  cast-net,  and  a  canoe. 

The  Alabama  had  now  two  prizes  in  company,  with  which 
she  lay  off  and  on  the  island  during  the  night,  and  she  was 


434  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

destined  to  secure  another  before  morning.  I  had  turned  in, 
and  was  sleeping  soundly,  when  about  midnight,  an  officer 
came  below  to  inform  me  that  there  was  another  large  ship 
close  on  board  of  us.  I  was  dressed  and  on  deck  in  a  few 
minutes.  The  stranger  was  plainly  visible,  being  not  more 
than  a  mile  distant.  She  was  heading  for  the  island.  I  wore 
ship,  as  quietly  as  possible,  and  followed  her,  but  she  had,  in 
the  meantime,  drawn  some  distance  ahead,  and  an  exciting 
chase  now  ensued.  We  were  both  close-hauled,  on  the  star 
board  tack,  and  the  stranger,  seeing  that  he  was  pursued,  put 
every  rag  of  sail  on  his  ship  that  he  could  spread.  I  could 
but  admire  her,  with  her  square  yards  and  white  canvas, 
every  sheet  home,  and  every  leach  taut.  For  the  first  half 
hour,  it  was  hard  to  tell  which  ship  had  the  heels  of  the  other, . 
but  at  the  end  of  that  time,  we  began  to  head-reach  the  chase 
very  perceptibly,  though  the  latter  rather  "  eat  us  out  of  the 
wind,"  or,  to  speak  more  conformably  with  the  vocabulary  of 
the  land,  went  to  windward  of  us.  This  did  not  matter  much, 
however,  as  when  we  should  be  abreast  of  her,  we  would  be  near 
enough  to  reach  her  with  a  shot.  After  a  chase  of  about  four 
hours,  day  broke,  when  we  hoisted  the  English  ensign.  This 
was  a  polite  invitation  to  the  chase,  to  show  her  colors,  but  she 
declined  to  do  so.  We  now  felt  sure  that  she  was  an  enemy, 
and  a  prize,  and  as  we  were  still  gaining  on  her,  it  was  only  a 
matter  of  an  hour  or  two,  when  she  would  fall  into  our  hands. 
Our  polite  invitation  to  the  chase,  to  show  her  colors,  not  suc 
ceeding,  we  became  a  little  more  emphatic,  and  fired  a  blank 
cartridge.  Still  she  was  obstinate.  She  was  steering  for 
Flores,  and  probably,  like  the  Starlight,  had  her  eye  on  the 
marine  league.  Having  approached  her,  in  another  half  hour, 
within  good  round-shot  range,  I  resolved  to  treat  her  as  I  had 
treated  the  Starlight,  and  threw  a  32-pounder  near  enough  to 
her  stern  to  give  the  captain  a  shower-bath.  Shower-baths 
are  very  efficacious,  in  many  cases,  and  we  found  it  so  in  this , 
for  in  a  moment  more,  we  could  see  the  stars  and  stripes  as 
cending  to  the  stranger's  peak,  and  that  he  had  started  his 
tacks  and  sheets,  and  was  in  the  act  of  hauling  up  his  courses. 
This  done,  the  main-yard  was  swung  aback,  and  the  prize  had 
surrendered  herself  a  prisoner. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        435 

Bartelli  now  came  to  tell  me,  that  my  bath  was  ready,  and 
descending  to  the  cabin,  I  bathed,  and  dressed  for  breakfast, 
whilst  the  boarding-officer  was  boarding  the  prize.  She  proved 
to  be  the  Alert,  of,  and  from  New  London,  and  bound,  by  the 
way  of  the  Azores,  and  Cape  de  Yerde  Islands,  to  the  Indian 
Ocean.  She  was  only  sixteen  days  from  port,  with  files  of  late 
newspapers ;  and  besides  her  own  ample  outfit  for  a  large  crew, 
and  a  long  voyage,  she  had  on  board  supplies  for  the  group 
known  as  the  Navigators'  Islands,  in  the  South  Indian  Ocean, 
where  among  icebergs  and  storms,  the  Yankees  had  a  whaling 
and  sealing  station.  This  capture  proved  to  be  a  very  oppor 
tune  one,  as  we  were  in  want  of  just  such  a  lot  of  clothing,  for 
the  men,  as  we  found  on  board  the  prize;  and  the  choice  beef, 
and  pork,  nicely  put  up  ship-bread,  boxes  of  soap,  and  tobacco, 
and  numerous  other  articles  of  seaman's  supplies  did  not  come 
amiss.  We  had  been  particularly  short  of  a  supply  of  tobacco, 
this  being  a  costly  article  in  England,  and  I  could  see  Jack's 
eye  brighten,  as  he  rolled  aft,  and  piled  up  on  the  quarter-deck, 
sundry  heavy  oaken  boxes  of  good  "Yirginia  twist."  That 
night  the  pipes  seemed  to  have  wonderfully  increased  in  num 
ber,  on  board  the  Alabama,  and  the  song  and  the  jest  derived 
new  inspiration  from  the  fragrance  of  the  weed.  We  paroled 
the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Alert,  and  sent  them  ashore,  in 
their  own  boats,  as  we  had  done  the  others. 

I  had  now  three  prizes  on  my  hands,  viz. :  the  Starlight,  the 
Ocean  Rover,  and  the  Alert,  with  a  prize  crew  on  board  of  each, 
and  as  I  could  make  no  better  use  of  them  than  to  destroy 
them,  thanks  to  the  unfriendly  conduct  of  neutrals,  so  often 
referred  to,  it  became  necessary  to  think  of  burning  them. 
They  were  lying  at  distances,  ranging  from  half  a  mile  to  three 
miles  from  the  Alabama,  and  were  fired  within  a  short  time  of 
each  other,  so  that  we  had  three  funeral  pyres  burning  around 
us  at  the  same  moment.  The  other  whalers  at  a  distance  must 
have  thought  that  there  were  a  good  many  steamers  passing 
Flores,  that  day.  It  was  still  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  there 
was  more  work  before  us  ere  night  set  in.  I  had  scarcely 
gotten  my  prize  crews  on  board,  and  my  boats  run  up,  before 
another  sail  was  discovered  standing  in  for  the  island.  We 
immediately  gave  chase,  or  rather,  to  speak  more  correctly, 


436  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

proceeded  to  meet  the  stranger,  who  was  standing  in  our  direc 
tion.  The  ships  approached  each  other  very  rapidly,  and  we 
soon  discovered  the  new  sail  to  be  a  large  schooner,  of  un 
mistakable  Yankee  build  and  rig.  We  hoisted  the  United 
States  colors,  and  she  responded  soon  afterward  with  the  stars 
and  stripes.  She  came  on  quite  unsuspiciously,  as  the  two  last 
prizes  had  done,  until  she  arrived  near  enough  to  see  that  the 
three  mysterious  cones  of  smoke,  at  which  she  had  probably 
been  wondering  for  some  time  past,  proceeded  from  three  ships 
on  fire.  Coupling  this  unusual  spectacle  with  the  approach 
toward  her  of  a  rakish-looking  barkentine,  she  at  once  smelt 
rather  a  large  rat,  and  wheeled  suddenly  in  flight.  But  it  was 
too  late.  We  were  already  within  three  miles  of  her,  and  a 
pursuit  of  half  an  hour  brought  her  within  effective  range  of 
our  bow-chaser.  We  now  changed  colors,  and  fired  a  blank 
cartridge.  This  was  sufficient.  She  saved  us  the  expenditure 
of  a  shot,  and  hove  to,  without  further  ado.  Upon  being 
boarded,  she  proved  to  be  the  Weather  gauge,  a  whaler  of 
Provincetown,  Massachusetts,  six  weeks  from  the  land  of  the 
Puritan,  with  other  files  of  newspapers,  though  not  so  late  as 
those  captured  on  board  the  Alert. 

In  running  over  these  files,  it  was  wonderful  to  observe  the 
glibness  with  which  these  Massachusetts  brethren  of  ours  now 
talked  of  treason,  and  of  rebels,  and  traitors,  at  no  greater  dis 
tance,  in  point  of  time,  than  forty-five  years,  from  the  Hartford 
Convention ;  to  say  nothing  of  certain  little  idiosyncrasies  of 
theirs,  that  were  developed  during  the  annexation  of  Texas. 
There  were  some  "  Sunday  "  papers  among  the  rest,  and  all  the 
pious  parsons  and  deacons  in  the  land  were  overflowing  with 
patriotism,  and  hurling  death  and  damnation  from  their  pul 
pits,  against  those  who  had  dared  to  strike  at  the  "Lord's 
anointed,"  the  sainted  Abraham  Lincoln.  But  as  the  papers 
contained  little  or  no  war  news,  we  had  no  time  to  bestow  upon 
the  crotchets  of  the  Yankee  brain,  and  they  were  promptly 
consigned  to  the  waste-paper  basket.  Another  sail  being  dis 
covered,  whilst  we  were  receiving  the  surrender  of  the  Weather- 
gauge,  we  hastily  threw  a  prize  crew  on  board  this  latter  vessel, 
directing  the  prize-master  to  "  hold  on  to  the  island  of  Corvo," 
during  the  ensuing  night,  which  was  now  falling,  until  we 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        437 

should  return,   and  started  off  in  pursuit  of  the  newly  dis 
covered  sail. 

Chasing  a  sail  is  very  much  like  pursuing  a  coy  maiden, 
the  very  coyness  sharpening  the  pursuit.  The  chase,  in  the 
present  instance,  seemed  determined  to  run  away  from  us ;  and 
as  she  was  fast,  and  we  were  as  determined  to  overhaul  her  as 
she  was  to  run  away,  she  led  us  a  beautiful  night-dance  over 
the  merry  waters.  The  moon  rose  bright,  soon  after  the  chase 
commenced,  and,  striking  upon  the  canvas  of  the  fleeing  ves 
sel,  lighted  it  up  as  though  it  had  been  a  snow-bank.  The 
American  vessels  are  distinguished,  above  all  others,  for  the 
whiteness  of  their  canvas;  being  clothed,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  fibre  of  our  cotton-fields.  The  cut  of  the  sails,  and  the" 
taper  of  the  spars  of  the  chase  looked  American,  and  then  the 
ship  was  cracking  on  every  stitch  of  canvas  that  would  draw, 
in  the  effort  to  escape — she  must  surely  be  American,  we 
thought.  And  so  we  "looked  on  her,  to  lust  after  her,"  and 
gave  our  little  ship  the  benefit  of  all  our  skill  in  seamanship. 
The  speed  of  the  two  ships  was  so  nearly  matched,  that,  for 
the  first  hour  or  two,  it  was  impossible  to  say  whether  we  had 
gained  on  her  an  inch.  We  were  both  running  dead  before 
the  wind,  and  this  was  not  the  Alabama's  most  favorable  sail 
ing-point.  With  her  tall  lower  masts,  and  large  fore-and-aft 
sails,  she  was  better  on  a  wind,  or  with  the  wind  abeam.  The 
chase  was  leading  us  away  from  our  cruising-ground,  and  I 
should  have  abandoned  it,  if  I  had  not  had  my  pride  of  ship 
a  little  interested.  It  would  never  do  for  the  Alabama  to  be 
beaten  in  the  beginning  of  her  cruise,  and  that,  too,  by  a  mer 
chantman  ;  and  so  we  threw  out  all  our  "  light  kites  "  to  the 
wind,  and  gave  her  the  studding-sails  "  alow  and  aloft."  To 
make  a  long  story  short,  we  chased  this  ship  nearly  all  night, 
and  only  came  up  with  her  a  little  before  dawn ;  and  when 
we  did  come  up  with  her,  she  proved  to  be  a  Dane !  She  was 
the  bark  Overman,  from  Bankok,  in  Siam,  bound  to  Hamburg. 
There  had  been  no  occasion,  whatever,  for  this  neutral  ship  to 
flee,  and  the  long  chase  which  she  had  given  me  was  evidently 
the  result  of  a  little  spleen ;  and  so,  to  revenge  myself,  in  a  good- 
natured  way,  I  insisted  upon  all  my  belligerent  rights.  Though 
satisfied  from  her  reply  to  my  hail,  that  she  was  what  she  pro- 


438  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

claimed  herself  to  be,  I  compelled  tier  to  heave  to,  which  in 
volved  the  necessity  of  taking  in  all  that  beautiful  white  can 
vas,  with  which  she  had  decoyed  me  so  many  miles  away 
from  my  cruising-ground,  and  sent  a  boat  on  board  of  her  to 
examine  her  papers.  She  thus  lost  more  time  than  if  she  had 
shortened  sail  earlier  in  the  chase,  to  permit  me  to  come  up 
with  her. 

It  was  late  next  day  before  I  rejoined  the  Weather  gauge  off 
Corvo,  and  I  felt,  as  I  was  retracing  my  steps,  pretty  much  as 
Music  or  Eover  may  be  supposed  to  feel,  as  he  is  limping  back 
to  his  kennel,  after  a  run  in  pursuit  of  a  fox  that  has  escaped 
him.  Bartelli  failed  to  call  me  at  the  usual  hour,  that  morn 
ing,  and  I  need  not  say  that  I  made  a  late  breakfast.  We  now 
landed  the  crew  of  the  Weather  gauge,  in  their  own  boats,  with 
the  usual  store  of  provisions,  and  traps,  and  burned  her.  Two 
days  elapsed  now  without  a  capture,  during  which  we  over 
hauled  but  one  ship,  a  Portuguese  bark  homeward  bound. 
Having  beaten  the  "  cover  "  of  which  Flores  was  the  centre, 
pretty  effectually,  I  now  stretched  away  to  the  north-west,  and 
ran  the  island  out  of  sight,  intending  to  skirt  it,  at  the  distance 
of  forty  or  fifty  miles.  On  the  third  day,  the  welcome  cry  of 
"sail  ho  ! "  again  rang  from  the  masthead,  and  making  sail  in  the 
direction  indicated  by  the  look-out,  we  soon  discovered  that 
the  chase  was  a  whaler.  Eesorting  to  the  usual  ruse  of  the 
enemy's  flag,  the  stranger  did  not  attempt  to  escape,  and  in  an 
hour  or  two  more,  we  were  alongside  of  the  American  whaling 
brig  Altamaha,  from  New  Bedford,  five  months  out.  The 
Altamaha  had  had  but  little  success,  and  was  comparatively 
empty.  She  did  not  make  so  beautiful  a  bonfire,  therefore,  as 
the  other  whalers  had  done. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  overhauled  a  Spanish  ship.  Our  posi 
tion,  to-day,  was  latitude  40°  34'  K,  and  longitude  35°  24' 
15"  W.  The  barometer  stood  at  30.3  inches,  and  the  ther 
mometer  at  75° ;  from  which  the  reader  will  see  that  the 
weather  was  fine  and  pleasant.  It  was  now  the  middle  of 
September,  however,  and  a  change  might  be  looked  for  at  any 
moment.  On  the  night  after  capturing  the  Altamaha,  we  had 
another  night-chase,  with  more  success,  however,  than  the  last. 
It  was  my  habit,  when  there  was  no  "  game  up,"  to  turn  in 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     439 

early,  usually  at  nine  o'clock,  to  enable  my  physique  to  with 
stand  the  frequent  drafts  upon  its  energies.  I  was  already  in 
a  sound  sleep,  when  about  half-past  eleven,  an  old  quartermas 
ter  came  below,  and  giving  my  cot  a  gentle  shake,  said :  "  There 
has  a  large  ship  just  passed  to  windward  of  us,  on  the  oppo 
site  tack,  sir."  I  sprang  out  of  bed  at  once,  and  throwing  on 
a  few  clothes,  was  on  deck  almost  as  soon  as  the  quartermaster. 
I  immediately  wore  ship,  and  gave  chase.  My  ship  was  under 
topsails,  and  it  took  us  some  little  time  to  make  sail.  By  this 
time  the  chase  was  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  miles  distant, 
but  quite  visible  to  the  naked  eye,  in  the  bright  moonlight. 
"We  were  both  close-hauled  on  the  starboard  tack,  the  chase 
about  three  points  on  the  weather  bow.  The  stranger,  who 
was  probably  keeping  a  better  look-out  than  is  usual  with 
merchant- ships,  in  consequence  of  the  war,  had  discovered  our 
movement,  and  knew  he  was  pursued,  as  we  could  see  him  set 
ting  his  royals  and  flying  jib,  which  had  been  furled.  The 
Alabama  was  now  at  her  best  point  of  sailing.  The  sailors 
used  to  say,  when  we  drew  aft  the  sheets  of  those  immense 
trysails  of  hers,  and  got  the  fore-tack  close  aboard,  that  she 
was  putting  on  her  seven-league  boots.  She  did,  indeed,  then 
seem 

"To  walk  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life," 

and  there  were  few  sailing  ships  that  could  run  away  from  her. 
We  gained  from  the  start  upon  the  chase,  and  in  a  couple 
of  hours,  were  on  his  weather-quarter,  having  both  head- 
reached,  and  gone  to  windward  of  him.  He  was  now  no  more 
than  about  a  mile  distant,  and  I  fired  the  accustomed  blank 
cartridge  to  heave  him  to.  The  sound  of  the  gun  broke  upon 
the  stillness  of  the  night,  with  startling  effect,  but  the  chase 
did  not  stir  tack  or  sheet  in  obedience  to  it.  She  was  evidently 
resolved  to  try  conclusions  with  me  a  little  farther.  Find 
ing  that  I  had  the  advantage  of  him,  on  a  wind,  he  kept  off  a 
little,  and  eased  his  sheets,  and  we  could  see,  with  our  night- 
glasses,  that  he  was  rigging  out  his  studding-sail  booir^s  pre 
paratory  to  setting  the  sails  upon  them.  We  kept  off  in  turn, 
bringing  the  wind  a  little  forward  of  the  beam,  and  such  good 
use  did  the  Alabama  make  of  her  seven-league  boots,  that 


440  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

before  the  stranger  could  get  even  his  foretopmast  studding- 
sail  set,  we  had  him  within  good  point-blank  range  of  a  32- 
pounder.  The  moon  was  shining  very  poetically,  and  the 
chase  was  very  pretty,  but  it  was  rather  "  after  hours,"  and  so  1 
I  resolved  to  shift  the  scenes,  cut  short  the  drama  an  act  or  two, 
and  bring  it  to  a  close.  I  now  fired  a  second  gun,  though  still 
unshotted,  and  the  smoke  had  hardly  blown  away  before  we 
could  see  the  stranger  hauling  up  his  courses,  and  bringing 
his  ship  to  the  wind,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  I  see  you  have  the 
heels  of  me,  and  there  is  no  use  in  trying  any  longer."  I 
gave  the  boarding-officer  orders,  in  case  the  ship  should  prove 
to  be  a  prize,  of  which  I  had  but  little  doubt,  to  show  me  a 
light  as  soon  as  he  should  get  on  board  of  her.  The  oars  of 
his  boat  had  scarcely  ceased  to  resound,  before  I  saw  the  wel 
come  light  ascending  to  the  stranger's  peak,  and  knew  that 
another  of  the  enemy's  ships  had  fallen  into  my  power.  It 
was  now  nearly  daylight,  and  I  went  below  and  finished  the 
nap  which  had  been  so  unceremoniously  broken  in  upon.  I 
may  as  well  observe  here,  that  I  scarcely  ever  disturbed  the 
regular  repose  of  the  officers  and  crew  during  these  night 
operations.  Everything  was  done  by  the  watch  on  deck,  and 
"  all  hands  "  were  never  called  except  on  emergencies. 

When  I  carne  on  deck  the  next  morning,  there  was  a  fine 
large  ship  lying  under  my  lee,  awaiting  my  orders.  She 
proved  to  be  the  Benjamin  Tucker,  of  New  Bedford,  eight 
months  out,  with  three  hundred  and  forty  barrels  of  oil.  We 
received  from  her  an  additional  supply  of  tobacco,  and  other 
small  stores.  As  early  as  ten  o'clock,  the  crew  of  the  Tucker, 
numbering  thirty  persons,  were  on  board  the  Alabama,  and 
the  ship  was  on  fire.  The  remainder  of  this  day,  and  the  next, 
passed  without  incident,  except  the  incidents  of  wind,  and 
weather,  which  have  so  often  been  recorded.  We  improved 
the  leisure,  by  exercising  the  men  at  the  guns,  and  caulking 
the  decks,  which  were  again  beginning  to  let  water  enough 
through  them,  to  inconvenience  the  men  in  their  hammocks 
below.  Just  as  the  sun  was  setting,  on  the  evening  of  the 
second  day,  we  caught  a  glimpse  from  the  mast-head  of  the 
island  of  Flores,  distant  about  forty  miles. 

The  next  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear,  with  a  smooth 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      441 

sea,  and  summer  clouds  sailing  lazily  overhead,  giving  us  just 
breeze  enough  to  save  us  from  the  ennui  of  a  calm.  As  soon 
as  the  morning  mists  lifted  themselves  from  the  surface  of  the 
waters,  a  schooner  appeared  in  sight,  at  no  great  distance.  We 
had  approached  each  other  unwittingly  during  the  night.  We 
immediately  gave  chase,  hoisting  the  United  States  colors,  for 
the  schooner  was  evidently  Yankee.  She  did  not  attempt  to 
escape,  and  when,  as  early  as  half-past  seven  A.  M.,  we  came 
near  enough  to  fire  a  gun,  and  change  colors,  she  hove  to,  and 
surrendered.  She  was  the  whaling-schooner  Courser,  of  Pro- 
vincetown,  Massachusetts.  Her  master  was  a  gallant  young 
fellow,  and  a  fine  specimen  of  a  seaman,  and  if  I  could  have  sep 
arated  him,  in  any  way,  from  the  "Universal  Yankee  Nation," 
I  should  have  been  pleased  to  spare  his  pretty  little  craft  from 
the  flames;  but  the  thing  was  impossible.  There  were  too 
many  white-cravatted,  long-haired  fellows,  bawling  from  the 
New-England  pulpits,  and  too  many  house-burners  and  pilferers 
inundating  our  Southern  land,  to  permit  me  to  be  generous,  and 
so  I  steeled  my  heart,  as  I  had  done  on  a  former  occasion,  and 
executed  the  laws  of  war. 

Having  now  the  crews  of  the  three  last  ships  captured,  on 
board,  amounting  to  about  seventy,  who  were  not  only  begin 
ning,  on  account  of  their  number,  and  the  limited  accommoda 
tions  of  the  A  labama,  to  be  uncomfortable  themselves,  but  were 
inconveniencing  my  own  people,  and  hindering  more  or  less 
the  routine  of  the  ship,  I  resolved  to  run  back  to  Flores,  and 
land  them.  I  had  eight  whale-boats  in  tow,  which  I  had  brought 
away  from  the  burning  ships,  for  the  purpose  of  landing  these 
prisoners,  and,  no  doubt,  the  islanders,  as  they  saw  my  well- 
known  ship  returning,  with  such  a  string  of  boats,  congratulated 
themselves  upon  the  prospect  of  other  good  bargains  with  the 
Yankees.  The  traffic  must  now  have  been  considerable  in  this 
little  island ;  such  was  the  avalanche  of  boats,  harpoons,  cordage, 
whales'  teeth,  whalebones,  beef,  pork,  tobacco,  soap,  and  jack- 
knives  that  I  had  thrown  on  shore.  When  we  had  reached  suffi 
ciently  near,  I  shoved  all  the  boats  off  at  once,  laden  with  my 
seventy  prisoners,  and  there  was  quite  a  regatta  under  the  lee 
of  Flores  that  afternoon,  the  boats  of  each  ship  striving  to  beat 
the  others  to  the  shore.  The  fellows  seemed  to  be  so  well 


442  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

pleased,  that  I  believe,  with  a  little  coaxing,  they  would  have 
been  willing  to  give  three  cheers  for  the  Alabama. 

We  had  some  sport  ourselves,  after  the  prisoners  had  de 
parted;  for  we  converted  the  Courser  into  a  target,  before  setting 
fire  to  her,  and  gave  the  crew  a  little  practice  at  her,  with  the 
battery.  They  did  pretty  well  for  green  hands,  but  nothing  to 
boast  of.  They  were  now  becoming  somewhat  familiar  with 
the  gun  exercise,  and  in  the  evolutions  that  are  usually  taught 
sailors  at  general  quarters.  Not  only  my  excellent  first  lieu 
tenant,  but  all  the  officers  of  the  divisions,  took  great  pains  with 
them,  and  their  progress  was  quite  satisfactory. 

We  again  stood  away  to  the  northward  and  westward,  under 
easy  sail,  during  the  night,  and  the  next  day,  the  weather  being 
still  fine,  and  the  breeze  moderate  from  the  south-west,  in  lati 
tude  about  40°,  and  longitude  33°,  we  chased  a  large  ship  which 
tried  her  heels  with  us — to  no  purpose,  however — as  we  over 
hauled  her  in  about  three  hours  and  a  half.  It  was  another 
American  whaling  ship,  the  Virginia,  only  twenty  days  out, 
from  New  Bedford.  She  brought  us  another  batch  of  late  news 
papers,  and  being  fitted  out,  like  the  Alert,  for  a  long  cruise,  we 
got  on  board  some  more  supplies  from  her.  The  master  of  this 
ship  expressed  great  surprise  at  the  speed  of  the  Alabama,  under 
sail.  His  own  ship,  he  said,  was  fast,  but  he  had  stood  "no 
chance"  with  the  Alabama.  It  was  like  a  rabbit  attempting  to 
run  away  from  a  greyhound.  We  burned  the  Virginia,  when 
we  had  gotten  our  supplies  on  board,  and  despoiled  her  of  such 
cordage,  and  spare  sails  as  we  needed,  and  stood  away  to  the 
north-west  again.  The  torch  having  been  applied  to  her  rather 
late  in  the  afternoon,  the  burning  wreck  was  still  visible  some 
time  after  nightfall. 

The  next  morning  the  weather  had  changed  considerably. 
It  was  cloudy,  and  rather  angry-looking,  and  the  wind  was 
fresh  and  increasing.  We  overhauled  a  French  brig,  during 
the  day,  and  after  detaining  her  no  longer  than  was  necessary 
to  examine  her  papers,  permitted  her  to  depart.  We  had 
barely  turned  away  from  the  Frenchman,  when  a  bark  was 
announced  from  the  mast-head.  We  immediately  gave  chase. 
We  had  to  wear  ship  for  this  purpose,  and  the  bark,  which 
jeemed  to  have  descried  us,  quite  as  soon  as  we  had  descried 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       443 

her,  observing  the  evolution,  made  all  sail  at  once,  in  flight. 
Here  was  another  chase,  and  under  different  circumstances  from 
any  of  those  that  had  preceded  it.  It  was  blowing  half  a  gale 
of  wind,  and  it  remained  to  be  proved  whether  the  Alabama 
was  as  much  to  be  dreaded  in  rough  weather  as  in  smooth. 
Many  smooth-water  sailers  lose  their  quality  of  speed  entirely, 
when  the  seas  begin  to  buffet  them.  I  had  the  wind  of  the 
chase,  and  was  thus  enabled  to  run  down  upon  her,  with  a 
flowing  sheet.  I  held  on  to  my  topgallant  sails,  though  the 
masts  buckled,  and  bent  as  though  the  sticks  would  go  over 
the  side.  The  chase  did  the  same.  It  was  soon  quite  evident 
that  my  gallant  little  ship  was  entirely  at  home  in  the  roughest 
weather.  She  seemed,  like  a  trained  racer,  to  enjoy  the  sport, 
and  though  she  would  tremble,  now  and  then,  as  she  leaped 
from  sea  to  sea,  it  was  the  tremor  of  excitement,  not  of  weak 
ness.  We  gained  so  rapidly  upon  the  chase,  that  in  three 
hours  from  the  time  the  race  commenced,  we  had  her  within 
the  range  of  our  guns.  By  way  of  a  change,  I  had  chased  this 
ship  under  English  colors,  but  she  obstinately  refused  to  show 
any  colors  herself,  until  she  was  compelled,  by  the  loud 
mouthed  command  of  a  gun.  She  then  ran  up  that  "  flaunting 
lie,"  the  "  old  flag,"  and  clewed  up  her  topgallant  sails,  and 
hauled  up  her  courses,  and  submitted  to  her  fate,  with  such 
resignation  as  she  might. 

I  now  not  only  took  in  my  topgallant  sails,  and  hauled  up 
my  courses,  but  furled  the  latter,  and  took  a  single  reef  in  my 
topsails,  so  fresh  was  the  wind  blowing.  Indeed  it  was  so 
rough,  that  I  hesitated  a  moment  about  launching  my  boats ; 
but  there  was  evidently  a  gale  brewing,  and  if  I  did  not  take 
possession  of  my  prize,  she  would  in  all  probability  escape 
during  the  darkness  and  tempest  of  the  ensuing  night.  I  had 
a  set  of  gallant,  and  skilful  young  officers  around  me,  who 
would  dare  anything  I  told  them  to  dare,  and  some  capital 
seamen,  and  with  the  assistance  I  could  give  them,  by  mano3u- 
vring  the  ship,  I  thought  the  thing  could  be  managed ;  and  so 
I  ordered  two  of  the  best  boats  to  be  launched,  and  manned. 
We  were  lying  to,  to  windward  of  the  prize,  and  the  boats  had 
nothing  to  do,  of  course,  but  to  pull  before  the  wind  and  sea 
to  reach  her.  I  directed  the  boarding-officers  to  bring  off  noth- 


444  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

ing  whatever,  from  the  prize,  in  the  way  of  property,  except 
her  chronometer,  and  her  flag,  and  told  them  when  they  should 
have  gotten  the  prisoners  on  board  and  were  ready  to  return, 
that  I  would  run  down  to  leeward  of  the  prize  to  receive  them. 
They  would  thus,  still,  only  have  to  pull  before  the  wind,  and 
the  sea,  to  regain  their  ship.  The  prize  was  to  be  fired  just 
before  leaving  her.  This  was  all  accomplished  successfully ; 
but  the  reader  may  well  conceive  my  anxiety,  as  I  watched 
those  frail,  tempest-tossed  boats,  as  they  were  returning  to  me, 
with  their  human  freight;  now  thrown  high  on  the  top  of 
some  angry  wave,  that  dashed  its  foarn  and  spray  over  them, 
as  though  it  would  swamp  them,  for  daring  thus  to  beard  it, 
and  now  settling  entirely  out  of  sight  in  the  trough  of  the  sea. 
When  they  pulled  under  the  lee  of  the  Alabama,  and  we  threw 
them  a  rope,  I  was  greatly  relieved.  This  was  the  only  ship 
I  ever  burned,  before  examining  her  papers.  But  as  she  was  a 
whaler,  and  so  could  have  no  neutral  cargo  on  board,  the  risk 
to  be  run  was  not  very  great.  She  proved  to  be  the  Elislia 
Dunbar  of  New  Bedford,  twenty-four  days  out. 

This  burning  ship  was  a  beautiful  spectacle,  the  scene  being 
wild  and  picturesque  beyond  description.  The  black  clouds 
were  mustering  their  forces  in  fearful  array.  Already  the  en 
tire  heavens  had  been  overcast.  The  thunder  began  to  roll, 
and  crash,  and  the  lightning  to  leap  from  cloud  to  cloud  in  a 
thousand  eccentric  lines.  The  sea  was  in  a  tumult  of  rage ; 
the  winds  howled,  and  floods  of  rain  descended.  Amid  this 
turmoil  of  the  elements,  the  Dunbar,  all  in  flames,  and  with 
disordered  gear  and  unfurled  canvas,  lay  rolling  and  tossing 
upon  the  sea.  Now  an  ignited  sail  would  fly  away  from  a 
yard,  and  scud  off  before  the  gale ;  and  now  the  yard  itself,  re 
leased  from  the  control  of  its  braces,  would  swing  about  wildly, 
as  in  the  madness  of  despair,  and  then  drop  into  the  sea.  Finally 
the  masts  went  by  the  board,  and  then  the  hull  rocked  to  and 
fro  for  a  while,  until  it  was  filled  with  water,  and  the  fire 
nearly  quenched,  when  it  settled  to  the  bottom  of  the  great 
deep,  a  victim  to  the  passions  of  man,  and  the  fury  of  the  ele 
ments. 


CHAPTEK  XXXIV. 

THE  YANKEE  COLONY  IN  THE  ISLAND  OF  FLORES  - 
WHAT  THE  CAPTAINS  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  AND  ELISHA 
DUNBAR  SAID  OF  THE  ALABAMA,  WHEN  THEY  GOT 
BACK  TO  THE  LAND  OF  THE  "  SAINTS  "  —THE  WHAL 
ING  SEASON  AT  THE  AZORES  AT  AN  END  -  THE  ALA 
BAMA  CHANGES  HER  CRUISING  GROUND  -  WHAT  SHE 
SAW  AND  DID. 


reader  lias  seen  how  rapidly  we  had  been  peopling  the 
_  little  island  of  Flores.  I  had  thrown  ashore  there,  nearly 
as  many  Yankee  sailors  as  there  were  original  inhabitants.  I 
should  now  have  gone  back  with  the  crews  of  two  more  ships, 
but  for  the  bad  weather.  Jack;  suddenly  released  from  the 
labors  and  confinement  of  his  ship,  must  have  run  riot  in  this 
verdant  little  paradise,  where  the  law  was  too  weak  to  restrain 
him.  With  his  swagger,  devil-may-care  air,  and  propensity 
for  fun  and  frolic,  when  he  has  a  drop  in  his  eye,  the  simple 
inhabitants  must  have  been  a  good  deal  puzzled  to  fix  the 
genus  of  the  bird  that  had  so  suddenly  dropped  down  upon 
them.  The  history  of  my  colony  would,  no  doubt,  be  highly 
interesting;  and  I  trust  that  some  future  traveller  will  disinter 
it  from  the  archives  of  the  island,  for  the  benefit  of  mankind. 
The  police  reports  would  be  of  especial  interest.  In  due  time 
the  Federal  Consul  at  Fayal  chartered  a  vessel,  and  removed 
the  colony  back  to  the  New  England  States. 

The  gale  which  was  described  in  the  last  chapter,  did  not 
prove  to  be  very  violent,  though  it  blew  sufficiently  fresh  to 
reduce  the  Alabama  to  close-reefed  topsails,  with  the  bonnets 
off  her  trysails.  It  was  but  the  forerunner  of  a  series  of  gales, 
occurring  about  the  period  of  the  equinox.  The  bad  weather 

445 


446  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

had  the  effect  to  put  an  end  to  the  whaling  season,  a  little  in 
advance  of  the  regular  time.  From  the  19th  to  the  23d  of 
September,  we  were  constantly  under  reefed  sails,  and  the 
wind  being  from  the  northward,  we  drifted  as  far  south  as  the 
34th  degree  of  latitude.  We  were  now  in  a  comparatively 
unfrequented  part  of  the  ocean,  and  had  not  seen  a  sail  since 
the  capture  of  the  Elisha  Dunbar.  During  the  prevalence  of 
this  bad  weather,  our  prisoners  necessarily  suffered  some  in 
convenience,  and  were  obliged  to  submit  to  some  discomforts. 
I  need  not  say  that  these  were  greatly  magnified  by  the  North 
ern  press.  The  masters  of  the  captured  ships  took  this  mode 
of  revenging  themselves  upon  me.  The  captains  of  the  last 
two  ships  captured,  made  long  complaints  against  the  Alabama, 
when  they  got  back  to  New  England,  and  I  will  here  give 
them  the  benefit  of  their  own  stories,  that  the  reader  may  see 
what  they  amount  to.  It  is  the  master  of  the  Virginia  who 
speaks  first  —  a  Captain  Tilton.  He  says:  — 

"  I  went  on  the  quarter-deck,  with  my  son,  when  they  ordered 
me  into  the  lee  waist,  with  my  crew,  and  all  of  us  were  put  in 
irons,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  boys,  and  the  cook  and  stew 
ard.  I  asked  if  I  was  to  be  put  in  irons  ?  The  reply  of  Captain 
Semmes  was,  that  his  purser  had  been  put  in  irons,  and  had  his 
head  shaved  by  us,  and  that  he  meant  to  retaliate.  We  were  put 
in  the  lee  waist,  with  an  old  sail  over  us,  and  a  few  planks  to  lie 
upon.  The  steamer  was  cruising  to  the  west,  and  the  next  day, 
they  took  the  Elisha  Dunbar,  her  crew  receiving  the  same  treat 
ment  as  ourselves.  The  steamer's  guns  being  kept  run  out,  the 
side  ports  could  not  be  shut,  and  when  the  sea  was  a  little  rough, 
or  the  vessel  rolled,  the  water  was  continually  coming  in  on  both 
sides,  and  washing  across  the  deck  where  we  were,  so  that  our 
feet  and  clothing  were  wet  all  the  time,  either  from  the  water  be 
low,  or  the  rain  above.  We  were  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  place 
where  we  were,  and  often  waked  up  in  the  night  nearly  under 
water.  Our  fare  consisted  of  beef  and  pork,  rice,  beans,  tea,  and 
coffee,  and  bread.  Only  one  of  my  irons  was  allowed  to  be  taken 
off  at  a  time,  and  we  had  to  wash  in  salt  water.  We  kept  on  deck 
all  the  time,  night  and  day,  arid  a  guard  was  placed  over  us." 

The  above  statement  is  substantially  correct,  with  the  ex 
ception  that  the  prisoners  were  not  drenched  with  sea-water, 
or  with  the  rain,  all  the  time,  as  is  pretended.  It  is  quite  true 
that  they  were  compelled  to  live,  and  sleep  on  deck.  We  had 
nowhere  else  to  put  them.  My  berth-deck  was  filled  with  my 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      447 

own  crew,  and  it  was  not  possible  to  berth  prisoners  there, 
without  turning  my  own  men  out  of  their  hammocks.  To 
remedy  this  difficulty,  we  spread  a  tent,  made  of  spare  sails, 
and  which  was  quite  tight,  in  the  lee  waist,  and  laid  gratings 
upon  the  deck,  to  keep  the  men  and  their  bedding  as  dry  as 
possible.  Ordinarily  they  were  very  comfortable,  but  some 
times,  during  the  prevalence  of  gales,  they  were,  no  doubt,  a 
little  disturbed  in  their  slumbers  by  the  water,  as  Captain  Til- 
ton  says.  But  I  discharged  them  all  in  good  physical  condi 
tion,  and  this  is  the  best  evidence  I  could  give,  that  they 
were  well  cared  for.  It  was  certainly  a  hardship  that  Captain 
Tilton  should  have  nothing  better  to  eat  than  my  own  crew, 
and  should  be  obliged,  like  them,  to  wash  in  salt  water,  but  he 
was  waited  upon  by  his  own  cook  and  steward,  and  the  reader 
can  see  from  his  own  bill  of  fare,  that  he  was  in  no  danger  of 
starving.  He  was,  as  he  says,  ordered  off  the  quarter-deck. 
That  is  a  place  sacred  to  the  officers  of  the  ship,  where  even 
their  own  crew  are  not  permitted  to  come,  except  on  duty,  and 
much  less  a  prisoner.  He  explains,  himself,  as  I  had  previ 
ously  explained  to  the  reader,  how  he  came  to  be  put  in  irons. 
The  "good  book"  says  that  we  must  have  "an  eye  for  an  eye, 
and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  The  enemy  had  put  one  of  my  offi 
cers  in  irons,  and  I  had  followed  the  rule  of  the  "  good  book." 
Now  let  us  hear  from  Captain  Gifford,  of  the  Dunbar.  This 
witness  says :  — 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  18th  of  September,  in  latitude  39°  50', 
longitude  35°  20',  with  the  wind  from  the  south-west,  and  the  bark 
heading  south-east,  saw  a  steamer  on  our  port-quarter,  standing  to 
the  north-west.  Soon  after,  found  she  had  altered  her  course,  and 
was  steering  for  the  bark.  We  soon  made  all  sail  to  get  out  of 
her  reach,  and  were  going  ten  knots  at  the  time  ;  but  the  steamer, 
gaining  on  us,  under  canvas  alone,  soon  came  up  with  us,  and  fired 
a  gun  under  our  stern,  with  the  St.  George's  cross  flying  at  the 
time.  Our  colors  were  set,  when  she  displayed  the  Confederate 
flag.  Being  near  us,  we  hove  to,  and  a  boat,  with  armed  officers 
and  crew,  came  alongside,  and  upon  coming  on  board,  stated  to  me 
that  my  vessel  was  a  prize  to  the  Confederate  steamer  Alabama, 
Captain  Semmes.  I  was  then  ordered  on  board  the  steamer  with 
my  papers,  and  the  crew  to  follow  me  with  a  bag  of  clothing  each. 
On  getting  on  board,  the  captain  claimed  me  as  a  prize,  and  said 
that  my  vessel  would  be  burned.  Not  having  any  clothes  with  me, 
he  allowed  me  to  return  for  a  small  trunk  of  clothes  ; — the  officer 
29 


448  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

on  board  asked  me  what  I  was  coming  back  for,  and  tried  to  pre 
vent  me  from  coming  on  board.  I  told  him  I  came  after  a  few 
clothes,  which  I  took,  and  returned  to  the  steamer.  It  blowing 
very  hard  at  the  time,  and  very  squally,  nothing  but  the  chronom 
eter,  sextant,  charts,  &c.,  were  taken,  when  the  vessel  was  set  fire  to, 
and  burnt ;  there  were  sixty-five  barrels  of  sperm  oil  on  deck,  taken 
on  the  passage,  which  were  consumed.  We  were  all  put  in  irons, 
and  received  the  same  treatment  that  Captain  Tilton's  officers  and 
crew  did,  who  had  been  taken  the  day  before.  While  on  board,  we 
understood  that  the  steamer  would  cruise  off  the  Grand  Banks,  for 
a  few  weeks,  to  destroy  the  large  American  ships,  to  and  from  the 
Channel  ports.  They  had  knowledge  of  two  ships  being  loaded 
with  arms  for  the  United  States,  and  were  in  hopes  to  capture 
them.  They  were  particularly  anxious  to  fall  in  with  the  clipper- 
ship  Dreadnought,  and  destroy  her,  as  she  was  celebrated  for  speed ; 
and  they  were  confident  of  their  ability  to  capture,  or  run  away 
from  any  vessel  in  the  United  States.  The  steamer  being  in  the 
track  of  outward  and  homeward-bound  vessels,  and  more  or  less 
being  in  sight,  every  day,  she  will  make  great  havoc  among  them." 

Captain  Gifford  does  not  seem  to  have  anything  to  complain 
of,  in  particular,  except  that  the  sailors  had  to  put  their  clothes 
in  bags,  and  that  his  trunk  was  "  small ; "  but  both  he  and  his 
sailors  got  their  clothing,  which  was  more  than  some  of  our 
women  and  children,  in  the  South,  did,  when  the  gallant  Sher 
man,  and  the  gallant  Wilson,  and  the  gallant  Stoneman,  and 
a  host  of  other  gallant  fellows,  were  making  their  "grand 
marches,"  and  "  raids "  in  the  South,  merely  for  the  love  of 
"  grand  moral  ideas."  The  terrible  drenchings,  that  Captain 
Tilton  got,  did  not  seem  to  have  made  the  same  impression 
upon  Captain  Gifford. 

Few  of  the  masters,  whose  ships  I  burned,  ever  told  the 
whole  truth,  when  they  got  back  among  their  countrymen. 
Some  of  them  forgot,  entirely,  to  mention  how  they  had  im 
plored  me  to  save  their  ships  from  destruction,  professing  to 
be  the  best  of  Democrats,  and  deprecating  the  war  which  their 
countrymen  were  making  upon  us !  How  they  had  come  to 
sea,  bringing  their  New  England  cousins  with  them,  to  get  rid 
of  the  draft,  and  how  abhorrent  to  them  the  sainted  Abraham 
was.  "Why,  Captain,"  they  would  say,  "  it  is  hard  that  I  should 
have  my  ship  burned ;  I  have  voted  the  Democratic  ticket  all 
my  life ;  I  was  a  Breckinridge  man  in  the  last  Presidential  con 
test  ;  and  as  for  the  '  nigger,'  if  we  except  a  few  ancient  spin- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      449 

sters,  who  pet  the  darkey,  on  the  same  principle  that  they  pet 
a  lap-dog,  having  nothing  else  to  pet,  and  a  few  of  our  deacons 
and  'church-members,'  who  have  never  been  out  of  New  Eng 
land —  all  of  whom  are  honest  people  enough  in  their  way  — 
and  some  cunning  political  rascals,  who  expect  to  rise  into 
fame  and  fortune  on  the  negro's  back,  we,  New  England  people, 
care  nothing  about  him."  "  That  may  be  all  very  true,"  I  would 
reply  ;  "but,  unfortunately,  the  'political  rascals,'  of  whom  you 
speak,  have  been  strong  enough  to  get  up  this  war,  and  you 
are  in  the  same  boat  with  the  'political  rascals,'  whatever  may 
be  your  individual  opinions.  Every  whale  you  strike  will 
put  money  into  the  Federal  treasury,  and  strengthen  the 
hands  of  your  people  to  carry  on  the  war.  I  am  afraid  I  must 
burn  your  ship."  "But,  Captain,  can't  we  arrange  the  matter 
in  some  way?  I  will  give  you  a  ransom-bond,  which  my 
owners  and  myself  will  regard  as  a  debt  of  honor."  (By  the 
way,  I  have  some  of  these  debts  of  honor  in  my  possession, 
now,  which  I  will  sell  cheap.)  And  so  they  would  continue 
to  remonstrate  with  me,  until  I  cut  short  the  conversation,  by 
ordering  the  torch  applied  to  their  ships.  They  would  then 
revenge  themselves  in  the  manner  I  have  mentioned ;  and  his 
torians  of  the  Boynton  class  would  record  their  testimony  as 
truth,  and  thus  Yankee  history  would  be  made. 

The  whaling  season  at  the  Azores  being  at  an  end,  as  re 
marked,  I  resolved  to  change  my  cruising-ground,  and  stretch 
over  to  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  coast  of  the 
United  States,  in  quest  (as  some  of  my  young  officers,  who 
had  served  in  the  China  seas,  playfully  remarked)  of  the  great 
American  junk-fleet.  In  China,  the  expression  "junk-fleet" 
means,  more  particularly,  the  grain-ships,  that  swarm  all  the 
seas  and  rivers  in  that  populous  empire,  in  the  autumn,  carry 
ing  their  rich  cargoes  of  grain  to  market.  It  was  now  the 
beginning  of  October.  There  wras  no  cotton  crop  available, 
with  which  to  freight  the  ships  of  our  loving  Northern 
brethren,  and  conduct  their  exchanges.  They  were  forced  to 
rely  upon  the  grain  crop  of  the  great  Northwest;  the  "politi 
cal  rascals"  having  been  cunning  enough  to  wheedle  these 
natural  allies  of  ours  into  this  New  England  war.  They 
needed  gold  abroad,  with  which  to  pay  for  arms,  and  military 


450  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

supplies  of  various  kinds,  shiploads  of  which  were,  every  day, 
passing  into  New  York  and  Boston,  in  violation  of  those  Eng 
lish  neutrality  laws,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  Mr.  Seward  and 
Mr.  Adams  had  been  so  persistently  contending  should  be 
enforced  against  ourselves.  Western  New  York,  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  and  Iowa  had  gathered  in  the 
rich  harvests  from  their  teeming  grain-fields ;  and  it  was  this 
grain,  laden  in  Yankee  ships,  which  it  was  my  object  now  to 
strike  at. 

The  change  from  one  cruising-ground  to  another,  during 
which  no  vessels  were  sighted,  afforded  my  crew  a  much- 
needed  relaxation  of  a  few  days,  for  they  had  been  much 
fagged  and  worn  during  the  last  month,  by  a  succession  of 
captures.  That  which  had  been  but  a  pleasurable  excite 
ment,  in  the  beginning,  soon  became  a  wearing  and  exhausting 
labor,  and  they  were  glad  to  be  relieved,  for  a  time,  from  the 
chasing  and  burning  of  ships,  hard  service  in  boats  during  all 
kinds  of  weather,  and  the  wet  jackets  and  sleepless  nights, 
which  had  sometimes  been  the  consequences  of  these.  I  will 
avail  myself  of  this  comparative  calm,  in  the  moral  atmosphere 
on  board  the  Alabama,  to  introduce  the  reader,  more  particu 
larly,  to  our  interior  life.  Thus  far,  he  has  only  seen  the  ship 
of  war,  in  her  outward  garb,  engaged  in  her  vocation.  I  pro 
pose  to  give  him  a  sight  of  my  military  family,  and  show  him 
how  my  children  played  as  well  as  worked ;  how  I  governed 
them,  and  with  what  toys  I  amused  them. 

From  the  very  beginning  of  our  captures,  an  order  had  been 
issued,  that  no  sailor  should  lay  his  hand  on  any  article  of  pro 
perty,  to  appropriate  it  to  his  own  use,  unless  by  permission 
of  an  officer ;  and  especially  that  no  spirituous  liquors  should 
be  brought  on  board  the  Alabama.  It  was  made  the  duty  of 
every  boarding-officer,  upon  getting  on  board  a  prize,  to  de 
mand  possession  of  the  keys  of  the  liquor-lockers,  and  either 
to  cause  the  liquor  to  be  destroyed,  or  thrown  overboard.  To 
the  rigid  enforcement  of  this  rule,  I  attribute  much  of  the 
good  order  which  prevailed  on  board  my  ship.  It  was 
enforced  against  the  officers,  as  well  the  men,  and  no  officer's 
mess  was  allowed  to  supply  itself  with  liquor,  by  purchase,  or 
otherwise,  unless  by  my  consent;  and  I  never  gave  this  con- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       451 

sent  to  the  midshipmen's  mess.  We  burned,  on  one  occasion, 
a  ship,  whose  entire  cargo  consisted  of  French  'brandies,  and 
champagne,  and  other  wines,  without  allowing  a  bottle  of  it  to 
be  brought  on  board.  But  whilst  I  used  these  precautions,  I 
caused  a  regular  allowance  of  "grog"  to  be  served  out  to  the 
crew,  twice  in  each  day.  I  was  quite  willing  that  Jack  should 
drink,  but  I  undertook  to  be  the  judge  of  how  much  he  should 
drink. 

Such  articles  of  clothing  and  supplies  as  were  captured,  were 
turned  over  to  the  paymaster,  to  be  credited  to  the  Government, 
and  duly  issued  and  charged  to  the  crew,  as  if  they  had  been 
purchased  in  the  market.  In  spite  of  all  these  precautions,  how 
ever,  a  sailor  would  now  and  then  be  brought  on  board  from  a 
prize,  drunk,  would  manage  to  smuggle  liquor  to  his  comrades, 
and  would  be  found  arrayed  in  all  sorts  of  strange  garbs,  from 
whaler's  boots,  and  red  flannel  shirts  and  comforters,  to  long- 
tailed  coats  and  beaver  hats.  Notwithstanding  the  discipline  of 
the  ship,  the  gravity  of  the  crew  would  sometimes  give  way  to 
merriment,  as  one  of  these  fellows,  thus  ludicruously  apparelled, 
would  have  to  be  hoisted  or  lifted  on  board,  being  too  comfort 
ably  drunk  to  attend  to  his  own  locomotion.  Each  offender 
knew  that  he  would  have  to  walk  straight  into  the  "Brig,"  upon 
being  thus  detected  in  the  violation  of  these  orders,  and  that 
punishment  would  speedily  follow  the  offence;  and  yet  I  found 
it  one  of  the  most  difficult  parts  of  my  duty,  to  convince  some 
of  these  free-and-easy  fellows,  who  had  mistaken  the  Alabama, 
when  they  signed  the  articles  off  Terceira,  (after  that  stump 
speech  before  referred  to,)  for  what  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Adams 
insisted  she  was,  a  "privateer,"  that  everything  was  captured  in 
the  name  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  that  nothing  belonged 
to  them  personally.  The  California-bound  ships  frequently 
had  on  board  boxes  and  bales  of  fine  clothing,  boots,  shoes, 
and  hats,  but  not  a  garment  was  allowed  to  be  brought  on 
board  except  such  as  the  paymaster  might  need  for  issue.  It 
seemed  hard  to  consign  all  these  tempting  articles  to  the  flames, 
without  permitting  the  sailors  to  help  themselves,  but  if  such 
license  had  been  permitted,  disorder  and  demoralization  would 
have  been  the  consequence. 

I  had  no  chaplain  on  board,  but  Sunday  was  always  kept  as 


452  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

a  day  of  abstinence  from  labor,  when  the  exigencies  of  war  and 
weather  would  permit,  and  it  was  my  uniform  practice  on  this 
day,  to  have  the  ship  thoroughly  cleansed,  in  every  part,  for  in 
spection —  particularly  the  sleeping  apartments,  and  the  engine- 
room —  and  to  require  the  officers  and  seamen  to  appear  on  the 
quarter-deck  for  muster;  the  former  in  their  appropriate  uni 
forms,  and  the  latter  in  clean  duck  frocks  and  trousers,  or 
other  clothing  adapted  to  the  latitude  and  climate.  The 
reader  has  already  been  present  at  several  of  these  musters. 
The  boys  of  the  ship,  of  whom  I  had  quite  a  number  on  board, 
were  placed  under  the  special  charge  of  the  master-at-arms — 
a  subordinate  officer,  with  police-powers,  in  charge  of  the 
berth-deck  —  whose  duty  it  was  to  inspect  them,  in  every  morn 
ing  watch,  with  reference  to  personal  cleanliness ;  turning  down 
the  collars,  and  rolling  up  the  trousers  of  the  youngsters,  to 
see  that  they  had  duly  performed  their  ablutions.  These  boys 
had  been  taken  from  the  stews,  and  haunts  of  vice  about  Liver 
pool,  and  were  as  great  a  set  of  scamps  as  any  disciplinarian 
could  desire  to  "lick  into  shape,"  but  it  is  astonishing  what  a 
reformation  soap  and  water  and  the  master-at-arms  effected  in 
them,  in  a  short  time.  Many  of  them  became  very  respectable 
young  fellows,  for  which  they  were  indebted  almost  entirely 
to  the  free  use  of  soap  and  water. 

As  a  hygienic  precaution,  when  we  were  cruising  in  warm 
latitudes,  where  the  dews  were  heavy,  the  whole  crew  was 
required  to  appear,  every  evening,  at  sunset  muster,  in  blue 
flannel  shirts  and  trousers.  They  could  then  sleep  in  the 
dews,  without  the  fear  of  colds  or  rheumatisms.  We  were 
always  supplied  with  the  best  of  provisions,  for,  being  at  war 
with  a  provision-producing  people,  almost  every  ship  we  cap 
tured  afforded  us  a  greater  or  less  supply  ;  and  all  the  water 
that  was  drank  on  board  the  Alabama  was  condensed  by  the 
engine  from  the  vapor  of  sea-water.  The  consequence  of  all 
this  care  was  highly  gratifying  to  me,  as,  in  the  three  years  I 
was  afloat,  I  did  not  lose  a  man  by  disease,  in  either  of  my 
ships!  When  it  is  recollected  that  I  cruised  in  all  parts  of 
the  world,  now  fencing  out  the  cold,  and  battling  with  the 
storms  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  South  Indian  Oceans,  and 
now  being  fried,  and  baked,  and  stewed  within  the  tropics, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     453 

and  on  the  equator,  and  that,  besides  my  own  crews,  some  two 
thousand  of  the  enemy's  sailors  passed  through  my  hands, 
first  and  last,  as  prisoners,  this  is  a  remarkable  statement  to 
be  able  to  make.  My  excellent  surgeon,  Dr.  Gait,  and,  after 
him,  Dr.  Llewellyn,  ably  seconded  me  by  their  skill  and  ex 
perience. 

On  week  days  we  mustered  the  crew  at  their  quarters  twice 
a  day  —  at  nine  A.  M.,  and  at  sunset,  and  when  the  weather 
was  suitable,  one  division,  or  about  one  fourth  of  the  crew, 
was  exercised,  either  at  the  battery,  or  with  small  arms.  This 
not  only  gave  them  efficiency  in  the  use  of  their  weapons,  but 
kept  them  employed  —  the  constant  employment  of  my  men 
being  a  fundamental  article  of  my  philosophy.  I  found  the 
old  adage,  that  "  Idleness  is  the  parent  of  vice,"  as  true  upon 
the  sea  as  upon  the  land.  My  crew  were  never  so  happy  as 
when  they  had  plenty  to  do,  and  but  little  to  think  about. 
Indeed,  as  to  the  thinking,  I  allowed  them  to  do  very  little  of 
that.  Whenever  I  found  I  had  a  sea-lawyer  among  them,  I  got 
rid  of  him  as  soon  as  possible  —  giving  him  a  chance  to  desert. 
I  reserved  the  quids,  and  qu-os,  and  pros  and  cons,  exclusively 
for  myself. 

But  though  I  took  good  care  to  see  that  my  men  had  plenty 
of  employment,  it  was  not  all  work  with  them.  They  had 
their  pastimes  and  pleasures,  as  well  as  labors.  After  the 
duties  of  the  day  were  over,  they  would  generally  assemble 
on  the  forecastle,  and,  with  violin,  and  tambourine  —  and  I 
always  kept  them  supplied  with  these  and  other  musical  in 
struments  —  they  would  extemporize  a  ball-room,  by  moving 
the  shot-racks,  coils  of  rope,  and  other  impediments,  out  of  the 
way,  and,  with  handkerchiefs  tied  around  the  waists  of  some 
of  them,  to  indicate  who  were  to  be  the  ladies  of  the  party,  they 
would  get  up  a  dance  with  all  due  form  and  ceremony ;  the 
ladies,  in  particular,  endeavoring  to  imitate  all  the  airs  and 
graces  of  the  sex — the  only  drawback  being  a  little  hoarseness 
of  the  voice,  and  now  and  then  the  use  of  an  expletive,  which 
would  escape  them  when  something  went  wrong  in  the  dance, 
and  they  forgot  they  had  the  aprons  on.  The  favorite  dancing- 
tunes  were  those  of  Wapping  and  Wide  Water  Street,  and 
when  I  speak  of  the  airs  and  graces,  I  must  be  understood  to 


454  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

mean  those  rather  demonstrative  airs  and  graces,  of  which 
Poll  and  Peggy  would  be  likely  to  be  mistresses  of.  On  these 
occasions,  the  discipline  of  the  ship  was  wont  to  be  purposely 
relaxed,  and  roars  of  laughter,  and  other  evidences  of  the  rapid 
flight  of  the  jocund  hours,  at  other  times  entirely  inadmissible, 
would  come  resounding  aft  on  the  quarter-deck. 

Sometimes  the  recreation  of  the  dance  would  be  varied,  and 
songs  and  story-telling  would  be  the  amusements  of  the  even 
ing.  The  sea  is  a  wide  net,  which  catches  all  kinds  of  fish, 
and  in  a  man-of-war's  crew  a  great  many  odd  characters  are 
always  to  be  found.  Broken-down  gentlemen,  who  have  spent 
all  the  money  they  have  been  able  to  raise,  upon  their  own 
credit,  or  that  of  their  friends  ;  defaulting  clerks  and  cashiers ; 
actors  who  have  been  playing  to  empty  houses;  third-class 
musicians  and  poets,  are  all  not  unfrequently  found  in  the 
same  ship's  company.  These  gentlemen  play  a  very  unim 
portant  role  in  seamanship,  but  they  take  a  high  rank  among 
the  crew,  when  fun  and  frolic,  and  not  seamanship,  are  the 
order  of  the  day  —  or  rather  night.  In  the  Alabama,  we  had 
a  capital  Falstaff,  though  Jack's  capacious  pouch  was  not 
often  with  "fat  capon  lined;"  and  as  for  " sherry- sack,"  if  he 
now  and  then  got  a  good  glass  of  "red-eye"  instead,  he  was 
quite  content.  We  had  several  Hals,  who  had  defied  their 
harsh  old  papas,  and  given  them  the  slip,  to  keep  Falstaff 
company  ;  and  as  for  raconteurs,  we  had  them  by  the  score. 
Some  of  these  latter  were  equal  to  the  Italian  lazzaroni,  and 
could  extemporize  yarns  by  the  hour ;  and  there  is  nothing  of 
which  a  sailor  is  half  so  fond  as  a  yarn. 

It  was  my  custom,  on  these  occasions,  to  go  forward  on  the 
bridge — a  light  structure  spanning  the- deck,  near  amidships 
—  which,  in  the  twilight  hours,  was  a  sort  of  lounging-place  for 
the  officers,  and  smoke  my  single  cigar,  and  listen  to  whatever 
might  be  going  on,  almost  as  much  amused  as  the  sailors  them 
selves.  So  rigid  is  the  discipline  of  a  ship  of  war,  that  the 
captain  is  necessarily  much  isolated  from  his  officers.  He 
messes  alone,  walks  the  quarter-deck  alone,  and  rarely,  during 
the  hours  of  duty,  exchanges,  even  with  his  first  lieutenant, 
or  officer  of  the  deck,  other  conversation  than  such  as  relates 
to  the  ship,  or  the  service  she  is  upon.  I  felt  exceedingly  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      455 

irksomeness  of  my  position,  and  was  always  glad  of  an  oppor 
tunity  to  escape  from  it.  On  the  "  bridge,"  I  could  lay  aside 
the  "captain,"  gather  my  young  officers  around  me,  and  in 
dulge  in  some  of  the  pleasures  of  social  intercourse ;  taking 
care  to  tighten  the  reins,  gently,  again,  the  next  morning. 
When  song  was  the  order  of  the  evening,  after  the  more  am 
bitious  of  the  amateurs  had  delivered  themselves  of  their  solos 
and  cantatas,  the  entertainment  generally  wound  up  with 
Dixie,  when  the  whole  ship  would  be  in  an  uproar  of  enthusi 
asm,  sometimes  as  many  as  a  hundred  voices  joining  in  the 
chorus ;  the  unenthusiastic  Englishman,  the  stolid  Dutchman, 
the  mercurial  Frenchman,  the  grave  Spaniard,  and  even  the 
serious  Malayan,  all  joining  in  the  inspiring  refrain, — 

"  We'll  live  and  die  in  Dixie!" 

and  astonishing  old  Neptune  by  the  fervor  and  novelty  of 
their  music. 

Eight  o'clock  was  the  hour  at  which  the  night-watches  were 
set,  when,  of  course,  all  merriment  came  to  an  end.  When  the 
officer  of  the  deck  reported  this  hour  to  the  captain,  and  was 
told  by  the  latter,  to  "  make  it  so,"  he  put  the  trumpet  to  his 
mouth,  and  sang  out  in  a  loud  voice,  "Strike  the  bell  eight  — 
call  the  watch  I "  In  an  instant,  the  most  profound  silence 
fell  upon  the  late  uproarious  scene.  The  witches  did  not  dis 
appear  more  magically,  in  that  famous  revel  of  Tarn  O'Shan- 
ter,  when  Tarn  sang  out,  "  Weel  dune,  Cutty  Sark !  "  than  the 
sailors  dispersed  at  this  ominous  voice  of  authoritv.  The  vio 
linist  was  arrested  with  half-drawn  bow ;  the  raconteur  suddenly 
ceased  his  yarn  in  the  most  interesting  part  of  his  story,  and 
even  the  inspiring  chorus  of  "  Dixie  "  died  a  premature  death, 
upon  the  lips  of  the  singers.  The  shrill  call  of  the  boatswain's 
whistle,  followed  by  his  hoarse  voice,  calling  "All  the  star 
board  watch  ! "  or  "  All  the  port  watch !  "  as  the  case  might  be, 
would  now  be  heard,  and  pretty  soon,  the  watch,  which  was 
off  duty,  would  "  tumble  "  below  to  their  hammocks,  and  the 
midshipman  would  be  seen  coming  forward  from  the  quarter 
deck,  with  lantern  and  watch-bill  in  hand,  to  muster  the  watch 
whose  turn  it  was  to  be  on  deck.  The  most  profound  stillness 
now  reigned  on  board  during  the  remainder  of  the  night,  only 


456  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

broken  by  the  necessary  orders  and  movements,  in  making  or 
taking  in  sail,  or  it  may  be,  by  the  whistling  of  the  gale,  and 
the  surging  of  the  sea,  or  the  cry  of  the  look-outs  at  their 
posts,  every  half  hour. 

To  return  now  to  our  cruise.  We  are  passing,  the  reader 
will  recollect,  from  the  Azores  to  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland. 
On  the  1st  of  October,  the  following  record  is  found  upon  my 
journal :  "  The  gale  moderated  during  the  last  night,  but  the 
weather,  to-day,  has  been  thick  and  rainy,  with  the  wind  from 
the  north-west,  and  a  confused,  rough  sea.  No  observation  for 
latitude.  The  barometer,  which  had  gone  down  to  29.8  is 
rising,  and  stands  at  nine  P.  M.  at  29.9.  The  ship  being  about 
two  hundred  miles  only,  from  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  we 
are  trying  the  temperature  of  the  air  and  water  every  hour. 
At  nine  P.  M.  we  found  the  temperature  of  the  former  to  be 
63°,  and  of  the  latter  70°,  indicating  that  we  have  passed  into 
the  Gulf  Stream."  The  thick,  rainy  weather  is  almost  as 
unerring  a  sign  of  the  presence  of  this  stream  as  the  ther 
mometer. 

The  stream  into  which  we  have  now  passed  is,  literally,  an 
immense  salt-water  river  in  the  sea.  Coming  out  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  it  has  brought  the  temperature  of  the  tropics,  all 
the  way  to  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  in  the  latitude  of  50° 
north,  and  it  has  run  this  distance  between  banks,  or  walls  of 
cold  water,  on  either  side,  parting  with  very  little  of  its  warmth, 
by  the  way.  When  it  is  recollected  that  this  salt-water  river 
in  the  sea  is  about  three  thousand  times  larger  than  the  Missis 
sippi  River,  that  is  to  say,  that  it  brings  out  of  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  three  thousand  times  as  much  water,  as  that  river 
empties  into  it,  and  that  all  this  great  body  of  water  is  carried 
up  into  the  hyperborean  regions  of  Newfoundland,  at  a  tem 
perature,  even  in  mid- winter,  ranging  from  73  to  78  degrees, 
it  will  be  seen  at  once  what  a  powerful  weather-breeder  it 
must  be.  Accordingly,  no  port  of  the  world  is  more  stormy 
than  the  Gulf  Stream,  off  the  north-eastern  coast  of  the 
United  States,  and  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland.  Such  is  the 
quantity  of  heat  brought  daily  by  this  stream,  and  placed 
in  juxtaposition  with  the  rigors  of  a  Northern  winter,  that  it 
is  estimated,  that  if  it  were  suddenly  stricken  from  it,  it  would 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      457 

be  sufficient  to  make  the  column  of  superincumbent  atmosphere 
hotter  than  melted  iron !  With  such  an  element  of  atmos 
pheric  disturbance,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  the  most  terrific 
gales,  that  rage  on  the  ocean,  are  wont  to  sweep  over  the  sur 
face  of  this  stream. 

Indeed,  this  stream  not  only  generates  hurricanes  of  its  own, 
it  seems  to  attract  to  it  such  as  are  engendered  in  the  most  dis 
tant  parts  of  our  hemisphere ;  for  hurricanes  known  to  have 
originated  near  Cape  St.  Roque,  in  Brazil,  have  made  their  way 
straight  for  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  followed  it,  in  its  course,  for 
a  thousand  miles  and  more,  spreading  shipwreck  and  disaster, 
broadcast,  in  their  track.  The  violence  of  these  gales  is  incon 
ceivable  by  those  who  have  not  witnessed  them.  The  great 
hurricane  of  1780  originated  to  the  eastward  of  the  island  of 
Barbadoes,  and  made  straight  for  the  Gulf  Stream.  As  it 
passed  over  the  West  India  Islands,  trees  were  uprooted,  and 
the  bark  literally  blown  from  them.  The  very  bottom  and 
depths  of  the  sea,  in  the  vicinity  of  some  of  the  islands,  were 
uncovered,  and  rocks  torn  up,  and  new  channels  formed.  The 
waves  rose  to  such  a  height,  that  forts,  and  castles,  removed, 
as  it  was  thought,  far  out  of  the  reach  of  the  water,  were 
washed  away,  and  the  storm,  taking  hold  of  their  heavy  artil 
lery,  played  with  it,  as  with  so  many  straws,  throwing  it  to 
considerable  distances.  Houses  were  razed,  and  ships  wrecked, 
and  the  bodies  of  men  and  beasts  were  lifted  up  into  the  air 
and  dashed  to  pieces  in  the  storm.  Still,  the  European-bound 
ships  defy  all  the  bad  weather,  so  prevalent  in  this  stream,  on 
account  of  the  easterly  current  which  accelerates  their  pas 
sage,  at  the  rate  of  from  two,  to  three  miles,  per  hour.  The 
stream,  therefore,  has  been  literally  bearded  by  commerce,  and 
has  become  one  of  its  principal  highways.  It  is  because  it  is  a 
highway  of  commerce  that  the  Alabama  now  finds  herself  in 
it.  Nor  was  she  long  in  it,  before  the  travellers  on  the  highway 
began  to  come  along. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  October,  two  sail  were 
simultaneously  reported  by  the  look-out  at  the  mast-head  — 
one  right  ahead,  and  the  other  on  the  lee-bow.  As  both  the 
ships  were  standing  in  our  direction,  there  was  no  necessity  for 
a  chase.  We  had  nothing  to  do  but  await  their  approach.  As 


458  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

their  hulls  were  lifted  above  the  horizon,  we  could  see  that 
they  were  fine,  large  ships,  with  a  profusion  of  tapering  spars 
and  white  canvas.  We  at  once  pronounced  them  American ; 
and  so,  after  a  little,  they  proved  to  be.  They  were,  in  fact, 
the  avant  courriers  of  the  "junk  fleet,"  for  which  we  had 
come  to  look.  The  wind  was  light,  and  they  came  on,  with 
all  their  sails  set,  from  truck  to  rail.  We,  on  our  part,  put 
on  an  air  of  perfect  indifference.  We  made  no  change  in 
our  sail,  and  it  was  not  necessary  to  alter  our  course,  as  the 
strangers  would  pass  sufficiently  near  us,  unless  they  altered 
their  own  courses,  which  they  did  not  seem  inclined  to  do. 
They  apparently  had  no  suspicion  of  our  real  character.  We 
did  not  hoist  any  colors,  until  the  vessels  were  nearly  abreast 
of  us,  and  only  a  few  hundred  yards  distant,  when,  suddenly 
wheeling,  we  fired  a  gun,  and  hoisted  the  Confederate  flag. 
The  capture  of  these  two  ships  must  have  been  a  perfect  sur 
prise  to  them,  judging  by  the  confusion  that  was  visible  on 
board.  There  was  a  running  about  the  decks,  and  an  evident 
indecision  for  a  few  moments,  as  to  what  was  best  to  be  done; 
but  it  did  not  take  the  masters  long  to  take  an  intelligent  view 
of  the  "situation."  There  was  nothing  to  be  done,  but  sur 
render  ;  and  this  they  did,  by  hoisting  their  colors,  and  heav 
ing  to  their  ships. 

We  now  shortened  sail,  and  laying  the  maintopsail  to  the 
mast,  lowered  a  couple  of  quarter  boats,  and  boarded  the 
prizes.  One  of  them  proved  to  be  the  Brilliant,  from  New  York, 
for  London,  laden  with  flour  and  grain ;  and  the  other,  the 
Emily  Farnum,  from  New  York,  for  Liverpool,  with  a  similar 
cargo.  The  cargo  of  the  Farnum  being  properly  documented 
as  neutral  property,  I  released  her  on  ransorn-bond,  and  con 
verting  her  into  a  cartel,  sent  on  board  of  her  all  my  prisoners, 
of  whom  I  had  fifty  or  sixty  on  board  the  Alabama,  besides 
those  just  captured  in  the  Brilliant.  The  latter  ship  was 
burned,  and  her  destruction  must  have  disappointed  a  good 
many  holders  of  bills  of  exchange,  drawn  against  her  cargo, 
as  this  was  large  and  valuable.  The  owners  of  the  ship  have 
since  put  in  a  claim,  in  that  little  bill,  which  Mr.  Seward  has 
pressed  with  so  little  effect  hitherto  against  the  British  Govern 
ment,  for  indemnity  for  the  "depredations  of  the  Alabama" 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      459 

for  the  ship  alone,  and  the  freight-moneys  which  they  lost  by 
her  destruction,  to  the  amount  of  $93,000.  The  cargo  was 
probably  even  more  valuable  than  the  ship. 

I  made  a  positive  stipulation  with  the  Farnum,  upon  releas 
ing  her,  that  she  should  continue  her  voyage  to  Liverpool,  and 
not  put  back  into  any  American  port ;  the  master  pledging  me 
his  word  that  he  would  comply  with  it.  My  object  was,  of 
course,  to  prevent  him  from  giving  news  of  me  to  the  enemy. 
He  had  no  sooner  passed  out  of  sight,  however,  steering  his 
course  for  Liverpool,  than  he  dodged  and  put  into  Boston,  and 
reported  me.  This  being  nothing  more  than  a  clever  "Yankee 
trick,"  of  course  there  was  no  harm  done  the  master's  honor. 

I  was  much  moved  by  the  entreaties  of  the  master  of  the 
Brilliant  to  spare  his  ship.  He  was  a  hard-working  seaman, 
who  owned  a  one  third  interest  in  her.  He  had  built  her,  and 
was  attached  to  her,  and  she  represented  all  his  worldly  goods. 
But  I  was  forced  again  to  steel  my  heart.  He  was,  like  the 
other  masters  who  had  remonstrated  with  me,  in  the  same  boat 
with  the  "political  rascals,"  who  had  egged  on  the  war;  and  I 
told  him  he  must  look  to  those  rascals  for  redress.  The  ship 
made  a  brilliant  bonfire,  lighting  up  the  Grulf  Stream,  for  many 
miles  around.  Having  been  set  on  fire  near  night,  and  the 
wind  falling  to  nearly  a  calm,  we  remained  in  sight  of  the  burn 
ing  wreck  nearly  all  night. 

Among  the  many  slanders  against  me,  to  which  the  Northern 
press  gave  currency  during  the  war,  it  was  stated,  that  I  decoyed 
ships  into  my  power,  by  setting  fire  to  my  prizes  at  night,  and 
remaining  by  them  in  ambuscade.  Of  course,  when  seamen 
discover  a  ship  on  fire  at  sea  they  rush,  with  all  their  manly 
sympathies  aroused,  to  the  rescue  of  their  comrades,  who  are 
supposed  to  be  in  danger ;  but  if  they  should  find,  it  was  said, 
that  they  were  waylaid,  and  captured,  none  would  go  to  the 
rescue  in  future,  and  thus  many  seamen  would  perish.  It  can 
scarcely  be  necessary  for  me  to  say,  that  I  never  purposely  lay 
by  a  burning  ship,  by  night,  or  by  day,  longer  than  to  see  her 
well  on  fire.  The  substantial  answer  to  the  slander  is,  that  I 
never  captured  a  ship,  under  the  circumstances  stated. 

For  the  next  few  days  we  had  fine,  clear  weather,  and  chased 
and  overhauled  a  number  of  neutral  ships,  most  of  them  out  of 


460  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

New  York,  and  bound  for  Europe,  laden  with  grain.  The 
English,  French,  Prussian,  Hamburg,  Oldenham,  and  other  flags 
were  fast  monopolizing  the  enemy's  carrying  trade,  and  enjoy 
ing  a  rich  harvest.  These  were  not  the  sort  of  "junks"  that 
we  were  in  quest  of,  but  they  compensated  us,  somewhat,  for 
the  time  and  labor  lost  in  chasing  and  boarding  them,  by  sup 
plying  us  with  late  newspapers  of  the  enemy,  and  giving  us 
valuable  information  concerning  the  progress  of  the  war. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  of  October,  the  weather  being 
fine,  and  the  breeze  light,  we  chased  and  captured  the  Ameri 
can  bark,  Wave  Crest,  from  New  York,  bound  for  Cardiff',  in 
Wales,  with  flour  and  grain.  In  the  language  of  the  enemy,  we 
"plundered  her,"  that  is,  we  received  on  board  from  her,  such 
articles  as  we  needed,  and  after  having  made  use  of  her  for  a 
while,  as  a  target,  at  which  to  practise  the  men  at  the  battery, 
we  burned  her. 

Filing  away,  we  again  made  sail  to  the  north-west.  We  were 
now,  in  about  latitude  41°,  and  longitude  54°,  and  were  working 
our  way,  under  easy  sail,  toward  the  coasts  of  the  United 
States.  Just  before  nightfall,  on  the  same  afternoon,  another 
sail  was  cried  from  aloft,  and  we  made  all  sail  in  pursuit,  im 
mediately,  anxious  to  draw  sufficiently  near  the  chase  before 
dark,  to  prevent  losing  sight  of  her.  By  this  time,  the  wind, 
which  had  been  very  light  all  day,  had  freshened  to  a  stiff 
breeze,  and  the  chase,  soon  perceiving  our  object,  spread  a  cloud 
of  canvas,  with  studding-sails  "alow  and  aloft,"  in  the  effort 
to  escape.  She  had  seen  the  fire  of  the  burning  Wave  Crest, 
and  knew  full  well  the  doom  that  awaited  her,  if  she  were  over 
taken.  As  night  threw  her  mantle  over  the  scene,  the  moon, 
nearly  at  the  full,  rose  with  unusual  splendor  and  lighted  up 
the  sea  for  the  chase ;  and  a  beautiful,  picturesque  chase  it  was. 
Although  it  lasted  several  hours,  our  anxiety  as  to  the  result 
was  relieved,  in  a  very  short  time,  for  we  could  see,  from  the 
first,  that  we  gained  upon  the  fleeing  ship,  although  her  master 
practised  every  stratagem  known  to  the  skilful  seaman.  As 
soon  as  we  approached  sufficiently  near  to  get  a  good  view  of 
her  through  our  excellent  night-glasses,  which,  in  the  bright 
moonlight,  brought  out  all  her  features  almost  as  distinctly  as 
if  we  had  been  viewing  them  by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  we  dis- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     461 

covered  that  she  was  one  of  those  light,  and  graceful  hermaph 
rodite  brigs,  that  is,  a  rig  between  the  brig  and  the  schooner, 
so  peculiarly  American.  Her  sails  were  beautifully  cut,  well 
hoisted,  and  the  clews  well  spread ;  her  masts  were  long  and 
tapering,  and  her  yards  more  square  than  usual.  There  was 
just  sea  enough  on,  to  give  her,  now  and  then,  a  gentle  motion, 
as  she  rose  upon  a  wave,  and  scudded  forward  with  renewed 
impulse.  Her  sails  looked  not  unlike  so  many  silver  wings,  in 
the  weird  moonlight,  and  with  a  little  effort  of  the  imagination, 
it  would  not  have  been  difficult  to  think  of  her  as  some  im 
mense  water-fowl,  which  had  been  scared  from  its  roost  and 
flown  seaward  for  safety. 

I  sat  astride  of  the  hammock-cloth  on  the  weather-quarter, 
and  watched  the  beautiful  apparition  during  the  whole  chase, 
only  taking  off  my  eye,  now  and  then,  to  give  some  order  to 
the  officer  of  the  deck,  or  to  cast  it  admiringly  upon  the  buck 
ling  and  bending  masts  and  spars  of  my  own  beautiful  ship,  as 
she  sped  forward,  with  all  the  animation  of  a  living  thing,  in 
pursuit.  The  poor  little,  affrighted  fawn  ahead  of  us,  how  its 
heart  must  have  gone  pit-a-pat,  as  it  cast  its  timid  eyes  behind 
it,  and  saw  its  terrible  pursuer  looming  up  larger,  and  larger, 
and  coming  nearer  and  nearer!  Still  there  might  be  some 
hope.  The  pursuing  vessel  might  be  some  peaceful  merchant- 
ship,  bound  on  the  same  errand  of  commerce  with  herself,  and 
only  trying  heels  with  her,  in  sport,  over  these  dancing  waves, 
and  by  this  bright  moonlight.  Alas!  the  hope  was  short-lived; 
for  presently,  in  the  stillness  of  near  midnight,  a  flash  was  seen, 
followed  by  the  sound  of  a  booming  gun,  and  there  could  no 
longer  be  any  doubt,  that  the  pursuer  was  a  ship  of  war,  and 
most  likely  a  Confederate.  Halliards  and  tacks,  and  sheets 
were  let  fly  on  board  the  brigantine,  and  as  soon  as  her  sea 
men  could  gather  in  the  folds  of  the  flapping  sails,  and  haul 
up  clew-garnets,  her  helm  was  put  down,  and  she  rounded 
gracefully  to  the  now  whistling  wind,  with  fore-topsail  aback. 
So  rapidly  had  this  been  done,  and  so  close  was  the  Alabama 
upon  the  chase,  that  we  had  just  time  to  sheer  clear  of  her  by 
a  little  trick  of  the  helm.  Our  own  sail  was  now  shortened, 
and  the  boarding-officer  dispatched  on  board  the  prize. 

She  proved  to  be  the  Dunkirk,  from  New  York,  with  a  cargo 


462  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

of  gram  for  Lisbon.  There  being  no  evidence  of  neutral 
ownership  of  the  cargo,  among  the  papers,  she  was  burned,  as 
soon  as  her  crew  could  be  transferred  to  the  Alabama.  We 
made  two  novel  captures  on  board  this  ship  —  one  was  a 
deserter  from  the  Sumter,  a  worthless  sailor  out  of  one  of  the 
Northern  States,  whom  we  afterward  discharged  from  the  Con 
federate  Naval  service,  in  disgrace,  instead  of  hanging  him,  as 
we  might  have  done  under  our  Articles  of  War;  and  the  other 
a  number  of  very  neatly  put  up  tracts  in  the  Portuguese  lan 
guage;  our  Northern  brethren  dealing  in  a  little  piety  as 
well  as  trade.  These  tracts  had  been  issued  by  that  pious 
corporation,  the  "American  Tract  Society,"  of  New  York, 
whose  fine  fat  offices  are  filled  with  sleek,  well-fed  parsons,  of 
the  Boynton  stripe,  whose  business  it  is  to  prey  upon  the  cre 
dulity  of  kind-hearted  American  women,  and  make  a  pretence 
of  converting  the  heathen!  On  the  cover  of  these  tracts  was 
printed  the  following  directions,  as  to  how  the  doses  were  to 
be  taken.  "Portuguese  tracts,  from  the  'American  Tract  So 
ciety,'  for  distribution  among  Portuguese  passengers,  and  to 
give,  upon  the  coast,  to  visitors  from  the  shore,  &c.  When  in 
port,  please  keep  conspicuously  on  the  cabin-table,  for  all 
comers  to  read :  but  be  very  careful  not  to  take  any  ashore,  as 
the  laws  do  not  allow  it."  A  pen  had  been  run  through  the 
last  injunction,  as  though  the  propagandists  of  "grand  moral 
ideas"  had  become  a  little  bolder  since  the  war,  and  were  de 
termined  to  thrust  their  piety  down  the  throats  of  the  Portu 
guese,  whether  they  would  or  not.  If  there  should  be  any 
attempt  now,  on  the  part  of  poor  old  Portugal,  to  seize  the 
unlawful  distributor  of  the  tracts,  a  gunboat  or  two  would  set 
the  matter  right.  A  little  farther  on,  on  the  same  cover,  was 
the  following  instruction:  "As  may  be  convenient,  please  re 
port,  (by  letter  if  necessary,)  anything  of  interest  which  may 
occur,  in  connection  with  the  distribution;  also  take  any  orders 
for  Bibles,  and  forward  to  John  S.  Pierson,  Marine  Agent,  New 
York  Bible  Society,  No.  7  Beekman  Street." 


CHAPTEK    XXXV. 

CAPRICIOUS  WEATHEK   OF   THE   GULF  STKEAM CAPTURE 

OF   THE   PACKET-SHIP  TONAWANDA,  THE   MANCHESTER, 
AND    THE   LAMPLIGHTER A   CYCLONE. 

rMHOUGH  the  month  of  October  is  remarkable  for  its  fine 
weather,  along  the  American  coast,  yet  here  in  the  Gulf 
Stream,  we  had  a  constant  succession  of  changes,  the  wind 
going  regularly  around  the  compass  every  two  or  three  days, 
and  thick,  rainy  weather  predominating.  We  were  now,  be 
sides,  experiencing  a  south-easterly  current  of  about  two  knots 
per  hour,  and  as  we  were  bound  to  the  north-west,  and  fre 
quently  had  the  wind,  as  well  as  the  current  ahead,  we  made  but 
slow  progress.  On  the  second  day  after  capturing  the  Dun- 
kirk,  the  familiar  cry  of  "sail  ho!"  again  came  ringing  from  the 
mast-head,  and  pretty  soon  a  large  ship  loomed  up  above  the 
horizon.  We  gave  chase,  and,  just  before  sunset,  came  up 
with  a  fine  packet-ship,  whose  deck,  we  could  see,  was  crowded 
with  passengers.  This  was  a  somewhat  unusual  spectacle — a 
sailing  ship  filled  with  passengers  for  Europe,  during  the 
month  of  October.  Since  the  introduction  of  the  steam-packet, 
but  few  passengers,  except  emigrants,  take  passage  in  a  sailing 
ship,  and  the  current  of  emigration  sets  the  other  way. 

Upon  being  boarded,  the  ship  proved  to  be  the  Tonawanda, 
of,  and  from  Philadelphia,  bound  to  Liverpool.  Some  of  the 
passengers  were  foreigners,  fleeing  from  the  tyranny,  and  out 
rages  of  person  and  property,  which  had  overtaken  them,  un 
der  the  reign  of  the  Puritan,  in  the  "  land  of  the  free,  and  the 
home  of  the  brave,"  and  others  were  patriotic  Puritans  them 
selves  running  away  from  the  "  City  of  Brotherly  Love,"  to 
escape  the  draft.  We  captured  the  Tonawanda,  arid  the  ques 
tion  immediately  presented  itself  what  should  we  do  with  her? 
30  463 


464  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

There  being  no  claim,  bj  any  neutral,  for  the  cargo,  both  ship 
and  cargo  were  good  prize  of  war,  but  unfortunately  we  could 
not  burn  the  ship,  without  encumbering  ourselves  with  the 
passengers ;  and  thirty  of  the  sixty  of  these  were  women  and 
children  !  The  men  we  might  have  disposed  of,  without  much 
inconvenience,  but  it  was  not  possible  to  convert  the  Ala 
bama  into  a  nursery,  and  set  the  stewards  to  serving  pap  to 
the  babies.  Although  I  made  it  a  rule  never  to  bond  a  ship 
if  I  could  burn  her,  I  released  the  Tonawanda  on  bond,  though 
there  was  no  legal  impediment  to  her  being  burned.  I  kept  her 
cruising  in  company  with  me,  however,  for  a  day  or  two,  hoping 
that  I  might  fall  in  with  some  other  ship  of  the  enemy,  that 
might  be  less  valuable,  or  might  have  a  neutral  cargo  on  board, 
to  which  I  could  transfer  the  passengers,  and  thus  be  enabled 
to  burn  her.  But  here,  again,  her  owners  were  in  luck,  for 
the  finest,  and  most  valuable  ships,  with  cargoes  entirely  un 
covered,  would  persist  in  crossing  my  path. 

On  the  second  day  after  the  capture  of  the  Tonawanda — 
that  ship  being  still  in  our  company,  with  a  prize  crew  on 
board — the  weather  inclining  to  be  overcast,  and  the  breeze 
light  —  a  ship  was  reported,  at  early  daylight,  on  our  weather- 
quarter.  It  was  another  heavy  ship  of  the  "junk  fleet,"  and 
as  we  were  lying  right  across  her  path,  we  had  nothing  to  do 
but  await  her  approach.  She  came  along  under  a  cloud  of 
canvas,  though,  as  the  wind  was  light,  it  took  her  some  three 
or  four  hours  to  come  up  with  us.  To  disarm  her  of  suspi 
cion,  I  hoisted  the  American  colors,  and  caused  my  prize  to 
do  the  same.  She  naturally  concluded  that  the  two  ships 
were  "  visiting,"  which  ships  sometimes  do  at  sea,  when  the 
wind  is  light,  and  there  is  not  much  time  lost  by  the  opera 
tion,  and  came  on  without  so  much  as  shifting  her  helm,  or 
stirring  tack  or  sheet.  When  she  had  approached  sufficiently 
near,  I  invited  her,  too,  to  visit  me ;  my  card  of  invitation  be 
ing  a  blank  cartridge,  and  a  change  of  flags.  She  hove  to  at 
once,  and,  upon  being  boarded,  proved  to  be  the  ship  Man 
chester  from  New  York,  bound  to  Liverpool.  I  now  threw  the 
Manchester's  crew,  together  with  the  crews  of  the  Wave  Crest, 
and  Dunkirk,  on  board  the  Tonawanda,  as  being  the  less  valu 
able  ship  of  the  two,  and  permitted  the  latter  to  depart ;  but 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     465 

before  doing  so,  I  took  from  on  board  of  her,  one  of  her  pas 
sengers.  This  was  a  likely  negro  lad  of  about  seventeen  years 
of  age  —  a  slave  until  he  was  twenty-one,  under  the  laws  of 
Delaware.  This  little  State,  all  of  whose  sympathies  were 
with  us,  had  been  ridden  over,  rough-shod,  by  the  Yandals 
north  of  her,  as  Maryland  afterward  was,  and  was  arrayed  on 
the  side  of  the  enemy.  I  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  treat  her  as 
such.  The  slave  was  on  his  way  to  Europe,  in  company  with 
his  master.  He  came  necessarily  under  the  laws  of  war,  and 
I  brought  him  on  board  the  Alabama,  where  we  were  in 
want  of  good  servants,  and  sent  him  to  wait  on  the  ward-room 
mess. 

The  boy  was  a  little  alarmed  at  first,  but,  when  he  saw 
kindly  faces  beaming  upon  him,  and  heard  from  his  new  mas 
ters,  and  the  servants  of  the  mess,  some  words  of  encourage 
ment,  he  became  reassured,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few  days, 
was  not  only  at  home,  but  congratulated  himself  on  the  ex 
change  he  had  made.  He  became,  more  especially,  the  ser 
vant  of  Dr.  Gait,  and  there  at  once  arose,  between  the  Virginia 
gentleman  and  the  slave  boy,  that  sympathy  of  master  and 
servant,  which  our  ruder  people  of  the  North  find  it  so  im 
possible  to  comprehend.  Faithful  service,  respect,  and  attach 
ment  followed  protection  and  kind  treatment,  and  the  slave 
was  as  happy  as  the  day  was  long.  David  soon  became  to 
Gait  what  Bartelli  was  to  rne  —  indispensable  —  and  the  former 
was  really  as  free  as  the  latter,  except  only  in  the  circumstance 
that  he  could  not  change  masters.  I  caused  his  name  to  be 
entered  on  the  books  of  the  ship,  as  one  of  the  crew,  and 
allowed  him  the  pay  of  his  grade.  In  short,  no  difference  was 
made  between  him  and  the  white  waiters  of  the  mess.  His 
condition  was  in  every  respect  bettered ;  though,  I  doubt  not, 
a  howl  went  up  over  his  capture,  as  soon  as  it  became  known 
to  the  pseudo-philanthropists  of  the  North,  who  know  as  little 
about  the  negro  and  his  nature,  as  they  do  about  the  people  of 
the  South. 

It  was  pleasant  to  regard  the  affection  which  this  boy  con 
ceived  for  Gait,  and  the  pride  he  took  in  serving  him.  As  he 
brought  the  doctor's  camp-stool  for  him  to  the  "bridge," 
placed  it  in  the  cosiest  corner  he  could  find,  and  ran  off  to 


466  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

« 

bring  him  a  light  for  his  cigar,  his  eyes  would  dilate,  and  his 
''ivories"  shine.  Dave  served  us  during  the  whole  cruise. 
He  went  on  shore  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  knew  that  the 
moment  he  touched  the  shore  he  was  at  liberty  to  depart,  if  he 
pleased,  and  was  tampered  with  by  sundry  Yankee  Consuls, 
but  always  came  back  to  us.  He  seemed  to  have  the  instinct 
of  deciding  between  his  friends  and  his  enemies. 

The  following  correspondence  took  place  between  the  Liver 
pool  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  Earl  Russell,  the  British 
Foreign  Secretary,  on  the  occasion  of  the  two  last  captures:  — 

To  THE  RT.  HON.  EARL  RUSSELL,  ETC.,  ETC.  : — 

MY  LORD: — I  have  been  requested  by  the  Council  of  this  Cham 
ber  to  inform  you  that  they  have  had  brought  before  them  the  facts 
of  the  destruction  at  sea,  in  one  case,  and  of  seizure  and  release  under 
ransom-bond  in  another  case,  of  British  property  on  board  Federal 
vessels,  (the  Manchester  and  the  Tonawanda,)  by  an  armed  cruiser 
sailing  under  the  Confederate  flag,  the  particulars  of  which  have 
been  already  laid  before  your  Lordship.  As  the  question  is  one  of 
serious  importance  to  the  commerce  of  this  country,  the  Council 
wish  me  most  respectfully  to  solicit  the  favor  of  your  Lordship's 
acquainting  them,  for  the  information  of  the  mercantile  community, 
what,  in  the  opinion  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  is  the  position 
of  the  owners  of  such  property,  in  these  and  other  similar  cases. 
Submitting  this  question  with  every  respect  to  your  Lordship,  I 
have  the  honor  to  be,  my  Lord,  your  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

THOMAS  CHILTON, 
President  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

LIVERPOOL,  8th  Nov.,  1862. 

To  THOMAS  CHILTON,  ESQ.,  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE,  LIVERPOOL. 

SIR: — I  am  directed  by  Earl  Russell  to  acknowledge  the  receipt 
of  your  letter  of  the  8th  iust.,  calling  attention  to  the  recent  pro 
ceedings  of  the  armed  vessel  Alabama,  with  regard  to  British  prop 
erty  on  board  the  Federal  vessels  Manchester  and  Tonawanda,  and 
requesting  the  opinion  of  her  Majesty's  Government  with  regard 
to  the  position  of  the  owners  of  such  property  in  those  and  other 
similar  cases  which  may  arise  ;  and  I  am  to  request  that  you  will 
inform  the  Council  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  that  the  matter 
is  under  the  consideration  of  her  Majesty's  Government. 
I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

E.  HAMMOND. 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  Nov.  7th,  1862. 

After  the  usual  period  of  gestation,  Earl  Russell  informed 
his  questioners,  that  British  owners  of  property,  on  board  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       467 

Federal  ships,  alleged  to  have  been  wrongfully  captured  by 
Confederate  cruisers,  were  in  the  same  position  as  any  other 
neutral  owners  shipping  in  enemy's  bottoms  during  a  war ; 
they  must  look  for  redress  to  the  country  of  the  captor.  But 
these  British  owners  did  what  was  more  sensible  —  they  with 
drew,  in  due  time,  their  freights  from  the  enemy's  ships ;  and 
British  and  other  neutral  ships  soon  became  the  carriers  of  the 
American  trade.  It  is  claimed  in  the  above  correspondence, 
that  there  was  British  property  destroyed  on  board  the  Man 
chester.  If  so,  it  was  the  fault  of  the  British  owner,  in  failing 
to  document  his  property  properly,  for  there  was  no  certificate 
or  other  paper  found  on  board  that  ship,  claiming  that  any 
part  of  the  cargo  belonged  to  neutrals. 

The  Manchester  brought  us  a  batch  of  late  New  York  pa 
pers,  and  I  was  much  obliged  to  the  editors  of  the  New  York 
"Herald,"  for  valuable  information.  I  learned  from  them 
where  all  the  enemy's  gunboats  were,  and  what  they  were  do 
ing  ;  which,  of  course,  enabled  me  to  take  better  care  of  the 
Alabama,  than  I  should  otherwise  have  been  enabled  to  do. 
The  Americans  effected  many  reforms  in  the  art  of  war  during 
our  late  struggle.  Perhaps  this  was  the  only  war  in  which 
the  newspapers  ever  explained,  beforehand,  all  the  movements 
of  armies,  and  fleets,  to  the  enemy. 

The  reader  will  observe,  that  I  received  my  mails  quite 
regularly,  now,  from  the  United  States.  They  were  some 
times  daily,  and  rarely  less  frequent  than  tri-weekly.  I  ap 
pointed  my  excellent  clerk,  Mr.  Breedlove  Smith,  whom  I  am 
glad  to  have  this  opportunity  of  introducing  to  the  reader, 
postmaster,  and  he  delivered  the  mail  regularly  to  the  officers 
and  crew  —  that  is  to  say,  the  newspaper  and  periodical  mail — 
the  letters  I  considered  as  addressed  to  myself  personally. 
They  might  give  valuable  information  of  the  objects  and  de 
signs  of  the  enemy,  and  throw  some  light  upon  the  true  own 
ership  of  cargoes,  falsely  documented.  I  therefore  took  the 
liberty,  which  the  laws  of  war  gave  me,  of  breaking  the  seals. 
There  were  some  curious  developments  made  in  some  of  these 
letters,  nor  were  they  all  written  on  business.  Sometimes,  as 
I  would  break  a  seal,  a  photograph  would  tumble  out,  and  the 
first  few  lines  of  the  letter  would  inform  me  of  a  tender  pas- 


468  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sion  that  was  raging  in  the  heart  of  the  writer.  These  epis 
tles,  photographs,  and  all,  were  always  pitched,  with  a  pshaw ! 
into  the  waste-paper  basket,  and  were  soon  afterward  consigned 
by  Bartelli  to  the  sea.  So  that  the  fair  writers — and  some  of 
the  writers  were  fair  if  I  might  judge  by  their  portraits  — 
may  rest  satisfied  that  their  secrets  are  safe.  My  young  offi 
cers  became  so  accustomed  to  their  morning's  newspaper,  as 
they  sat  down  to  the  breakfast-table,  that  if  it  was  not  forth 
coming,  they  would  wonder  "  what  the  d — 1  Alabama  had  been 
about,  the  past  night,  that  she  had  not  gotten  hold  of  a  mail?" 

For  two  or  three  days  after  capturing  the  Manchester,  we  fell 
in  with  nothing  but  neutral  vessels.  When  the  nationality  of 
these  was  distinctly  marked,  as  generally  it  was,  we  forbore  to 
chase  them.  The  weather  began  now  to  give  unmistakable 
signs,  of  a  general  disturbance  of  the  atmospheric  machine. 
On  the  15th  of  October,  we  captured  our  next  ship.  It  was 
blowing  half  a  gale  of  wind,  with  a  thick  atmosphere,  and 
rain-squalls.  We  were  lying  to,  under  topsails,  when  she  was 
reported.  As  in  the  case  of  the  Manchester,  we  had  only  to  await 
her  approach,  for  we  were  still  in  the  beaten  track  of  these  lone 
travellers  upon  the  sea.  She  came  along  quite  fast,  before  the 
gale,  and  when  within  reach,  we  hove  her  to,  with  the  accus 
tomed  gun.  She  proved,  upon  being  boarded,  to  be  the  bark 
Lamplighter,  of  Boston,  from  New  York,  for  Gibraltar,  with  a 
cargo  of  tobacco.  There  was  no  attempt  to  cover  the  cargo,  and 
when  we  had  removed  the  crew  to  the  Alabama,  we  burned  her. 

From  the  frequent  mention  which  has  been  made  of  "  un 
covered  cargoes,"  the  reader  will  see  how  careless  the  enemy's 
merchants  were,  and  how  little  they  dreamed  of  disaster. 
They  had  not  yet  heard  of  the  Alabama,  except  only  that  she 
had  escaped  from  Liverpool,  as  the  "290."  They  looked  upon 
her,  yet,  as  a  mere  myth,  which  it  was  not  necessary  to  take 
any  precautions  against.  But  the  reader  will  see  how  soon 
their  course  will  change,  and  in  what  demand  British  Consu 
lar  certificates,  vouching  for  the  neutrality  of  good  American 
cargoes,  will  be,  in  the  good  city  of  Gotham,  toward  which,  the 
Alabama  is  slowly  working  her  way. 

We  captured  the  Lamplighter  early  in  the  day,  and  it  was 
well  for  us  she  came  along  when  she  did.  If  she  had  delayed 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    469 

her  arrival  a  few  hours,  \ve  should  probably  not  have  been 
able  to  board  her,  so  much  had  the  gale  increased,  and  the  sea 
risen.  For  the  next  few  days,  as  the  reader  will  speedily  see, 
we  had  as  much  as  we  could  do  to  take  care  of  ourselves, 
without  thinking  of  the  enemy,  or  his  ships.  We  had  a  fear 
ful  gale  to  encounter.  As  this  gale  was  a  cyclone,  and  the 
first  really  severe  gale  that  the  Alabama  had  met  with,  it  is 
worthy  of  a  brief  description.  We  begin,  in  our  generation, 
to  have  some  definite  knowledge  of  the  atmospheric  laws.  To 
our  ancestors,  of  only  a  generation  or  two  back,  these  laws 
were  almost  a  sealed  book.  It  is  now  well  ascertained,  that 
all  the  great  hurricanes  which  sweep  over  the  seas,  are  cy 
clones  ;  that  is,  circular  gales,  revolving  around  an  axis,  or 
vortex,  at  the  same  time  that  they  are  travelling  in  a  given 
direction.  These  gales  all  have  their  origin  in  warm  lati 
tudes,  or,  as  has  been  prettily  said,  by  an  officer  of  the 
Dutch  Navy  writing  on  the  subject,  they  "prefer  to  place 
their  feet  in  warm  water."  They  do  not,  however,  confine 
themselves  to  the  places  of  their  origin,  but,  passing  out  of 
the  tropics,  sweep  over  large  tracts  of  extra-tropical  seas. 
These  circular  gales  are  the  great  regulators,  or  balance- 
wheels,  as  it  were,  of  the  atmospheric  machine.  They  arise  in 
seasons  of  atmospheric  disturbance,  and  seem  necessary  to  the 
restoration  of  the  atmospheric  equilibrium. 

In  the  East  Indian  and  China  seas,  the  cyclone  is  called  a 
typhoon.  It  prevails  there  with  even  more  destructive  effect 
than  in  the  western  hemisphere.  It  takes  its  origin  during 
the  change  of  the  monsoons.  Monsoons  are  periodical  winds, 
which  blow  one  half  of  the  year  from  one  direction  —  the 
north-east  for  example — and  then  change,  and  blow  the  other 
half  of  the  year,  from  the  opposite  direction,  the  south-west. 
When  these  monsoons  are  changing,  there  is  great  disturbance 
in  the  atmospheric  equilibrium.  A  battle  of  the  winds,  as  it 
were,  takes  place ;  the  out-going  wind  struggling  for  existence, 
and  the  in-coming  wind  endeavoring  to  throttle  it,  and  take 
its  place.  Calms,  whirlwinds,  water-spouts,  and  heavy  and 
drenching  rains  set  in ;  the  black,  wild-looking  clouds,  some 
times  rent  and  torn,  sweeping  with  their  heavy  burdens  of 
vapor  over  the  very  surface  of  the  sea.  Now,  the  out-going, 


470  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

or  dying  monsoon  will  recede,  for  days  together,  its  enemy, 
the  in-coming  monsoon,  greedily  advancing  to  occupy  the 
space  left  vacant.  The  retreating  wind  will  then  rally,  regain 
its  courage,  and  drive  back,  at  least  for  a  part  of  the  way,  the 
pursuing  wind.  In  this  way,  the  two  will  alternate  for  weeks, 
each  watching  the  other  as  warily,  as  if  they  were  opposing 
armies.  It  is  during  these  struggles,  when  the  atmosphere  is 
unhinged,  as  it  were,  that  the  typhoon  makes  its  awful  appear 
ance.  Every  reader  is  familiar  with  the  phenomenon  of  the 
miniature  whirlwind,  which  he  has  so  often  seen  sweep  along 
a  street  or  road,  for  a  short  distance,  and  then  disappear  ;  the 
want  of  local  equilibrium  in  the  atmosphere,  which  gave  rise 
to  it,  having  been  restored. 

These  little  whirlwinds  generally  occur  at  street-corners,  or 
at  cross-roads,  and  are  produced  by  the  meeting  of  two  winds. 
When  these  winds  meet,  the  stronger  will  bend  the  weaker, 
and  a  whirl  will  ensue.  The  two  winds  still  coming  on,  the 
whirl  will  be  increased,  and  thus  a  whirlwind  is  formed,  which 
immediately  begins  to  travel  —  not  at  random,  of  course,  but 
in  the  direction  of  least  pressure.  The  meeting  of  two  cur 
rents  of  water,  which  form  a  whirlpool,  may  be  used  as 
another  illustration.  It  is  just  so,  that  the  typhoon  is  formed. 
It  steps  in  as  a  great  conservator  of  the  peace,  to  put  an  end 
to  the  atmospherical  strife  which  has  been  going  on,  and  to 
restore  harmony  to  nature.  It  is  a  terrible  scourge  whilst  it 
lasts ;  the  whole  heavens  seem  to  be  in  disorder,  and  that  which 
was  only  a  partial  battle  between  outposts  of  the  aerial  armies, 
has  now  become  a  general  engagement.  The  great  whirl 
sweeps  over  a  thousand  miles  or  more,  and  when  it  has  ceased, 
nature  smiles  again ;  the  old  monsoon  has  given  up  the  ghost, 
and  the  new  monsoon  has  taken  its  place.  All  will  be  peace 
now  until  the  next  change — the  storms  that  will  occur  in  the 
interval,  being  more  or  less  local.  We  have  monsoons  in  the 
western  hemisphere,  as  well  as  in  the  eastern,  though  thev  are 
much  more  partial,  both  in  space  and  duration. 

The  cyclones  which  sweep  over  the  North  Atlantic  are  gen 
erated,  as  has  been  remarked,  to  the  eastward  of  the  West  India 
Islands  —  somewhere  between  them  and  the  coast  of  Brazil. 
They  occur  in  August,  September,  and  October — sometimes, 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     471 

indeed,  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  July.  In  these  months, 
the  sun  has  drawn  after  him,  into  the  northern  hemisphere,  the 
south-east  trade-winds  of  the  South  Atlantic.  These  trade- 
winds  are  now  struggling  with  the  north-east  trade-winds, 
which  prevail  in  these  seas,  for  three  fourths  of  the  year,  for 
the  mastery.  We  have,  thus,  another  monsoon  struggle  going 
on ;  and  the  consequence  of  this  struggle  is  the  cyclone.  The 
reader  may  recollect  the  appearances  of  the  weather,  noted  by 
me,  some  chapters  back,  when  we  were  in  these  seas,  in  the 
Sumter,  in  July  and  August,  of  1861;  to  wit,  the  calms,  light, 
baffling  winds,  water-spouts,  and  heavy  rains. 

If  the  reader  will  pay  a  little  attention  to  the  diagram  on 
page  473,  it  will  assist  him,  materially,  in  comprehending 
the  nature  of  the  storm  into  which  the  Alabama  had  now  en 
tered.  The  outer  circle  represents  the  extent  of  the  storm ; 
the  inner  circle,  the  centre  or  vortex ;  the  arrows  along  the 
inner  edge  of  the  outer  circle  represent  the  direction,  or  gyra 
tion  of  the  wind,  and  the  dotted  line  represents  the  course 
travelled  by  the  storm.  The  figures  marked,  1,  2,  and  3,  rep 
resent  the  position  of  the  Alabama,  in  the  different  stages  of 
the  storm,  as  it  passed  over  her  ;  the  arrow-heads  on  the  figures 
representing  the  head  of  the  ship. 

If  the  reader,  being  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  will  turn 
his  face  toward  the  sun,  at  his  rising,  and  watch  his  course  for 
a  short  time,  he  will  observe  that  this  course  is  from  left  to 
right.  As  the  course  of  the  arrows  in  the  figure  is  from  right 
to  left,  the  reader  observes  that  the  gyration  of  the  wind,  in  the 
storm,  is  against  the  course  of  the  sun.  This  is  an  invariable 
law  in  both  hemispheres ;  but,  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  the 
reader  will  not  fail  to  remark,  that  the  gyration  of  the  wind  is 
in  the  opposite  direction  from  its  gyration  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  for  the  reason,  that,  to  an  observer  in  the  southern 
hemisphere  the  sun  appears  to  be  moving,  not  from  left  to 
right,  but  from  right  to  left.  Whilst,  therefore,  the  storm,  in 
the  northern  hemisphere,  gyrates  from  right  to  left,  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  it  gyrates  from  left  to  right ;  both  gyra 
tions  being  against  the  course  of  the  sun. 

This  is  a  curious  phenomenon,  which  has,  thus  far,  puzzled 
all  the  philosophers.  It  is  a  double  puzzle ;  first,  why  the 


472  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

storm  should  gyrate  always  in  the  same  direction,  and  secondly, 
why  this  gyration  should  be  different  in  the  two  hemispheres. 
The  law  seems  to  be  so  subtle,  as  utterly  to  elude  investigation. 
There  is  a  curious  phenomenon,  in  the  vegetable  world,  which 
seems  to  obey  this  law  of  storms,  and  which  I  do  not  recollect 
ever  to  have  seen  alluded  to  by  any  writer.  It  may  be  well 
known  to  horticulturists,  for  aught  that  I  know,  but  it  attracted 
my  attention,  in  my  own  garden,  for  the  first  time,  since  the  war. 
It  is,  that  all  creeping  vines,  and  tendrils,  when  they  wind  them 
selves  around  a  pole,  invariably  wind  themselves  from  right  to 
left,  or  against  the  course  of  the  sun  I  I  was  first  struck  with  the 
fact,  by  watching,  from  day  to  day,  the  tender  unfolding  of  the 
Lima  bean — each  little  creeper,  as  it  came  forth,  feeling,  as  with 
the  instinct  of  animal  life,  for  the  pole,  and  then  invariably  bend 
ing  around  it,  in  the  direction  mentioned.  I  have  a  long  ave 
nue  of  these  plants,  numbering  several  hundred  poles,  and 
upon  examining  them  all,  I  invariably  found  the  same  result. 
I  tried  the  experiment  with  some  of  these  little  creepers,  of 
endeavoring  to  compel  them  to  embrace  the  pole  from  left  to 
right,  or  with  the  course  of  the  sun,  but  in  vain.  In  the  after 
noon  I  would  gather  blades  of  grass,  and  tie  some  of  the  ten 
drils  to  the  poles,  in  a  way  to  force  them  to  disobey  the  law, 
but  when  I  went  to  inspect  them,  the  following  morning,  I 
would  invariably  find,  that  the  obedient  little  plants  had  turned 
back,  and  taken  the  accustomed  track!  What  is  the  subtle  in 
fluence  which  produces  this  wonderful  result  ?  May  it  not  be 
the  same  law  which  rides  on  the  whirlwind,  and  directs  the 
storm  ? 

The  cyclone,  of  which  I  am  writing,  must  have  travelled  a 
couple  of  thousand  miles,  before  it  reached  the  Alabama.  Its 
approach  had  been  heralded,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  by  several 
days  of  bad  weather ;  and,  on  the  morning  of  the  gale,  which 
was  on  the  16th  of  October,  the  barometer — that  faithful  sen 
tinel  of  the  seaman — began  to  settle  very  rapidly.  We  had 
been  under  short  sail  before,  but  we  now  took  the  close  reefs 
in  the  topsails,  which  tied  them  down  to  about  one  third  of 
their  original  size,  got  up,  and  bent  the  main  storm-staysail, 
which  was  made  of  the  stoutest  No.  1  canvas,  and  scarcely 
larger  than  a  pocket-handkerchief,  swung  in  the  quarter-boats, 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN   THE    STATES.     473 


Diagram  of  the  Cyclone  experienced  by  the  Alabama  on  the  16th  of 
October,  1862. 


474  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  passed  additional  lashings  around  them ;  and,  in  short, 
made  all  the  requisite  preparations  for  the  battle  with  the  ele 
ments  which  awaited  us.  If  the  reader  will  cast  his  eye  upon 
the  diagram,  at  Alabama,  No.  1,  he  will  see  that  the  ship  has 
her  head  to  the  eastward,  that  her  yards  are  braced  up  on  the 
starboard  tack,  and  that  she  took  the  wind,  as  indicated  by  the 
arrows,  from  S.  to  S.  S.  E. 

The  ship  is  lying  still,  and  the  storm,  which  the  reader  sees, 
by  the  dotted  line,  is  travelling  to  the  north-east,  is  approach 
ing  her.  She  was  soon  enveloped  in  its  folds ;  and  the  winds, 
running  around  the  circle,  in  that  mad  career  represented  by 
the  arrows,  howled,  and  whistled,  and  screeched  around  her 
like  a  thousand  demons.  She  was  thrown  over,  several  streaks, 
and  the  waves  began  to  assault  her  with  sledge-hammer  blows, 
and  occasionally  to  leap  on  board  of  her,  flooding  her  decks, 
and  compelling  us  to  stand  knee-deep  in  water.  By  this  time, 
we  had  furled  the  fore-topsail ;  the  fore-staysail  had  been  split 
into  ribbons ;  and  whilst  I  was  anxiously  debating  with  my 
self,  whether  I  should  hold  on  to  the  main-topsail,  a  little 
longer,  or  start  its  sheets,  and  let  it  blow  to  pieces  —  for  it 
would  have  been  folly  to  think  of  sending  men  aloft  in  such 
a  gale,  to  furl  it  —  the  iron  bolt  on  the  weather-quarter,  to 
which  the  standing  part  of  the  main-brace  was  made  fast,  gave 
way  ;  away  went  the  main-yard,  parted  at  the  slings,  and,  in  a 
trice,  the  main-topsail  was  whipped  into  fragments,  and  tied 
into  a  hundred  curious  knots.  We  were  now  under  nothing 
but  the  small  storm-staysail,  described ;  the  topgallant  yards 
had  been  sent  clown  from  aloft,  there  was  very  little  top-hamper 
exposed  to  the  wind,  and  yet  the  ship  was  pressed  over  and 
over,  until  I  feared  she  would  be  thrown  upon  her  beanie-ends, 
or  her  masts  swept  by  the  board.  The  lee-quarter-boat  was 
wrenched  from  the  davits,  and  dashed  in  pieces ;  and,  as  the 
sea  would  strike  the  ship,  forward  or  aft,  she  would  tremble  in 
every  fibre,  as  if  she  had  been  a  living  thing,  in  fear  of  mo 
mentary  dissolution. 

But  she  behaved  nobly,  and  I  breathed  easier  after  the  first 
half  hour  of  the  storm.  All  hands  were,  of  course,  on  deck, 
with  the  hatches  battened  down,  and  there  was  but  little  left  for 
us  to  do,  but  to  watch  the  course  of  the  storm,  and  to  ease  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     475 

ship,  all  it  was  possible  to  ease  her,  with  the  helm.  Life-lines 
had  been  rove,  fore  and  aft  the  decks,  by  ^my  careful  first  lieu 
tenant,  to  prevent  the  crew  from  being  washed  overboard,  and 
it  was  almost  as  much  as  each  man  could  do,  to  look  out  for 
his  own  personal  safety. 

The  storm  raged  thus  violently  for  two  hours,  the  barometer 
settling  all  the  while,  until  it  reached  28.64.  It  then  fell  sud 
denly  calm.  Landsmen  have  heard  of  an  "ominous"  calm, 
but  this  calm  seemed  to  us  almost  like  the  fiat  of  death.  We 
knew,  at  once,  that  we  were  in  the  terrible  vortex  of  a  cyclone, 
from  which  so  few  mariners  have  ever  escaped  to  tell  the  tale! 
Nothing  else  could  account  for  the  suddenness  of  the  calm, 
coupled  with  the  lowness  of  the  barometer.  We  knew  that 
when  the  vortex  should  pass,  the  gale'  would  be  renewed,  as 
suddenly  as  it  had  ceased,  and  with  increased  fury,  and  that 
the  frail  little  Alabama — for  indeed  she  looked  frail  and  small, 
now,  amid  the  giant  seas  that  were  rising  in  a  confused  mass 
around  her,  and  threatening,  every  moment,  to  topple  on  board 
of  her,  with  an  avalanche  of  water  that  would  bury  her  a  hun 
dred  fathoms  deep — might  be  dashed  in  a  thousand  pieces  in 
an  instant.  I  pulled  out  my  watch,  and  noted  the  time  of  the 
occurrence  of  the  calm,  and  causing  one  of  the  cabin-doors  to 
be  unclosed,  I  sent  an  officer  below  to  look  at  the  barometer. 
He  reported  the  height  already  mentioned  —  28.64.  If  the 
reader  will  cast  his  eye  upon  the  diagram  again  —  at  figure 
No.  2  —  he  will  see  where  we  were  at  this  moment.  The  Ala 
bama's  head  now  lies  to  the  south-east  —  she  having  "come 
up"  gradually  to  the  wind,  as  it  hauled  —  and  she  is  in  the 
south-eastern  hemisphere  of  the  vortex.  The  scene  was  the 
most  remarkable  I  had  ever  witnessed.  The  ship,  which  had 
been  pressed  over,  only  a  moment  before,  by  the  fury  of  the 
gale  as  described,  had  now  righted,  and  the  heavy  storm  stay 
sail,  which,  notwithstanding  its  diminutive  size,  had  required 
two  stout  tackles  to  confine  it  to  the  deck,  was  now,  for  want 
of  wind  to  keep  it  steady,  jerking  these  tackles  about  as  though 
it  would  snap  them  in  pieces,  as  the  ship  rolled  to  and  fro ! 
The  aspect  of  the  heavens  was  appalling.  The  clouds  were 
writhing  and  twisting,  like  so  many  huge  serpents  engaged  in 
combat,  and  hung  so  low,  in  the  thin  air  of  the  vortex,  as  almost 


476  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

to  touch  our  mast-heads.  The  best  description  I  can  give  of  the 
sea,  is  that  of  a  number  of  huge  watery  cones — for  the  waves 
seemed  now  in  the  diminished  pressure  of  the  atmosphere  in 
the  vortex  to  jut  up  into  the  sky,  and  assume  a  conical  shape — 
that  were  dancing  an  infernal  reel,  played  by  some  necro 
mancer.  They  were  not  running  in  any  given  direction,  there 
being  no  longer  any  wind  to  drive  them,  but  were  jostling 
each  other,  like  drunken  men  in  a  crowd,  and  threatening, 
every  moment,  to  topple,  one  upon  the  other. 

With  watch  in  hand  I  noticed  the  passage  of  the  vortex.  It 
was  just  thirty  minutes  in  passing.  The  gale  had  left  us,  with 
the  wind  from  the  south-west;  the  ship,  the  moment  she 
emerged  from  the  vortex,  took  the  wind  from  the  north-west. 
We  could  see  it  coming  upon  the  waters.  The  disorderly  seas 
were  now  no  longer  jostling  each  other ;  the  infernal  reel  had 
ended;  the  cones  had  lowered  their  late  rebellious  heads,  as 
they  felt  the  renewed  pressure  of  the  atmosphere,  and  were 
being  driven,  like  so  many  obedient  slaves,  before  the  raging 
blast.  The  tops  of  the  waves  were  literally  cut  off  by  the 
force  of  the  wind,  and  dashed  hundreds  of  yards,  in  blinding 
spray.  The  wind  now  struck  us  "butt  and  foremost,"  throw 
ing  the  ship  over  in  an  instant,  as  before,  and  threatening  to 
jerk  the  little  storm-sail  from  its  bolt-ropes.  It  was  impossible 
to  raise  one's  head  above  the  rail,  and  difficult  to  breathe  for 
a  few  seconds.  We  could  do  nothing  but  cower  under  the 
weather  bulwarks,  and  hold  on  to  the  belaying  pins,  or  what 
ever  other  objects  presented  themselves,  to  prevent  being 
dashed  to  leeward,  or  swept  overboard.  The  gale  raged,  now, 
precisely  as  long  as  it  had  done  before  we  entered  the  vortex 
— two  hours — showing  how  accurately  Nature  had  drawn  her 
circle. 

At  the  end  of  this  time,  the  Alabama  found  herself  in  posi 
tion  No.  3.  The  reader  will  observe  that  she  is  still  on  the 
starboard  tack,  and  that  from  east,  she  has  brought  her  head 
around  to  nearly  west.  The  storm  is  upon  the  point  of  pass 
ing  away  from  her.  I  now  again  sent  an  officer  below,  to 
inspect  the  barometer,  and  he  reported  29.  70 ;  the  instrument 
having  risen  a  little  more  than  an  inch  in  two  hours !  This, 
alone,  is  evidence  of  the  violence  of  the  storm.  During  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      477 

whole  course  of  the  storm,  a  good  deal  of  rain  had  fallen.  It 
is  the  rain  which  adds  such  fury  to  the  wind.  These  storms 
come  to  us,  as  has  been  said,  from  the  tropics,  and  the  winds, 
by  which  they  are  engendered,  are  highly  charged  with  vapor. 
In  the  course  of  taking  up  this  vapor  from  the  sea,  the  winds 
take  up,  along  with  it,  a  large  quantity  of  latent  heat, 
or  heat  whose  presence  is  not  indicated  by  the  thermometer. 
As  the  raging  cyclone  is  moving  onward  in  its  path,  the  winds 
begin  to  part  with  their  burden  —  it  begins  to  rain.  The 
moment  the  vapor  is  condensed  into  rain,  the  latent  heat, 
which  was  taken  up  with  the  vapor,  is  liberated,  and  the  con 
sequence  is,  the  formation  of  a  furnace  in  the  sky,  as  it  were, 
overhanging  the  raging  storm,  and  travelling  along  with  it. 
The  more  rain  there  falls,  the  more  latent  heat  there  escapes ; 
the  more  latent  heat  there  escapes,  the  hotter  the  furnace 
becomes ;  and  the  hotter  the  furnace,  the  more  furiously  the 
wind  races  around  the  circle,  and  rushes  into  the  upper  air  to 
fill  the  vacuum,  and  restore  the  equilibrium . 

In  four  hours  and  a  half,  from  the  commencement  of  the 
gale,  the  Alabama  was  left  rolling,  and  tumbling  about  in  the 
confused  sea,  which  the  gale  had  left  behind  it,  with  scarcely 
wind  enough  to  fill  the  sails,  which,  by  this  time,  we  had 
gotten  upon  her,  to  keep  her  steady.  Little  more  remains  to 
be  said  of  the  cyclone.  If  the  reader  will  take  a  last  look  at  the 
diagram,  he  will  see  how  it  is,  that  the  wind,  which  appears  to 
him  to  change,  has  not  changed  in  reality.  The  wind,  from 
first  to  the  last,  is  travelling  around  the  circle,  changing  not 
at  all.  It  is  the  passage  of  the  circle  over  the  ship — or  over 
the  observer  upon  the  land  —  which  causes  it  apparently  to 
change.  The  Alabama  lay  still  during  the  whole  gale,  not 
changing  her  position,  perhaps,  half  a  mile.  As  the  circle 
touched  her,  she  took  the  wind  from  S.  to  S.  S.  E.,  and  when  it 
had  passed  over  her,  she  had  the  wind  at  north-west.  In  the 
intermediate  time,  the  wind  had  apparently  hauled  first  to  one, 
and  then  to  the  other,  of  all  the  intermediate  points  of  the  com 
pass,  and  yet  it  had  not  changed  a  hair's  breadth. 

The  weather  did  not  become  fine,  for  several  days  after  the 
gale.  On  the  following  night,  it  again  became  thick  and 
cloudy,  and  the  wind  blew  very  fresh  from  the  south-west. 


478  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

The  sea,  though  it  had  somewhat  subsided,  was  still  very 
rough,  and  the  night  was  so  dark,  that  the  officer  of  the  deck 
could  not  see  half  the  length  of  the  ship  in  any  direction. 
The  south-west  wind  was  a  fair  wind  from  the  enemy's  ports, 
to  Europe,  and  we  kept  a  very  bright  look-out,  to  prevent 
ourselves  from  being  run  over,  by  some  heavy  ship  of  com 
merce,  hurrying,  with  lightning  speed,  before  wind  and  sea. 


CHAPTEK    XXXYI. 

THE  PHYSIOGNOMY  OF  SHIPS  -  CAPTURE  OF  THE  LA 
FAYETTE  -  DECREE  OF  THE  ADMIRALTY  COURT  ON 
BOARD  THE  ALABAMA  IN  HER,  CASE,  AND  IN  THAT 
OF  THE  LAURETTA  -  THE  CRITICISMS  OF  THE  NEW 
YORK  PRESS  -  FARTHER  PROOF  OF  THE  ROTARY 
NATURE  OF  THE  WIND  -  THE  LAURETTA  CAPTURED 
-  THE  CRENSHAW  CAPTURED  -  THE  NEW  YORK 
CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE  CRIES  ALOUD  IN  PAIN  - 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  BARON  DE  CASTINE,  AND  THE 
LEVI  STARBUCK  -  CAPTURE  OF  THE  T.  B.  WALES  - 
LADY  PRISONERS. 


day  after  the  gale  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  we  set 
all  hands  at  work  repairing  damages  —  the  carpenters 
fishing,  and  the  boatswain  and  his  gang  refitting  the  broken 
main-yard;  the  gunners  putting  their  battery  in  order,  the  sail- 
maker  repairing  sails,  and  the  old  signal-quartermaster  "break 
ing  out"  his  signal-lockers,  which  had  been  invaded  by  the 
sea-  water,  and  airing  his  flags.  The  latter  was  enabled,  by  this 
time,  to  make  quite  a  display  of  Yankee  flags,  from  his  signal- 
halliards  —  the  Alabama  having  captured  seventeen  ships  in 
six  weeks.  As  the  Yankee  ships  now  began  to  wear,  out  of 
pure  patriotism,  (though  they  were  out  of  the  war,  and  profit 
ably  chasing  the  honest  penny,)  the  biggest  sort  of  "flaunting 
lies,"  there  were  several  bagsful  of  these  flags. 

We  began  now  to  overhaul  sails  again.  From  the  16th  to  the 
20th  of  October,  we  chased  and  boarded  nine,  all  of  which  were 
neutral!  We  were,  in  fact,  in  an  American  sea  —  the  Gulf 
Stream  being  the  thoroughfare  of  American  and  West  Indian 
commerce  to  Europe  —  and  yet  the  American  flag  was  begin  - 
31  479 


480  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ning  to  disappear  from  it.  Such  of  the  Federal  ships  as  could 
not  obtain  employment  from  the  Government;  as  transports, 
or  be  sold  under  neutral  flags,  were  beginning  to  rot  at  the 
wharves  of  the  once  thrifty  sea-ports  of  the  Great  Republic. 
Our  "nautical  enterprise"  was  beginning  to  tell  on  the  enemy, 
and  if  we  had  had  the  ability  to  imitate  Massachusetts,  in  the 
war  of  the  first  revolution,  in  the  way  of  putting  forth  armed 
cruisers,  to  prey  upon  the  enemy's  commerce,  the  said  enemy 
would  not  have  had  so  much  as  a  rope-yarn  upon  the  sea,  in 
the  course  of  twelve  months.  But  at  the  time  of  which  I  am 
writing,  the  Alabama  arid  the  Florida  were  the  only  two  Con 
federate  ocean  cruisers  afloat. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  we  observed  in  latitude  39°  35',  and 
longitude  63°  26',  and  on  that  day,  we  made  our  first  capture 
since  the  gale.  We  were  lying  to,  as  usual,  when  a  large  ship 
was  descried,  in  the  north-west,  running  in  our  direction. 
Though  the  wind  was  very  fresh,  she  had  her  royals  and  fore- 
topmast  studding-sails  set,  and  was,  in  consequence,  running 
before  the  wind,  with  great  speed.  I  shook  the*  reefs  out  of 
my  own  topsails,  and  prepared  to  set  the  topgallant-sails  if  it 
should  be  necessary,  and  filled  away,  and  moved  toward  the 
path  of  the  stranger  as  she  approached,  with  the  English  colors  at 
my  peak.  The  fine,  large  ship,  as  she  ran  down  to  us,  pre 
sented  a  beautiful  picture — all  the  more  beautiful  because  we 
knew  her  to  be  Yankee,  although  she  had  not  yet  shown  her 
colors. 

We  had  become  now  very  expert  in  detecting  the  nationali 
ties  of  ships.  I  had  with  me  a  master's  mate  —  Evans — who 
had  a  peculiar  talent  in  this  respect.  He  had  been  a  pilot  out 
of  Savannah,  and  had  sailed  in  the  Savannah,  privateer,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  He  escaped  the  harsh  treatment,  and 
trial  for  piracy,  which,  as  the  reader  may  recollect,  were  the 
fate  of  the  prisoners  captured  in  that  little  vessel,  by  being 
absent  in  a  prize  at  the  time  of  her  capture.  He  afterward 
joined  me  at  Liverpool.  Whenever  I  had  any  doubt  about 
the  nationality  of  a  ship,  I  always  sent  for  Mr.  Evans,  and 
putting  my  telescope  in  his  hand,  I  would  say  to  him,  "  Look 
at  that  ship,"  pointing  in  the  given  direction,  "and  tell  me  to 
what  nation  she  belongs."  A  glance  of  a  minute  or  two  was 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       481 

all  "he  required.  Lowering  his  glass  at  the  end  of  this  time, 
he  would  say  to  me.  "  She  is  a  Yankee,  sir,"  or,  "  She  is  not  a 
Yankee,"  as  the  case  might  be ;  and  if  she  was  not  a  Yankee, 
he  would  say,  "  I  think  she  is  English,"  or  French,  or  Dutch, 
or  whatever  other  nation  to  which  he  supposed  her  to  belong. 
He  sometimes  failed,  of  course,  in  assigning  their  proper 
nationality  to  neutrals,  but  his  judgment  seemed  to  amount  to 
an  instinct,  with  regard  to  the  question,  Yankee,  or  no  Yankee. 
When  he  pronounced  a  ship  a  Yankee,  I  was  always  certain 
of  her.  I  never  knew  him  to  fail,  in  this  particular,  but  once, 
and  that  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  been  a  failure.  He  once 
mistook  a  St.  John's,  New  Brunswick -built  ship,  for  an 
enemy ;  and  the  ships  built  in  the  British  Colonies,  on  the 
Yankee  border,  are  such  counterparts  of  American  ships,  that 
it  is  very  difficult  to  distinguish  one  from  the  other. 

The  ship  which  was  now  running  down  for  us  was,  as  I 
have  said,  a  picture,  with  her  masts  yielding  and  swaying  to 
a  cloud  of  sail,  her  tapering  poles  shooting  skyward,  even 
above  her  royals,  and  her  well-turned,  flaring  bows  —  the  latter 
a  distinctive  feature  of  New  York-built  ships.  She  came  on, 
rolling  gracefully  to  the-  sea,  and  with  the  largest  kind  of  a 
"bone  in  her  mouth."  She  must  have  suspected  something, 
from  our  very  equivocal  attitude  in  such  weather,  and  in  such 
a  place  ;  but  she  made  no  change  in  her  course,  and  was  soon 
under  our  guns.  A  blank  cartridge  brought  her  to  the  wind. 
If  the  scene  was  beautiful  before,  it  was  still  more  so  now. 
If  she  had  been  a  ship  of  war,  full  of  men,  and  with  handvS 
stationed  at  sheets,  halliards,  and  braces,  she  could  not  have 
shortened  sail  much  more  rapidly,  or  have  rounded  more 
promptly  and  gracefully  to  the  wind,  with  her  main  topsail 
aback.  Her  cloud  of  canvas  seemed  to  shrivel  and  disappear, 
as  though  it  had  been  a  scroll  rolled  up  by  an  invisible  hand. 
It  is  true,  nothing  had  been  furled,  and  her  light  sails  were 
all  flying  in  the  wind,  confined  to  the  yards  only  by  their 
clew-lines,  but  the  ship  lay  as  snugly  and  conveniently  for 
boarding,  as  I  could  desire.  I  frequently  had  occasion,  during 
my  cruises,  to  admire  the  seamanship  of  my  enemies.  The 
Yankee  is  certainly  a  remarkable  specimen  of  the  genus  homo. 
He  is  at  once  a  duck,  and  a  chicken,  and  takes  to  the  water, 


482  MEMOIRS     OF     SERVICE     AFLOAT 

or  the  land,  with  equal  facility.  Providence  has  certainly  de 
signed  him  for  some  useful  purpose.  He  is  ambitious,  restless, 
scheming,  energetic,  and  has  no  inconvenient  moral  nature  to 
restrain  him  from  the  pursuit  of  his  interests,  be  the  path  to 
these  never  so  crooked.  In  the  development  of  material 
wealth  he  is  unsurpassed,  and  perhaps  this  is  his  mission  on 
this  new  continent  of  ours.  But  he  is  like  the  beaver,  he 
works  from  instinct,  and  is  so  avid  of  gain,  that  he  has  no  time 
to  enjoy  the  wealth  he  produces.  Some  malicious  demon  seems 
to  be  goading  him  on,  in  spite  of  himself,  to  continuous  and 
exhausting  exertion,  which  consigns  him  to  the  tomb  before 
his  time,  leaving  a  "pile"  of  untouched  wealth  behind  him. 

The  prize,  upon  being  boarded,  proved  to  be  the  Lafayette, 
from  New  York,  laden  with  grain,  chiefly  for  Irish  ports.  We 
learned  from  newspapers  captured  on  board  of  her,  that  news 
of  our  capture  of  the  Brilliant  and  Emily  Farnum  off  the 
Banks  of  Newfoundland,  had  reached  the  United  States,  and, 
as  was  to  be  expected,  I  found,  when  I  came  to  examine  the 
papers  of  the  Lafayette,  plenty  of  certificates  to  cover  her  cargo. 
In  fact,  from  this  time  onward,  I  rarely  got  hold  of  an  enemy's 
ship,  whose  cargo  was  not  certificated  all  over  —  oaths  for  this 
purpose  being  apparently  as  cheap,  as  the  much-derided  cus 
tom-house  oaths,  that  every  ship-master  is  expected  to  take, 
without  the  least  regard  to  the  state  of  the  facts.  Upon  exam 
ination  of  these  certificates,  I  pronounced  them  fraudulent,  and 
burned  the  ship. 

As  the  burning  of  this  vessel,  with  her  cargo  nicely  "  cov 
ered,"  as  the  shippers  had  hoped,  with  British  Consular  seals 
and  certificates,  seemed  to  warm  up  the  Northern  press,  and 
cause  it  to  hurl  fresh  denunciations  of  "piracy"  against  me, 
I  will  detain  the  reader,  a  moment,  from  the  thread  of  my  nar 
rative,  to  look  a  little  into  the  facts.  The  reader  has  already 
been  told  that  I  held  a  regular  prize-court  on  board  the  Sum- 
ter.  I  did  the  same  thing  on  board  the  Alabama,  never  con 
demning  a  ship  or  cargo,  when  there  was  any  claim  of  neutral 
property,  without  the  most  careful,  and  thorough  examination 
of  her  papers,  and  giving  to  the  testimony  the  best  efforts  of 
my  judgment.  I  had  every  motive  not  to  offend  neutrals. 
"We  were  hoping  for  an  early  recognition  of  our  independence, 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        483 

by  the  principal  powers  of  the  earth,  and  were  covetous  of  the 
good- will  of  them  all.  I  had,  besides,  the  most  positive  in 
structions  from  Mr.  Mallory,  our  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  to 
pay  the  utmost  attention  and  respect  to  neutral  rights. 

Referring  to  the  records  of  "  The  Confederate  States  Admi 
ralty  Court,  held  on  board  the  Confederate  States  steamer  Ala 
bama,  on  the  High  Seas,"  I  find  the  following  decree  entered, 
in  the  case  of  the  Lafayette. 

"  In  re  LAFAYETTE. 

"  The  ship  being  under  the  enemy's  flag  and  register,  is  con 
demned.  With  reference  to  the  cargo,  there  are  certificates,  pre 
pared  in  due  form,  and  sworn  to  before  the  British  Consul,  that  it 
was  purchased,  and  shipped,  on  neutral  account.  These  ex  parte 
statements  are  precisely  such  as  every  unscrupulous  merchant 
would  prepare,  to  deceive  his  enemy,  and  save  his  property  from 
capture.  There  are  two  shipping-houses  in  the  case;  that  of  Craig 
&  Nicoll,  and  that  of  Montgomery  Bros.  Messrs.  Craig  &  Nicoll 
say,  that  the  grain  shipped  by  them,  belongs  to  Messrs.  Shaw  & 
Finlay,  and  to  Messrs.  Hamilton,  Megault  &  Thompson,  all  of 
Belfast,  in  Ireland,  to  which  port  the  ship  is  bound,  but  the  grain 
is  not  consigned  to  them,  and  they  could  not  demand  possession  of 
it,  under  the  bill  of  lading.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  consigned  to  the 
order  of  the  shippers ;  thus  leaving  the  possession,  and  control  of 
the  property,  in  the  hands  of  the  shippers.  Farther :  The  shippers, 
instead  of  sending  this  grain  to  the  pretended  owners,  in  a  general 
ship,  on  freight,  consigned  to  them,  they  paying  freight,  as  usual, 
have  chartered  the  whole  ship,  and  stipulated,  themselves,  for  the 
payment  of  all  the  freights.  If  this  property  had  been,  bona  fide, 
the  property  of  the  parties  in  Belfast,  named  in  the  depositions,  it 
would  undoubtedly  have  gone  consigned  to  them,  in  a  bill  of  lading, 
authorizing  them  to  demand  possession  of  it,  and  the  agreement 
with  the  ship  would  have  been,  that  the  consignees  and  owners  of 
the  property  should  pay  the  freight,  upon  delivery.  But  even  if 
this  property  were  purchased,  as  pretended,  by  Messrs.  Craig  & 
Nicoll,  for  the  parties  named,  still,  their  not  consigning  it  to  them, 
and  delivering  them  the  proper  bill  of  lading,  passing  the  posses 
sion,  left  the  property  in  the  possession,  and  under  the  dominion  of 
Craig  &  Nicoll,  and  as  such  liable  to  capture.  See  3  Philli- 
more  on  International  Law,  610,  612,  to  the  effect,  that  if  the 
goods  are  going  on  account  of  the  shipper,  or  subject  to  his  order 
or  control,  they  are  good  prize.  They  cannot  even  be  sold,  and 
transferred  to  a  neutral,  in  transitu.  They  must  abide  by  their 
condition,  at  the  time  of  the  sailing  of  the  ship. 

"  The  property  attempted  to  be  covered  by  the  Messrs.  Mont 
gomery  Bros.,  is  shipped  by  Montgomery  Bros.,  of  New  York, 
and  consigned  to  Montgomery  Bros.,  in  Belfast.  Here  the  con- 


484  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 


is  all  right.  The  possession  of  the  property  hag  legally 
passed  to  the  Belfast  house.  But  when  there  are  two  houses  of 
trade  doing  business  as  partners,  and  one  of  them  resides  in  the 
enemy's  country,  the  other  house,  though  resident  in  a  neutral 
country,  becomes  also  enemy,  quoad  the  trade  of  the  house  in  the 
enemy's  country,  and  its  share  in  any  property  belonging  to  the 
joint  concern  is  subject  to  capture,  equally  with  the  share  of  the 
house  in  the  enemy's  country.  To  this  point,  see  3  Phillimore, 
605.  Cargo  condemned." 

This  is  the  whole  case  of  the  Lafayette.  As  this  case  was 
coupled,  in  the  criticisms  in  the  Yankee  papers  to  which  I 
have  alluded,  and  which  the  reader  will  see  presently,  with  the 
case  of  the  Lauretta,  not  yet  captured,  I  will  anticipate  the 
capture  of  this  ship  by  a  few  days;  that  the  reader  may  have 
the  facts  also  in  her  case. 

"  In  re  LAURETTA. 

"  The  ship  being  under  the  enemy's  colors  and  register,  is  con 
demned.  There  are  two  shippers  of  the  cargo,  the  house  of  Cham 
berlain,  Phelps  &  Co.,  and  Mr.  H.  J.  Burden  —  all  the  shippers  re 
sident,  and  doing  business  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Chamberlain, 
Phelps  &  Co.,  ship  1424  barrels  of  flour,  and  a  lot  of  pipe  staves, 
to  be  delivered  at  Gibraltar,  or  Messina,  to  their  own  order,  and 
225  kegs  of  nails  to  be  delivered  at  Messina,  to  Mariano  Costarelli. 
The  bill  of  lading  for  the  flour  and  staves  has  the  following  in 
dorsement,  sworn  to  before  a  notary:  'State,  City,  and  County  of 
New  York  :  Louis  Contencin,  being  duly  sworn,  says,  that  he  is 
clerk  with  Chamberlain,  Phelps  &  Co.,  and  that  part  of  the  mer 
chandise  in  the  within  bill  of  lading  is  the  property  of  the  subjects 
of  the  King  of  Italy.'  This  certificate  is  void  for  uncertainty.  It 
does  not  separate  the  property  in  the  bill  of  lading,  and  say  which 
of  it  belongs  to  the  '  subjects  of  the  King  of  Italy,'  and  which  to  the 
enemy.  For  aught  that  appears,  '  the  subjects  '  alluded  to  may  own 
no  more  than  a  single  pipe-staff  apiece.  Indeed,  they  can  own 
nothing,  as  it  does  not  appear  what  they  own.  Further:  If  the 
property  was  identified  in  the  certificate,  the  '  subjects  of  the  King 
of  Italy'  are  not.  No  man  —  for  there  is  none  named  —  could  claim 
the  property  under  this  certificate.  It  is,  therefore,  void,  for  this 
reason.  See  3  Phillimore,  596. 

But  the  flour  and  staves  are  consigned  to  the  order  of  the  shippers, 
and  this,  alone,  would  be  sufficient  to  condemn  them,  even  if  the 
articles  had  been  identified,  and  the  proper  owners  pointed  out  in 
the  certificate.  The  possession  of  the,  property  at  the  time  of  the 
sailing  of  the  ship,  must  be  divested  out  of  the  enemy-shipper  . 
See  3  Phillimore,  610,  612,  cited  in  the  case  of  the  Lafayette. 

The  contingent  destination  of  this  property,  is  another  pregnant 
circumstance.  It  shows  that  it  was  intended  for  a  market,  and  not 


DUKIXG    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.      485 

for  any  particular  neutral  owner.  It  was  to  be  delivered  at  Gibraltar 
or  Messina,  as  the  shippers  might  determine,  after  the  sailing  of  the 
ship  —  probably  upon  advices  received  by  steamer.  So  much  for 
the  claim  of  Chamberlain,  Phelps  &  Co. 

"  The  property  shipped  by  H.  J.  Burden,  consists  of  9 98  barrels  of 
flour,  and  21)0  boxes  of  herring,  and  is  consigned  to  Charles  R. 
Blandy,  Esq.,  at  Funchal,  Madeira.  The  shipper  makes  the  follow 
ing  affidavit  before  the  British  Consul,  in  New  York:  '  That  all  and 
singular,  the  goods  specified  in  the  annexed  bill  of  lading,  were 
shipped  by  H.  J.  Burden,  in  the  bark  Lauretta,  for,  and  on  account 
of,  H.  J.  Burden,  subject  of  her  Britannic  Majesty.'  Mr.  Burden 
may  be  a  very  good  subject  of  her  Britannic  Majesty,  but  he  de 
scribes  himself  as  of  42  Beaver  Street,  New  York  City,  and  seems  to 
lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  his  domicile  in  an  enemy's  country,  for 
the  purposes  of  trade,  makes  him,  quoad  that  trade,  an  enemy. 
Cargo  condemned." 

The  reader  is  now  in  a  condition  to  understand  the  follow 
ing  criticism,  from  that  very  elegant  sheet,  the  New  York 
"Commercial  Advertiser,"  and  to  appreciate  the  justice  and 
courtesy  with  which  I  was  treated  by  the  press  of  New  York, 
generally. 

"  THE  ALABAMA. 

"BRITISH  AND  ITZVLIAN  PROPERTY  DESTROYED — PORTUGAL  ALSO 

INVOLVED. 

"  The  English  Authorities  Acting. —  Important  Facts. —  Some  im 
portant  facts  have  just  been  developed  in  relation  to  the  operations 
of  the  rebel  privateer  Alabama,  and  the  present  and  prospective  ac 
tion  of  the  British  and  other  foreign  Governments,  whose  citizens 
have  lost  property  by  the  piracies  of  her  commander.  The  depre 
dations  of  the  vessel  involve  the  rights  of  no  less  than  three  Euro 
pean  governments  —  England,  Italy,  and  Portugal  —  and  are  likely 
to  become  a  subject  of  special  interest  to  all  maritime  nations. 

"  Already  the  capture  and  burning  of  the  ship  Lafayette,  which 
contained  an  English  cargo,  has  been  the  occasion  of  a  correspon 
dence  between  the  British  Consul  at  this  port,  Mr.  Archibald,  and 
Rear-Admiral  Milne,  commanding  the  British  squadron  on  the 
American  coast;  and  it  is  stated  (but  we  cannot  vouch  for  the  truth 
of  the  statement)  that  the  Admiral  has  dispatched  three  war- 
vessels  in  pursuit  of  the  pirate.  The  Consul  has  also,  we  under 
stand,  communicated  the  facts  of  the  case  to  the  British  Government 
and  Her  Majesty's  Minister  at  Washington.  What  action  will  be 
taken  by  the  British  Government,  remains  to  be  seen. 

"  The  Lafayette  sailed  from  this  port  with  a  cargo  of  grain  for 
Belfast,  Ireland.  The  grain  was  owned  by  two  English  firms  of 
this  city,  and  the  facts  were  properly  certified  on  the  bills  of  lading 


486  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

under  the  British  national  seal.  The  Lafayette  was,  however,  a 
Boston  vessel,  and  was  commanded  by  Captain  Saunders.  The 
facts  of  the  burning  have  been  published. 

''But  another  case  (that  of  the  bark  Lauretta]  is  about  to  be  sub 
mitted  for  the  consideration  of  the  British  authorities,  as  well  as 
those  of  Italy  and  Portugal.  The  facts  establish  a  clear  case  of 
piracy.  The  Lauretta,  which  had  on  board  a  cargo  consisting  prin 
cipally  of  flour  and  staves,  was  burned  by  Semmes  on  the  28th  of 
October.  She  was  bound  from  this  port  for  the  island  of  Madeira 
and  the  port  of  Messina,  in  Italy.  Nearly  a  thousand  barrels  of 
flour  and  also  a  large  number  of  staves  were  shipped  by  Mr.  H.  J. 
Burden,  a  British  subject  residing  in  this  city,  to  a  relative  in  Fun- 
chal,  Madeira.  The  bill  of  lading  bore  the  British  seal  affixed  by 
t&e  Consul,  to  whom  the  shipper  was  personally  known.  The 
other  part  of  the  cargo  was  shipped  by  Chamberlain,  Phelps  &  Co., 
to  the  order  of  parties  in  Messina,  and  this  property  was  also 
covered  by  the  Italian  Consular  certificates. 

"  The  Portuguese  Consul  at  this  port  also  sent  a  package  under 
seal,  to  the  authorities  at  Madeira,  besides  giving  a  right  to  enter  the 
port  and  sending  an  open  bill  of  lading. 

"  Captain  Wells'  account  of  the  manner  in  which  Semmes  disposed 
of  these  documents,  and  which  he  has  verified  under  oath,  is  not 
only  interesting,  but  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  the  piratical  inten 
tions  of  the  commander  of  the  Alabama. 

"  The  papers  of  the  bark  were,  at  the  command  of  Semmes,  taken 
by  Captain  Wells  on  board  the  Alabama.  There  was  no  American 
cargo,  and  therefore  no  American  papers,  except  those  of  the 
vessel.  These,  of  course,  were  not  inquired  into.  Semmes  took 
first  the  packet  which  bore  the  Portuguese  seal,  and  with  an  air 
which  showed  that  he  did  not  regard  it  as  of  the  slightest  conse 
quence,  ripped  it  open,  and  threw  it  upon  the  floor,  with  the  remark 
that  'he  did  not  care  a  d — n  for  the  Portuguese.'  The  Italian  bill 
of  lading  was  treated  in  a  similar  manner,  except  that  he  consid 
ered  it  unworthy  even  of  a  remark, 

"Taking  up  the  British  bill  of  lading  and  looking  at  the  seal, 
Semmes  called  upon  Captain  Wells,  with  an  oath,  to  explain.  It 
was  evidently  the  only  one  of  the  three  he  thought  it  worth  his 
while  to  respect. 

"  '  Who  is  this  Burden  ? '  he  inquired  sneeringly.  '  Have  you  ever 
seen  him  ? ' 

'"I  am  not  acquainted  with  him ; but  I  have  seen  him  once,  when 
he  came  on  board  my  vessel,'  replied  Captain  Wells. 

"'Is   he  an  Englishman  —  does  he  look  like   an  Englishman?' 

"'Yes,'  rejoined  the  captain. 

"  '  I  '11  tell  you  what,'  exclaimed  the  pirate,  '  this  is  a  d — d  pretty 
business  —  it 's  a  d — d  Yankee  hash,  and  I  '11  settle  it,' — whereupon 
he  proceeded  to  rob  the  vessel  of  whatever  he  wanted,  including 
Captain  Wells'  property  to  a  considerable  amount ;  put  the  crew 
in  irons;  removed  them  to  the  Alabama;  and  concluded  by  burn 
ing  the  vessel. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        487 

"  These  facts  will  at  once  be  brought  before  the  British  Consul. 
The  preliminary  steps  have  been  taken.  The  facts  will  also  be  fur 
nished  the  Portuguese  Consul,  who  announces  his  intention  of 
placing  them  before  his  Government ;  and  besides  whatever  action 
the  Italian  Consul  here  may  choose  to  take,  the  parties  in  Messina, 
to  whom  the  property  lost  on  the  Lauretta  was  consigned,  will  of 
course  do  what  they  can  to  maintain  their  own  rights.  The  case 
is  likely  to  attract  more  attention  than  all  the  previous  outrages  of 
the  Alabama,  inasmuch  as  property  rights  of  the  subjects  of  other 
nations  are  involved,  and  the  real  character  of  Semmes  and  his 
crew  becomes  manifest. 

"  Some  interesting  facts  are  given  by  Captain  Wells  in  regard  to 
the  Alabama,  to  which,  however,  we  can  only  make  a  brief  allusion. 
The  officers  of  the  privateer  are  principally  Southern  men,  but  the 
crew  are  nearly  all  English  and  Irish.  They  claim  that  they  were 
shipped  by  stratagem;  that  they  were  told  the  vessel  was  going  to 
Nassau,  and  now  they  are  promised  shares  in  captured  property  — 
not  only  the  property  taken,  but  that  which  is  burned,  of  which 
Semmes  says  he  keeps  an  accurate  account.  The  bills  are  to  be  paid 
by  the  '  Confederate  Government,'  which  Semmes,  who  enforces  dis 
cipline  only  by  terrorism,  declares  will  soon  achieve  its  independence. 
The  men  suppose  they  are  gaining  fortunes  —  though  some  of  them 
protest  against  the  cheat  which  has  been  practised  upon  them." 

The  above  is  a  fair  specimen  of  the  average  intelligence  of 
Yankee  newspapers,  on  any  subject  outside  of  the  dirty  pool 
of  politics,  in  which  they  habitually  dabble.  I  was  not  quite 
sure  when  I  burned  the  Lafayette,  that  her  cargo  belonged  to 
the  shippers,  British  merchants  resident  in  New  York.  The 
shippers  swore  that  it  did  not  belong  to  them,  but  to  other  par 
ties  resident  in  Ireland,  on  whose  account  they  had  shipped  it. 
I  thought  they  swore  falsely,  but,  as  I  have  said,  I  was  not  quite 
certain.  The  "Advertiser"  sets  the  matter  at  rest.  It  says 
that  I  was  right.  And  it  claims,  with  the  most  charming  sim 
plicity,  that  I  was  guilty  of  an  act  of  piracy,  in  capturing  and 
destroying  the  property  of  neutral  merchants,  domiciled  in  the 
enemy's  country,  and  assisting  him  to  conduct  his  trade!  The 
reader  now  sees  what  estimate  to  put  upon  all  the  other 
balderdash  of  the  article.  I  presume,  the  only  thing  Admiral 
Milne,  and  the  British  Minister  at  Washington  did,  was  to 
wonder  at  the  stupidity  of  the  New  York  "  Commercial  Ad 
vertiser."  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say,  that  Captain  Wells 
of  the  Lauretta,  took  a  "  custom-house  "  oath,  when  he  swore 
to  the  account  which  the  "Advertiser"  gives  of  his  interview 


488  MEMOIES    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

with  me,  when  I  burned  his  ship.  It  was  a  business  operation 
with  these  Yankees  to  abuse  me,  and  they  performed  it  in  a 
business-like  manner — with  oaths  and  affidavits. 

Having  captured  the  Lafayette  at  nightfall,  it  was  as  late  as 
ten  p.  M.  before  we  got  through  with  the  business  of  "robbing  " 
her  —  robbing  her,  in  spite  of  all  those  nicely  contrived  cer 
tificates,  and  British  consular  seals  —  when  we  set  her  on  fire. 
In  a  few  hours,  she  was  a  mere  beacon-light,  upon  the  sea, 
marking,  as  so  many  other  fine  ships  had  marked,  the  track 
of  the  "  pirate."  Though  I  have  given  the  reader  already  a 
pretty  large  dose  of  the  meteorology  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  in 
which  we  are  still  cruising,  I  cannot  forbear  to  call  his  atten 
tion  to  other  proofs  of  the  rotary  character  of  the  winds  which 
prevail  along  this  hot-water  river  in  the  sea.  From  the  2d  to 
the  22d  of  October,  a  period  of  twenty  days,  the  wind  had 
gone  nine  times  entirely  around  the  compass,  with  the  regu 
larity  of  clock-work.  With  the  exception  of  the  cyclone  of 
the  16th,  we  had  had  no  regular  gale  of  wind ;  though  the 
wind  frequently  blew  very  fresh,  with  the  barometer  some 
times  as  low  as  29.60.  These  rotary  winds  were  circles  of 
greater  or  less  diameter,  obeying  the  laws  of  storms,  and  travel 
ling  along  in  the  direction  of  the  current,  or  about  north-east. 
There  was  an  interval  of  only  a  few  hours  between  them,  the 
barometer  rising  regularly  as  one  circle  or  whirl  departed,  and 
falling  as  the  next  approached.  I  was  much  struck  with  the 
exceeding  regularity  of  the  recurrence  of  this  phenomenon. 
The  received  impression  is,  that  it  is  only  the  great  gales, 
which  we  call  cyclones,  or  hurricanes,  that  gyrate.  From  my 
observations  in  the  Gulf  Stream  —  and  I  lay  in  it,  continuously, 
for  something  like  a  month,  changing  place,  in  all  this  time, 
but  a  few  hundred  miles — gyration  is  the  normal  condition  of 
the  winds  in  this  stream  —  that  even  the  most  gentle  winds, 
when  undisturbed  by  local  causes — the  proximity  of  the  land, 
for  instance  —  are  gyrating  winds,  winding  around,  and  around 
their  respective  vortices,  against  the  motion  of  the  sun,  as  we 
have  seen  the  tendril  of  the  vine  to  wind  around  the  pole  to 
which  it  clings. 

On  the  third  day  after  capturing  the  Lafayette,  having  chased 
and  overhauled,  in  the  meantime,  a  number  of  neutrals,we  descried 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     489 

a  large  schooner,  evidently  American,  bound  to  the  southward, 
and  eastward.  We  gave  chase  at  once,  but  as  the  schooner 
was  to  windward  of  us,  a  considerable  distance,  the  chase 
promised  to  be  long,  without  the  aid  of  steam,  and  this,  for 
reasons  already  explained,  I  was  averse  to  using,  though  we 
kept,  at  all  times,  banked  fires  in  the  furnaces,  and  warm  water 
in  the  boilers.  The  stranger  hugged  his  wind  very  closely, 
this  being  always  the  best  point  of  sailing  with  schooners ; 
but  this  was  also  the  best  point  of  sailing  with  the  Alabama. 
The  reader  has  seen,  that  she  always  put  on  her  seven-league 
boots,  when  she  had  a  chance  of  drawing  aft  the  sheets  of  those 
immense  trysails  of  hers.  We  gained  perceptibly,  but  the 
wind  was  falling  light,  and  it  was  to  be  feared  night  would 
overtake  us,  before  we  could  bring  the  chase  within  reach  of 
our  guns.  She  was  still  good  four  miles  to  windward  of  us, 
when  I  resolved  to  try  the  effect  of  a  solid  shot  from  my  rifled 
pivot,  on  the  forecastle.  Elevating  the  gun  some  ten  degrees, 
we  let  fly  the  bolt.  It  threw  up  the  water  in  a  beautiful 
jet,  within  less  than  half  a  mile  of  her !  It  was  enough.  The 
schooner  came  to  the  wind,  with  the  Federal  colors  at  her  mast 
head,  and  awaited  our  approach.  Upon  being  boarded,  she 
proved  to  be  the  Orenshaw,  three  days  out  from  New  York,  and 
bound  for  Glasgow,  in  Scotland. 

The  Orenshaw  was  grain-laden,  though  rather  small  for  a 
member  of  the  "junk  fleet,"  and  there  was  the  usual  number 
of  certificates,  and  British  consular  seals  on  board  of  her, 
vouching,  upon  good  Yankee  oaths,  that  her  cargo  was  neutral. 
It  was  amusing  to  see  how  these  merchants  clung  to  the  Brit 
ish  seal,  and  appealed  to  the  British  power,  when  their  grain 
sacks  were  in  danger.  But  it  was  all  to  no  purpose.  I  would 
have  respected  scrupulously  any  bona  fide  neutral  ownership 
of  property,  but  I  knew  all  these  certificates  to  be  fraudulent. 
Fraudulent  as  the  transactions  were,  however,  some  of  the 
shippers  might  have  imposed  upon  me,  if  they  had  only  known 
how  to  prepare  their  vouchers.  But  they  were  such  bunglers, 
that  they  committed  the  most  glaring  mistakes.  The  New  York 
merchant  is  a  pretty  sharp  fellow,  in  the  matter  of  shaving  paper, 
getting  up  false  invoices,  and  "doing"  the  custom-house;  but 
the  laws  of  nations,  which  had  had  little  connection,  heretofore, 


490  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

with  the  debit  and  credit  side  of  his  ledger,  rather  muddled 
his  brain.  The  Crenshaw'' s  certificates  were  precisely  like  so 
many  others  I  had,  by  this  time,  overhauled.  They  simply 
stated,  that  the  cargo  belonged  to  "  subjects  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty,"  without  naming  them.  To  quote  the  certificates 
literally,  they  were  in  these  terms :  "  The  goods  specified,  in 
the  annexed  bills  of  lading,  were  shipped  on  board  the  schooner 
Crenshaw,  for,  and  on  account  of  subjects  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty,  and  the  said  goods  are  wholly,  and  bonafide,  the  prop 
erty  of  British  subjects."  And  when  I  came  to  look  at  the 
bills  of  lading,  I  found  that  the  property  was  consigned  to  the 
order  of  the  shippers.  Here  was  evidently  another  of  those 
"Yankee  hashes,"  spoken  of  by  the  New  York  "Commercial 
Advertiser ;"  or,  if  it  was  not  a  Yankee  hash,  it  was  an  Eng 
lish  hash,  gotten  up  by  some  "subjects  of  her  Britannic 
Majesty,"  who  were  resident  merchants  in  the  enemy's  country — 
whose  property  the  aforesaid  " Advertiser"  so  innocently 
thought  was  not  subject  to  capture.  For  aught  that  appeared 
from  the  certificates,  the  "  subjects  "  were  all  resident  in  New 
York.  And  so  we  did  the  usual  amount  of  "plundering"  on 
board  the  Crenshaw,  and  then  consigned  her  to  the  flames. 

From  papers  captured  on  board  this  vessel,  we  learned  that 
the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  —  whose  leading  spirit 
seemed  to  be  a  Mr.  Low,  one  or  two  of  whose  ships,  if  I  mistake 
not,  I  had  burned  —  was  in  a  glow  of  indignation.  Its  resolu 
tions  were  exceedingly  eloquent.  This  Chamber  of  Commerce 
was  a  sort  of  debating  society,  which  by  no  means  confined 
itself  to  mere  commerce,  as  its  name  would  seem  to  imply,  but 
undertook  to  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  Yankee  nation,  gener 
ally,  and  its  members  had  consequently  become  orators.  The 
words  "privateer,"  "pirate,"  "robbery,"  and  "plunder,"  and 
other  blood-and-thunder  expressions,  ran  through  their  resolu 
tions  in  beautiful  profusion.  These  resolutions  were  sent  to  Mr. 
Seward,  and  that  renowned  statesman  sat  down,  forthwith,  and 
wrote  a  volume  of  despatches  to  Mr.  Adams,  in  London,  about 
the  naughty  things  that  the  "  British  Pirate  "  was  doing  in  Amer 
ican  waters.  The  Alabama,  said  he,  was  burning  everything, 
right  and  left,  even  British  property ;  would  the  Lion  stand  it? 

Another  set  of  resolutions  was  sent  to  Mr.  Welles,  the  Fede 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      491 

ral  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  that  old  gentleman  put  all  the 
telegraph  wires  in  motion,  leading  to  the  different  sea-port 
towns ;  and  the  wires  put  in  motion  a  number  of  gunboats 
which  were  to  hurry  off  to  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  and 
capture  the  Alabama.  Whilst  these  gunboats  were  going 
from  New  York  to  cruise  among  the  cod-fishermen  and  ice 
bergs,  the  Alabama  was  jogging  along,  under  easy  sail,  toward 
New  York.  We  kept  ourselves,  all  the  time,  in  the  track  of 
commerce ;  what  track  the  gunboats,  —  some  of  which  only 
mounted  a  couple  of  guns,  and  would  have  been  very  shy  of 
falling  in  with  the  Alabama,  —  took,  to  look  for  us,  we  never 
knew,  as  we  did  not  see  any  of  them. 

On  the  day  after  capturing  the  Crenshaw,  we  observed  in 
latitude  39°  47',  and  longitude  68°  06'.  Being  near  the  edge  of 
St.  George's  Bank,  off  the  coast  of  New  England,  we  sounded 
with  eighty-five  fathoms  of  line,  but  got  no  bottom.  Here  an 
other  gale  of  wind  overtook  us ;  the  barometer  descending  as 
low  as  29.33,  at  the  height  of  the  gale.  On  the  next  day,  the 
28th  of  October,  the  weather  being  still  rough,  we  captured  the 
bark  Lauretta,  of  which  the  veracious  Captain  Wells  was  mas 
ter,  and  of  which  the  reader  has  already  had  some  account. 
•The  Lauretta  was  skirting  St.  George's  Bank,  on  her  way  to 
Madeira  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  literally  ran  into  our 
arms.  We  had  no  other  trouble  than  to  heave  her  to,  with  a 
gun,  as  she  approached,  and  send  a  boat  on  board,  and  take 
possession  of  her;  transferring  her  crew  to  the  Alabama, 
with  as  much  dispatch  as  possible,  and  "robbing"  Captain 
Wells,  as  he  states  —  by  which  he  means,  probably,  that  we 
deprived  him  of  his  chronometer  and  nautical  instruments; 
for  the  mere  personal  effects  of  a  prisoner,  as  the  reader  has 
already  been  informed,  were  never  disturbed.  We  burned  the 
ship. 

On  the  next  day,  the  weather  being  thick  and  rainy,  and 
the  Alabama  being  about  two  hundred  miles  from  New  York, 
we  chased  and  captured  the  brig  Baron  de  Castine,  from  Ban- 
gor,  in  Maine,  and  bound,  with  a  load  of  lumber,  to  Cardenas, 
in  the  island  of  Cuba.  This  vessel  being  old,  and  of  little 
value,  I  released  her  on  ransorn-bond,  and  sent  her  into  New 
York,  with  my  prisoners,  of  whom  I  had  now  a  large  number 


492  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

on  board.  I  charged  the  master  of  this  ship,  to  give  my  special 
thanks  to  Mr.  Low,  of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
for  the  complimentary  resolutions  he  had  had  passed,  in  regard 
to  the  Alabama.  The  more  the  enemy  abused  me,  the  more  I 
felt  complimented,  for  it  is  "the  galled  jade  only  that  winces." 
There  must  have  been  a  merry  mess  in  the  cabin  of  the  Baron 
that  night,  as  there  were  the  masters  and  mates  of  three  burned 
ships.  New  York  was  "all  agog"  when  the  Baron  arrived, 
and  there  was  other  racing  and  chasing  after  the  "pirate,"  as 
I  afterward  learned. 

The  engineer  having  now  reported  to  me,  that  we  had  no 
more  than  about  four  days  of  fuel  on  board,  I  resolved  to 
withdraw  from  the  American  coast,  run  down  into  the  West 
Indies,  to  meet  my  coal  ship,  and  renew  my  supply.  Being 
uncertain,  in  the  commencement  of  my  career,  as  to  the  recep 
tion  I  should  meet  with,  in  neutral  ports,  and  fearing  that  I 
might  have  difficulty  in  procuring  coal  in  the  market,  I  had 
arranged,  with  my  ever-attentive  co-laborer,  Captain  Bullock, 
when  we  parted  off  Terceira,  to  have  a  supply-ship  sent  out  to 
me,  from  time  to  time,  as  I  should  indicate  to  him  the  rendez 
vous.  The  island  of  Martinique  was  to  be  the  first  rendezvous, 
and  it  was  thither  accordingly  that  we  were  now  bound.  This 
resolution  was  taken  on  the  30th  of  October,  and  shaping  our 
course,  and  making  sail  accordingly,  we  soon  crossed  the  south 
ern  edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  were  in  a  comparatively 
desert  track  of  the  ocean.  Our  sinews  were  once  more  re 
laxed,  and  we  had  a  few  days  of  the  dolce  far  niente.  The 
weather  became  fine,  as  we  proceeded  southward,  and  the 
sailors,  throwing  aside  their  woollen  garments,  were  arrayed 
again  in  their  duck  frocks  and  trousers.  Our  mornings  were 
spent  in  putting  the  ship  in  order,  preparatory  to  going  into 
port,  and  in  exercising  the  crew  at  the  battery,  and  the  even 
ings  were  given  up  to  amusement.  Great  inroads  had  been 
made,  by  the  continuous  bad  weather  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  on 
both  duty  and  pleasure.  Sometimes  a  week  or  ten  days  would 
elapse,  during  which  it  would  not  be  possible  to  cast  loose  a 
heavy  gun,  for  exercise ;  and  evening  after  evening  passed  in 
drenching  rain  and  storm,  when  not  so  much  as  a  note  on  the 
violin  was  heard  or  even  a  song.  The  men  were,  however, 


DURING    THE    WAB    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      493 

cheerful  and  obedient,  were  as  much  excited  as  ever  by  the 
chase  and  the  capture,  and  were  fast  becoming  a  well-disci 
plined  crew.  If  there  was  any  of  that  discontent,  spoken  of 
by  Captain  Wells,  it  was  not  visible  to  the  eyes  of  the  officers. 
Our  numbers  had  been  considerably  increased,  by  recruits 
from  the  enemy's  ships,  and  we  now  had  men  enough  to  man 
all  our  guns,  which  added  considerably  to  our  sense  of  secu 
rity.  The  young  officers  had  gained  much  experience  in  the 
handling  of  their  ship,  and  I  began  in  consequence  to  sleep 
more  soundly  in  my  cot,  at  night,  when  the  weather  was  dark 
and  stormy. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  when  we  were  scarcely  expecting 
it,  we  captured  another  of  the  enemy's  ships.  She  was  de 
scried  from  the  mast-head,  about  half-past  eight  in  the  morn 
ing,  and  we  immediately  gave  chase.  It  was  Sunday,  and 
the  muster-hour  coming  on,  we  mustered  the  crew,  and  read 
the  Articles  of  War  in  the  midst  of  the  chase.  We  came  up 
with  the  stranger  about  noon,  with  the  United  States  colors  at 
our  peak,  and  upon  firing  a  gun,  the  fugitive  hoisted  the  same 
colors,  and  hove  to.  She  proved  to  be  the  Levi  Slarbuck,  a 
whaler,  out  of  New  Bedford,  and  bound  on  a  voyage  of  thirty 
months,  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Here  was  another  store-ship 
for  us,  with  plenty  of  provisions,  slops,  and  small  stores.  Get 
ting  on  board  from  her  such  articles  as  we  stood  in  need  of, 
and  removing  the  crew,  we  burned  her  about  nightfall. 

Her  New  Bedford  papers  were  only  four  days  old,  with  the 
latest  news  from  the  "seat  of  war."  The  two  armies  were 
watching  each  other  on  the  Potomac,  and  additional  gun-boats 
had  been  sent  "  in  pursuit  of  the  Alabama"  In  the  meantime, 
the  Alabama  was  approaching  another  track  of  commerce, 
across  which  she  intended  to  run,  on  her  way  to  Martinique 
— the  track  of  the  homeward-bound  East  India  ships  of  the 
enemy. 

Toward  midnight  of  the  7th  of  November,  we  descried  a 
schooner,  standing  to  the  southward,  to  which  we  gave  chase. 
She  had  heels,  as  well  as  the  Alabama,  and  when  day  dawned 
she  was  still  some  distance  from  us,  though  we  had  gained  on 
her  considerably.  But  fortune  came  to  her  rescue,  for  very 
soon,  a  large  ship,  looming  up  on  the  horizon  like  a  frigate, 


494  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

came  in  sight,  steering  to  the  north-west.  She  was  under  all 
sail,  with  studding-sails,  and  sky-scrapers  set,  and  Evans; 
having  been  sent  for,  pronounced  her  "  Yankee."  The  small 
craft  was  probably  Yankee,  too,  but  we  were  like  a  maiden 
choosing  between  lovers  —  we  could  not  have  both  —  and  so 
we  took  the  biggest  prize,  as  maidens  often  do  in  a  similar 
conjuncture.  The  large  ship  was  standing  in  our  direction, 
and  we  had  nothing  to  do,  but  await  her  approach.  When 
she  came  sufficiently  near  to  distinguish  our  colors,  we  showed 
her  the  stars  and  stripes,  which  she  was  apparently  very  glad 
to  see,  for  she  began,  of  her  own  accord,  to  shorten  sail,  as  she 
neared  us,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  speaking  us,  and 
getting,  it  might  be,  a  welcome  newspaper  from  "home."  The 
stars  and  stripes  were,  by  this  time,  flying  from  her  own  peak. 
She  was  terribly  astonished,  as  her  master  afterward  confessed, 
when  the  jaunty  little  gun-boat,  which  he  had  eyed  with  so 
much  pleasure,  believing  her  to  be  as  good  a  Yankee  as  him 
self,  fired  a  gun,  and  hauling  down  "  hate's  polluted  rag," 
hoisted,  in  its  stead,  the  banner  of  the  Southern  Republic. 

The  stranger  had  not  much  more  to  do,  in  order  to  surrender 
himself  a  prisoner.  His  studding-sails  had  already  been  hauled 
down,  and  he  now  hauled  up  his  courses,  and  backed  his  main- 
yard.  We  were  once  more  in  gentle  airs,  and  a  smooth  sea  ;  and 
in  a  few  minutes,  the  boarding-officer  was  alongside  of  him. 
She  proved  to  be  as  we  had  expected,  an  East  India  trader. 
She  was  the  T.  B.  Wales,  of  Boston,  from  Calcutta,  for  Boston, 
with  a  cargo  consisting  chiefly  of  jute,  linseed,  and  saltpetre. 
Of  the  latter,  she  had  1700  bags,  sufficient  to  supply  our  pious 
Boston  brethren,  who  were  fighting  for  nothing  but  "  grand 
moral  ideas,"  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  powder.  But  for 
the  Wales  meeting  with  the  Alabama,  it  would,  probably,  have 
gone  into  some  of  the  same  Yankee  mills,  which,  just  before 
the  war  broke  out,  had  supplied  the  Confederate  States  under 
the  contracts  which,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  I  had  made  with 
them.  The  jute,  which  she  had  on  board,  was  intended  as  a 
substitute  for  cotton,  in  some  of  the  coarser  fabrics ;  the  Boston 
people  being  somewhat  pressed,  at  the  period,  for  the  Southern 
staple. 

The  captain  of  the  Wales,  though  a  Northern  man,  had  very 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      495 

few  of  the  ear-marks  of  the  Yankee  skipper  about  him.  He 
was  devoid  of  the  raw -bone  angularity  which  characterizes 
most  of  them,  and  spoke  very  good  English,  through  his 
mouth,  instead  of  his  nose.  His  pronunciation  and  grammar 
were  both  good  —  quite  an  unusual  circumstance  among  his 
class.  He  had  been  five  months  on  his  voyage,  and,  of  course, 
had  not  heard  of  any  such  craft  as  the  Alabama.  He  had  quite 
a  domestic  establishment  on  board  his  ship,  as,  besides  his  own 
wife,  who  had  accompanied  him  on  the  voyage,  there  was  an 
ex-United  States  Consul,  with  his  wife  and  three  small 
daughters,  returning  with  him,  as  passengers,  to  the  New  Eng 
land  States. 

There  was  no  attempt  to  cover  the  cargo  of  the  Wales,  and 
I  was  glad  to  find,  that  it  was  consigned  to,  and  probably 
owned  by,  the  obnoxious  house  of  the  Barings,  in  Boston, 
whose  ship,  the  Neapolitan,  I  had  burned,  in  the  Strait  of 
Gibraltar.  This  British  house  had  rendered  itself  exceedingly 
active,  during  the  war,  in  the  Federal  interest,  importing  large 
quantities  of  arms,  and  otherwise  aiding  the  enemy;  and  I 
took  especial  pleasure,  therefore,  in  applying  the  torch  to  its 
property.  It  was  one  of  the  New  York  "  Commercial  Adver 
tiser's  "  pets —  being  a  neutral  house,  domiciled  in  an  enemy 's 
country,  for  the  purposes  of  trade.  I  have  not  heard  what  Ad 
miral  Milne  and  the  British  Minister  at  Washington  did,  when 
they  heard  of  the  burning  of  the  Wales,  or  whether  the  "Ad 
vertiser  "  invoked,  anew,  the  protection  of  the  British  lion. 
A  few  hours  sufficed  to  transfer  the  crew  and  passengers  of 
the  East-Indiarnan  to  the  Alabama,  and  to  get  on  board  from 
her,  some  spars  of  which  we  were  in  want.  It  was  found,, 
upon  measurement,  that  her  main-yard  was  almost  of  the  pre 
cise  dimensions  of  that  of  the  Alabama,  and  as  ours  had  been 
carried  away  in  the  cyclone  of  the  16th  of  October,  and  had 
only  been  fished  for  temporary  use,  we  got  down  the  yard  from 
the  Wales,  and  brought  it  on  board. 

We  treated  the  ladies  —  our  first  prisoners  of  the  sex  — 
with  all  due  consideration,  of  course;  but  I  was  forced  to 
restrict  them  in  the  matter  of  baggage  and  furniture,  for 
the  want  of  room.  I  permitted  them  to  bring  on  board  their 
entire  wardrobes,  of  course,  without  permitting  it  to  be  ex- 
32 


496  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

amined,  but  was  forced  to  consign  to  the  flames  some  fancy 
chairs  and  other  articles  of  East  India  workmanship,  which 
they  seemed  to  prize  very  highly.  I  dare  say  they  thought 
hard  of  it,  at  the  time,  though,  I  doubt  not,  they  have  long 
since  forgiven  me.  Both  ladies  were  gentle.  The  Consul's 
wife  was  an  Englishwoman,  the  daughter  of  a  general  in  the 
British  army,  serving  in  the  Mauritius,  where  her  husband 
had  met  and  married  her.  She  was  refined  and  educated,  of 
course,  and  her  three  little  daughters  were  very  beautiful  chil 
dren.  Mr.  G  eorge  II.  Fairchild  —  for  such  was  her  husband's 
name  —  though  a  New-Englander,  was,  apparently,  an  unbi- 
goted  gentleman,  and  observed  all  the  gentlemanly  proprieties, 
during  his  stay  on  board  my  ship. 

When  I  was  arrested,  after  the  war,  by  the  Administration 
of  President  Johnson,  in  violation  of  the  contract  which  the 
Government  had  made  with  me,  at  my  surrender,  and  threat 
ened  with  a  trial,  by  one  of  those  Military  Commissions  which 
have  disgraced  American  civilization,  on  the  trumpea-up 
charge,  among  others,  of  cruelty  to  prisoners,  Mr.  Fairchild 
was  kind  enough  to  write  to  me,  in  prison,  and  tender  himself 
as  a  witness  in  my  behalf.  In  the  then  state  of  New  England 
feeling,  with  all  the  passions,  and  especially  those  of  malignity, 
and  hate,  running  riot  through  the  land,  it  required  moral 
courage  to  do  this ;  and  I  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  a 
New  England  man,  for  obeying  the  instincts  of  a  Christian  and 
a  gentleman. 

It  took  us  some  time  to  despoil  the  Wales  of  such  of  her 
spars  and  rigging  as  we  wanted,  and  it  was  near  nightfall 
when  we  applied  the  torch  to  her.  We  had  scarcely  turned 
away  from  the  burning  prize,  when  another  sail  was  discovered, 
in  the  fading  twilight,  but  the  darkness  soon  shutting  her  out 
from  view,  it  was  useless  to  attempt  to  chase.  The  Wales  was 
one  of  the  most  useful  of  my  captures.  She  not  only  served 
as  a  sort  of  ship-yard,  in  enabling  me  to  repair  the  damages  I 
had  suffered  in  the  Gulf  Stream,  but  I  received  eight  recruits 
from  her,  all  of  whom  were  fine,  able-bodied  seamen.  My 
crew  now  numbered  110  men  — 120  being  my  full  complement. 
I  bestowed  the  ladies,  with  their  husbands,  upon  the  ward-room 
mess,  consigning  them  to  the  care  of  my  gallant  friend,  Kell. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      497 

Some  of  the  lieutenants  were  turned  out  of  their  state-rooms; 
for  their  accommodation,  but  being  carpet  knights,  as  well  as 
knights  of  the  lance,  they  submitted  to  the  discomfort  with  be 
coming  grace. 

My  menage  began  now  to  assume  quite  a  domestic  air.  I 
had  previously  captured  another  interesting  prisoner,  who  was 
still  on  board  —  not  having  been  released  on  parole.  This 
prisoner  was  a  charming  little  canary-bird,  which  had  been 
brought  on  board  from  a  whaler,  in  its  neat  gilded  cage.  Bar- 
telli  had  the  wonderful  art,  too,  of  supplying  me  with  flowers 
— brought  from  the  shore  when  this  was  practicable,  and  when 
not  practicable,  raised  in  his  own  tiny  pots.  When  I  would 
turn  over  in  my  cot,  in  the  morning,  for  another  nap,  in  that 
dim  consciousness  which  precedes  awakening,  I  would  listen, 
in  dreamy  mood,  to  the  sweet  notes  of  the  canary,  the  patter 
ing  of  the  tiny  feet  of  the  children  and  their  gleeful  voices 
over  my  head;  inhaling,  the  while,  the  scent  of  the  geranium, 
or  the  jessamine,  and  forget  all  about  war's  alarms.  "  Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  with  all  its  charms,  would  cluster  around  my 
imagination,  and  as  my  slumber  deepened,  putting  reason  to 
rest,  and  giving  free  wing  to  fancy,  I  would  be  clasping  again 
the  long-absent  dear  ones  to  my  heart.  Bartelli's  shake  of  my 
cot,  and  his  announcement  that  it  was  "seven  bells  "-—half- 
past  seven,  which  was  my  hour  for  rising  —  would  often  be  a 
rude  dispeller  of  such  fancies,  whilst  the  Fairchilds  were  on 
board. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

THE  CALM-BELTS,  AND  THE  TRADE- WINDS THE  AR 
RIVAL  OF  THE  ALABAMA  AT  THE  ISLAND  OF  MAR 
TINIQUE THE  CURIOSITY  OF  THE  ISLANDERS  TO 

SEE   THE   SHIP A    QUASI    MUTINY    AMONG   THE    CREW, 

AND    HOW   IT   WAS    QUELLED. 

WE  captured  the  Wales,  as  described  in  the  last  chapter, 
on  the  8th  of  November.  On  the  10th  of  the  same 
month,  we  observed  in  latitude  25°.  We  were  approaching  the 
cairn-belt  of  Cancer.  There  are  three  of  these  calm-belts  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  the  phenomena  which  they  present 
to  the  eye  of  the  seaman  are  very  beautiful.  A  ship  corning 
out  of  New  York,  for  instance,  and  bound  south,  will  first 
encounter  the  calm-belt  which  the  Alabama  is  now  approach 
ing —  that  of  Cancer.  She  will  lose  the  wind  which  has  brought 
her  to  the  "  belt,"  and  meet  with  light  airs,  and  calms,  accom 
panied,  frequently,  by  showers  of  rain.  She  will  probably  be 
several  days  in  passing  through  this  region  of  the  "doldrums," 
as  the  sailors  expressively  call  it,  continually  bracing  her  yards, 
to  catch  the  "  cats-paws "  that  come,  now  from  one,  and  now 
from  another  point  of  the  compass ;  and  making  no  more  than 
twenty,  or  thirty  miles  per  day.  As  she  draws  near  the  south 
ern  edge  of  the  belt,  she  will  receive  the  first  light  breathings 
of  the  north-east  trade- wind.  These  will  increase,  as  she  pro 
ceeds  farther  and  farther  south,  and  she  will,  ere  long,  find 
herself  with  bellying  canvas,  in  a  settled  "  trade."  She  will 
now  run  with  this  wind,  blowing  with  wonderful  steadiness  and 
regularity,  until  she  begins  to  near  the  equator.  The  wind 
will  now  die  away  again,  and  the  ship  will  enter  the  second  of 
these  belts  —  that  of  equatorial  calms.  Wending  her  way 
slowly  and  toilsomely  through  these,  as  she  did  through  those 

498 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       499 

of  Cancer,  she  will  emerge  next  into  the  south-east  trade-wind, 
which  she  will  probably  find  somewhat  stronger  than  the  north 
east  trade.  This  wind  will  hurry  her  forward  to  the  tropic  of 
Capricorn,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  she  will  find  her  third  and 
last  calm-belt. 

These  three  calm-belts  enclose,  the  reader  will  have  observed, 
two  systems  of  trade-winds.  To  understand  something  of  these 
winds,  and  the  calms  which  enclose  them,  a  brief  reference  to 
the  atmospheric  machine  in  which  we  "  live,  and  breathe,  and 
have  our  being  "  will  be  necessary.  A  philosopher  of  the  East 
has  thus  glowingly  described  some  of  the  beauties  of  this  ma 
chine:  "  It  is,"  says  he,  "  a  spherical  shell,  which  surrounds  our 
planet,  to  a  depth  which  is  unknown  to  us,  by  reason  of  its  grow 
ing  tenuity,  as  it  is  released  from  the  pressure  of  its  own  super 
incumbent  mass.  Its  surface  cannot  be  nearer  to  us  than  fifty, 
and  can  scarcely  be  more  remote  than  five  hundred  miles.  It 
surrounds  us  on  all  sides,  yet  we  see  it  not;  it  presses  on  us 
with  a  load  of  fifteen  pounds  on  every  square  inch  of  surface 
of  our  bodies,  or  from  seventy  to  one  hundred  tons  on  us,  in  all, 
and  yet  we  do  not  so  much  as  feel  its  weight.  Softer  than  the 
softest  down  —  more  impalpable  than  the  finest  gossamer  —  it 
leaves  the  cobweb  undisturbed,  and  scarcely  stirs  the  lightest 
flower  that  feeds  on  the  dew  it  supplies;  yet  it  bears  the  fleets 
of  nations  on  its  wings  around  the  world,  and  crushes  the  most 
refractory  substances  with  its  weight.  When  in  motion,  its 
force  is  sufficient  to  level  the  most  stately  forests,  and  stable 
buildings  with  the  earth  —  to  raise  the  waters  of  the  ocean  into 
ridges  like  mountains,  and  dash  the  strongest  ship  to  pieces 
like  toys. 

"It  warms  and  cools,  by  turns,  the  earth,  and  the  living  crea 
tures  that  inhabit  it.  It  draws  up  vapors  from  the  sea  and 
land,  retains  them  dissolved  in  itself,  or  suspended  in  cisterns 
of  clouds,  and  throws  them  down  again,  as  rain  or  dew  when 
they  are  required.  It  bends  the  rays  of  the  sun  from  their 
path,  to  give  us  the  twilight  of  evening,  and  of  dawn ;  it  dis 
perses,  and  refracts  their  various  tints,  to  beautify  the  approach 
and  the  reti  3at  of  the  orb  of  day.  But  for  the  atmosphere,  sun 
shine  would  burst  on  us,  and  fail  us  at  once,  and  at  once  remove 
us  from  midnight  darkness  to  the  blaze  of  noon.  "We  should 


500  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

have  no  twilight  to  soften,  and  beautify  the  landscape;  no 
clouds  to  shade  us  from  the  scorching  heat,  but  the  bald  earth, 
as  it  revolved  on  its  axis,  would  turn  its  tanned  and  weakened 
front  to  the  full  and  unmitigated  rays  of  the  lord  of  day. 

"It  affords  the  gas  which  vivifies,  and  warms  our  frames,  and 
receives  into  itself  that  which  has  been  polluted  by  use,  and 
thrown  off  as  noxious.  It  feeds  the  flame  of  life,  exactly  as  it 
does  that  of  the  fire.  It  is  in  both  cases  consumed,  and  affords 
the  food  of  consumption, —  in  both  cases  it  becomes  combined 
with  charcoal,  which  requires  it  for  combustion,  and  is  removed 
by  it,  when  this  is  over." 

The  first  law  of  nature  may  be  said  to  be  vis  inertia?, 
and  the  atmosphere  thus  beautifully  described,  following  this 
law,  would  be  motionless,  if  there  were  not  causes,  outside  of 
itself,  to  put  it  in  motion.  The  atmosphere  in  motion  is  wind, 
with  which  the  sailor  has  so  much  to  do,  and  it  behooves  him 
to  understand,  not  only  the  causes  which  produce  it,  but  the 
laws  which  control  it.  "  Whence  cometh  the  wind,  and  whither 
goeth  it  ?"  It  comes  from  heat,  and  as  the  sun  is  the  father 
of  heat,  he  is  the  father  of  the  winds.  Let  us  suppose  the 
earth,  and  atmosphere  both  to  be  created,  but  not  yet  the  sun. 
The  atmosphere,  being  of  equal  temperature  throughout  the 
earth,  would  be  in  equilibrium.  It  could  not  move  in  any 
direction,  and  there  would  not  be  the  slightest  breeze  to  fan  the 
brow.  Now  let  us  suppose  the  sun  to  be  called  into  existence, 
and  to  begin  to  dart  forth  his  rays.  If  he  heated  the  earth,  and 
the  atmosphere  in  all  parts  alike,  whilst  there  would  be  a 
swelling  of  the  atmosphere  into  greater  bulk,  there  would  still 
be  no  motion  which  we  could  call  wind.  But  the  earth  being 
placed  in  an  elliptical  orbit,  and  made  to  revolve  around  the 
sun,  with  its  axis  inclined  to  the  plane  in  which  it  revolves, 
now  approaching,  and  now  receding  from  the  sun,  and  now 
having  the  sun  in  one  hemisphere,  and  now  in  another,  the 
atmosphere  is  not  only  heated  differently,  in  different  parts  of 
the  earth,  but  at  different  seasons  of  the  year ;  and  thus  the 
winds  are  engendered. 

Let  us  imagine  this  heating  process  to  be  going  on  for  the 
first  time.  How  we  should  be  astonished  ?  The  atmosphere 
having  hitherto  had  no  motion,  in  our  experience,  we  should 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      501 

have  conceived  it  as  immovable  as  the  hills,  and  would  be 
quite  as  much  astonished  to  see  it  putting  itself  in  motion,  as 
to  see  the  hills  running  away  from  us.  But  in  what  direction 
is  the  atmosphere  now  moving  ?  Evidently  from  the  north, 
and  south  poles  toward  the  equator,  because  we  know  thai  the 
intertropical  portions  of  the  earth  are  more  heated,  than  the 
extratropical  portions. 

Thus  far,  we  have  not  given  the  earth  any  diurnal  motion 
around  its  axis.  Let  us  give  it  this  motion.  It  is  revolving 
now  from  west  to  east,  at  the  rate  of  fifteen  miles  in  a  minute. 
If  the  atmosphere  had  been  perfectly  still  when  this  motion 
was  given  to  the  earth,  as  we  have  supposed  it  to  have  been 
before  the  creation  of  the  sun,  the  consequence  would  be  a 
breeze  directly  from  the  east,  blowing  with  different  degrees 
of  strength,  as  it  was  nearer  to,  or  further  from  the  equator. 
For  it  is  obviously  the  same  thing  whether  the  atmosphere 
stands  still,  and  the  earth  revolves,  or  whether  the  earth  stands 
still,  and  the  atmosphere  moves.  In  either  case  we  have  a 
wind. 


But  the  atmosphere  was  not  still,  when  we  gave  the  diurnal 
motion  to  the  earth.  There  was  already  a  breeze  blowing,  as 
we  have  seen,  from  the  north,  and  south  poles  toward  the 
equator.  We  have  thus  generated  two  winds — a  north  wind 
and  an  east  wind.  But  these  two  winds  cannot  blow  in  the 
same  place  at  the  same  time ;  and  the  result  will  be  a  wind 
compounded  of  the  two.  Thus  in  the  northern  hemisphere 


502  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  shall  have  a  north-east  wind,  and  in  the  southern  hemi 
sphere  we  shall  have  a  south  east-wind. 

These  are  the  two  trade-winds,  enclosed  by  the  three  calm- 
belts  which  have  been  described  to  the  reader.  The  three 
arrows  on  the  preceding  page  will  illustrate  the  manner  in 
which  the  north-east  trade-wind  is  formed  by  the  north  wind 
and  the  east  wind,  which  our  theory  puts  in  motion. 

Why  it  is  that  the  trade-winds  do  not  extend  all  the  way 
from  the  poles  to  the  equator,  but  take  their  rise  in  about  the 
thirtieth  parallel  of  latitude,  north  and  south,  we  do  not  know. 
The  theory  would  seem  to  demand  that  they  should  spring  up 
at  the  poles,  and  blow  continuously  to  the  equator  ;  in  which 
case  we  should  have  but  two  systems  of  winds  covering  the 
entire  surface  of  the  earth.  This  non-conformity  of  the  winds 
of  the  extra-tropical  regions  to  our  theory,  does  not  destroy 
it,  however,  but  brings  into  the  meteorological  problem  other 
and  beautiful  features.  Having  put  the  winds  in  motion,  our 
next  business  is  to  follow  them,  and  see  what  "circuits"  they 
travel.  The  quantity  of  atmosphere  carried  to  the  equator  by 
the  north-east  and  south-east  trade-winds,  must  find  its  way 
back  whence  it  came,  in  some  mode  or  other ;  otherwise,  we 
should  soon  have  all  the  atmosphere  drawn  away  from  the 
poles,  and  piled  up  at  the  equator.  We  can  easily  conceive 
this,  if  we  liken  the  atmosphere  to  fleeces  of  wool,  and  suppose 
an  invisible  hand  to  be  constantly  drawing  away  the  fleeces 
from  the  poles,  and  piling  them  up  at  the  equator.  But  how 
to  get  it  back  is  the  difficulty.  It  cannot  go  back  on  the  sur 
face  of  the  earth,  within  the  tropics,  for  there  is  a  constant  sur 
face  current  here  toward  the  equator.  There  is  but  one  other 
way,  of  course,  in  which  it  can  go  back,  and  that  is,  as  an 
upper  current,  running  counter  to  the  surface  current.  We 
may  assume,  indeed,  we  must  assume,  that  there  are  two  upper 
currents  of  air,  setting  out  from  the  equator,  and  travelling, 
one  of  them  to  the  30th  degree  of  north  latitude,  and  the  other 
to  the  30th  degree  of  south  latitude. 

What  becomes  of  these  two  upper  currents,  when  they 
reach  these  parallels  of  latitude,  is  not  quite  so  certain ;  but 
there  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  they  now  descend, 
become  surface  currents,  and  continue  their  journey  on  to  the 


DUKING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      503 

poles.  It  is  further  supposed  that,  when  they  reach  the  poles, 
they  "whirl  about"  them,  ascend,  become  upper  currents 
again,  and  start  back  to  the  30th  parallel ;  and  that,  when  they 
have  returned  to  this  parallel,  they  descend,  become  a  surface 
current  again  —  in  other  words,  the  trade- wind — and  proceed 
to  the  equator  as  before. 

But  there  is  another,  and  more  beautiful  problem  still,  con 
nected  with  these  winds.  It  is  their  crossing  each  other  at 
the  equator,  of  which  the  proofs  are  so  abundant,  that  there 
can  be  but  little  doubt  concerning  it.  And  yet  the  proposition, 


looked  at  apart  from  the  proofs,  is  a  very  startling  one.  One 
would  think  that  when  the  two  winds  met  at  the  equator, 
there  would  be  a  general  intermingling,  and  confounding  of 
particles,  and  that  when  they  ascended  to  form  the  upper  cur 
rents,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  the  northern  particle  would  be 


604  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

as  likely  to  turn  back  to  the  north,  as  to  cross  the  equator  and 
go  south.  The  preceding  figure  will  illustrate  the  crossing.  Let 
A  represent  the  equator,  the  arrows  near  the  surface  of  the 
circle  the  two  trade-winds,  and  the  two  cross  arrows,  two  par 
ticles  of  wind  in  the  act  of  crossing.  The  difficulty  is  to  con 
ceive  how  these  particles  should  cross,  without  mixing  with 
each  other,  and  losing  their  identity ;  or  why  they  should  not 
turn  back,  as  well  as  continue  their  course.  What  law  of 
nature  is  it,  that  makes  the  particles  of  atmosphere  which 
have  come  from  the  north  pole,  so  separate  and  distinct  from 
those  which  have  come  from  the  south  pole,  as  to  prevent  the 
two  from  fusing,  and  becoming  one  ?  Is  it  because  the  two 
particles,  as  they  have  gyrated  around  their  respective  poles, 
have  received  a  repulsive  polarity?  Whatever  maybe  the 
reason,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  as  remarked,  that  they  do 
actually  cross.  One  strong  proof  of  their  crossing  is,  that 
we  cannot  conceive,  otherwise,  how  the  great  atmospheric 
machine  could  perform  its  office  of  distributing  rain  over  the 
earth  in  due  proportions.  The  reader  will  recollect  that  there 
is  from  a  fourth,  to  a  third,  more  land  than  water,  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  and  that  there  is  from  a  fourth  to  a  third 
more  water  than  land  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  The  con 
sequence  of  this  unequal  distribution  of  land  and  water  in  the 
two  hemispheres  is,  that  the  northern  hemisphere  requires 
more  rain  than  the  southern,  in  the  proportion  in  which  it  has 
more  land  to  be  rained  upon.  Now  it  is  these  mysterious 
trade-winds,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  that  are  the 
water-carriers  of  the  two  hemispheres.  These  winds,  on  their 
way  to  the  equator,  generally  reach  the  30th  parallel  as  dry 
winds.  These  dry  winds,  sweeping  over  the  tropical  seas, 
take  up,  in  the  shape  of  vapor,  the  water  with  which,  in  due 
time,  they  are  to  fertilize  the  fields  of  the  farmer,  and  make 
the  rose  blossom.  The  quantity  which  they  take  up  is  in  pro 
portion  to  the  sea-surface,  or  evaporating  surface,  they  have 
respectively  passed  over.  Now,  if  we  will  examine  the  jars 
of  these  water-carriers,  when  they  reach  the  equator,  we  shall 
find  that  the  northern  jars  are  not  nearly  so  full  as  the 
southern  jars ;  the  reason  being,  that  the  northern  winds  have 
passed  over  less  evaporating  surface. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      505 

Now,  if  the  two  systems  of  winds,  with  their  jars  thus  filled, 
were  to  turn  back  to  their  respective  hemispheres,  and  pour 
down  upon  them  their  water,  in  the  shape  of  rain,  the  conse 
quence  would  be,  as  the  reader  sees,  that  we  should  have  less 
rain  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  than  they  would  have  in  the 
southern  hemisphere;  whereas,  we  require  more,  having  more 
land  to  be  watered.  The  atmospheric  machine  would  thus  be 
at  fault.  But  the  all-wise  and  beneficent  ruler  of  the  universe, 
makes  nothing  faulty.  We  know  from  the  evidence  of  that 
silent  witness,  the  rain-gauge,  that  more  water  falls  in  the 
northern  hemisphere,  than  in  the  southern;  in  other  words, 
that  the  more  heavily  laden  of  those  jars  which  we  examined, 
a  moment  ago,  at  the  equator,  have  come  to  us,  instead  of  re 
turning  to  the  south ;  the  less  heavily  laden  jars  going  south. 
The  crossing  of  the  winds  thus  satisfies  our  theory,  and 
nothing  else  can;  which  is,  of  course,  the  most  conclusive 
of  all  proofs. 

But  we  have  other  proofs.  For  a  number  of  years  past,  as 
the  East  India  ships  would  be  returning  home  from  their 
voyages,  they  would  report  a  curious  phenomenon  to  have 
befallen  them,  as  they  passed  the  parallel  of  the  Cape  de 
Verde.  This  was  the  falling,  or  rather  silting  down  upon  their 
decks  and  rigging,  of  a  brick-dust  or  cinnamon-colored  powder. 
This  dust,  which  when  rubbed  between  the  thumb  and  fore 
finger  would  be  impalpable,  would  sometimes  nearly  cover  the 
entire  deck  and  rigging.  The  ships  would  be  hundreds  of 
miles  away  from  the  land,  and  where  could  this  dust  come 
from?  The  fact  puzzled  the  philosophers,  but  having  been 
reported  so  often,  it  ceased  to  attract  attention.  Still  it  was  a 
fact,  and  was  laid  away  carefully  in  the  archives  of  philosophy 
for  future  use.  Years  passed  away,  and  the  great  traveller 
and  philosopher,  Humboldt,  arose  to  instruct  and  delight  man 
kind.  He  travelled  extensively  in  South  America;  and, 
among  other  places,  visited  the  lower  valley  of  the  Orinoco. 
He  happened  there  in  the  dry  season,  and  gives  a  graphic  ac 
count  of  the  wild  and  weird  spectacle  of  desolation  which  met 
his  eye  in  that  season  of  universal  drought. 

All  annual  vegetation  lay  dead  and  desiccated  on  the  im 
mense  pampas  or  plains.  The  earth  was  cracked  open,  gaping, 


506  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

as  it  were,  for  rain.  The  wild  cattle  were  roaming  about  in 
herds,  bellowing  for  their  accustomed  food  and  water ;  many 
of  them  perishing.  Even  the  insect  world,  so  numerous  and 
vivacious  in  all  southern  climates,  had  perished.  Their  tiny 
little  organisms  lay  in  heaps,  fast  disintegrating,  and  being 
reduced  to  powder,  by  the  scorching  and  baking  rays  of  a 
perpendicular  sun,  between  which  and  the  parched  earth,  not 
so  much  as  a  speck  of  cloud  appeared.  The  philosopher 
examined  a  number  of  these  little  organisms  with  his  micro 
scope.  They  were  peculiar  to  the  region  in  which  he  found 
them,  and  he  was  struck  with  the  fact.  There  was  another 
phenomenon  which  he  observed.  A  number  of  little  whirl 
winds  were  playing  their  pranks  about  the  arid  waste,  sporting, 
as  it  were,  with  dead  nature.  These  little  whirlwinds,  as  they 
travelled  hither  and  thither,  would  draw  up  into  their  vortices, 
and  toss  high  into  the  upper  air,  the  impalpable  dust  that 
lay  everywhere,  and  which  was  composed,  in  great  measure, 
of  the  decomposed  and  decomposing  organisms  of  which  I 
have  spoken.  The  atmosphere,  at  times,  when  filled  with  this 
dust,  would  assume  a  yellowish,  or  pale  straw-colored  hue. 

The  reader  probably,  by  this  time,  sees  my  design  of  con 
necting  the  dusty  remains,  described  by  Humboldt,  with  the 
rain  dust  reported  by  the  mariners  to  have  fallen  on  the  decks 
and  rigging  of  their  ships,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Cape 
de  Verde  islands.  But  the  "  rain-dust "  was  of  brick-dust,  or 
cinnamon  color,  when  collected  by  the  masters  of  the  ships,  as 
specimens,  and  the  heavens,  when  filled  with  the  dust  thrown 
up  b}^  the  whirlwinds,  as  described  by  Humboldt,  appeared  to 
him  to  be  of  a  straw  color.  Here  is  a  discrepancy  to  be  rec 
onciled,  and  we  must  call  in  the  aid  of  another  philosopher, 
Captain  M.  F.  Maury,  late  Superintendent  of  the  National  Ob 
servatory,  at  Washington,  before  alluded  to  in  these  pages, 
and  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  of  the  facts  here  quoted. 
Captain  Maury  was  struck  with  this  discrepancy,  and  in  recon 
ciling  it  with  the  theory  here  discussed,  makes  the  following 
statement :  "  In  the  search  for  spider  lines,  for  the  diaphragms 
of  my  telescopes,  I  procured  the  finest,  and  best  threads  from 
a  cocoon  of  ajnud-red  color ;  but  the  threads  of  this  cocoon, 
as  seen  singly  in  the  diaphragm,  were  of  a  golden  color ;  there 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      507 

would  seem,  therefore,  no  difficulty  in  reconciling  the  difference 
between  the  colors  of  the  rain-dust,  when  viewed  in  little  piles 
by  the  microscopist,  and  when  seen  attenuated  and  floating  in 
the  wind  by  the  regular  traveller." 

There  remains  but  another  link  in  the  chain  of  evidence,  to 
render  it  complete.  It  remains  to  be  shown  how  the  whirl 
wind  dust,  of  the  valley  of  the  lower  Orinoco,  can  be  identi 
fied  with  the  rain-dust  of  the  Cape  de  Verde.  Ehrenberg,  a 
German  philosopher,  has  done  this,  in  our  day.  Some  speci 
mens  of  the  rain-dust  having  been  sent  him  by  ship-captains, 
he  brought  them  under  his  microscope,  as  Humboldt  had  done 
the  whirlwind-dust,  and  to  his  great  astonishment,  and  delight, 
he  found  it  to  be  the  same.  These  facts  correspond  entirely 
with  our  theory  of  the  crossing  of  the  trade-winds  at  the  equa 
tor.  The  reader  has  been  with  us  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ori 
noco.  This  great  river  disembogues  near  the  island  of  Trini 
dad,  which  we  visited  in  the  Sumter,  in  about  the  latitude  of 
9°  N.  The  vernal  equinox  is  the  dry  season  here,  and  at 
this  season,  the  north-east  trade-wind  is  quite  fresh.  Running 
counter  to  this  wind,  in  the  upper  atmosphere,  there  is,  accord 
ing  to  our  theory,  a  strong  south-west  wind  blowing.  Now,  if 
the  reader  will  inspect  a  map,  he  will  find  that  a  south-west 
wind,  starting  from  the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco,  will  blow  over 
the  Cape  de  Verde  islands.  The  rest  is  plain.  The  whirl 
wind-dust  is  tossed  high  enough  into  the  upper  atmosphere,  to 
be  taken  in  charge  by  the  counter  south-west  wind,  is  carried 
to  the  Cape  de  Yerde,  and  there  silted  down  upon  the  decks 
and  rigging  of  the  passing  ships,  as  gently  as  so  many  snow- 
flakes,  becoming  the  rain-dust  which  so  long  puzzled  the  phi 
losophers  1 

We  have  reasoned,  hitherto,  on  the  supposition,  that  the 
three  calm -belts,  one  of  which  the  Alabama  is  now  passing, 
and  the  two  systems  of  trade-winds  which  they  enclose,  are 
stationary  within  certain  limits.  But  this  is  not  so;  the  whole 
system  of  belts  and  winds  is  moved  north  and  south,  as  the 
sun  passes  now  into  one  hemisphere,  and  now  into  another. 
The  calm-belt  of  Cancer  is  not  always  in  the  latitude  of  30° 
N. ;  nor  is  the  calm-belt  of  the  equator  always  %at  the  equator. 
The  reader  will  recollect  that  we  observed,  on  board  the  Ala- 


508 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 


bama,  on  the  10th  of  November,  in  latitude  25°  N.,  and  that 
we  were  only  just  then  entering  the  calm-belt  of  Cancer.  The 
reason  is,  that  the  sun,  on  that  day,  was  in  the  southern  hem 
isphere,  well  advanced  toward  his  extreme  limit  in  that  hemi 
sphere,  and  that  he  had  dragged,  as  it  were,  the  whole  system 
of  belts  and  winds  after  him.  The  figures  below  will  make 
this  idea  plain.  Let  the  broad,  dark  lines  in  the  circles  repre 
sent  the  system  of  belts  and  winds,  all  in  one ;  and  in  circle  A 
let  the  sun  be  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  in  circle  B  let 
him  be  in  the  southern. 


The  reader  will  see,  how  the  sun,  having  hitched  this  sys 
tem  of  belts  and  winds  to  his  chariot  wheels,  as  it  were,  has 
drawn  it  after  him.  The  distances  north  and  south,  to  which 
they  have  been  drawn,  are  exaggerated  in  the  figures,  but  this 
is  only  for  the  purpose  of  better  illustration.  The  reader  will 
see,  from  this  diagram,  how  much  farther  South  the  Alabama 
will  have  to  run,  in  November,  to  catch  the  north-east  trade- 
wind,  than  she  would  have  had  to  run  in  May.  .We  may  now 
return  to  our  ship,  and  our  cruise,  and  when  I  shall  mention  the 
trade- winds  and  the  calm-belts,  hereafter,  the  reader  will  not,  I 
hope,  regret  the  time  I  have  consumed  in  refreshing  his  mem 
ory  on  so  interesting  a  subject.  We  spoke  several  English 
vessels  after  burning  the  Wales,  and  a  couple  of  them,  bound  to 
Demerara,  kepj:  company  with  us  through  the  calm-belt.  We 
sent  a  boat  on  board  one  of  them,  from  New  York,  but  she 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         509 

had  neither  news  nor  newspapers.  At  length,  when  we  had 
reached  the  parallel  of  about  20°,  we  began  to  receive  the  first 
gentle  breathings  of  the  trade- wind.  Our  light  sails  aloft 
began  first  to  "belly  out/'  and  then  a  topsail  would  fill  for  a 
moment,  until  the  ship  rising  on  the  gentle  undulations  of  the 
sea,  and  falling  again,  would  flap  the  wind  out  of  it.  The 
zephyr — for,  as  yet,  it  was  nothing  more  —  visibly  gained 
strength,  however,  from  hour  to  hour,  and  on  the  16th  of 
November,  I  find  the  following  record  in  my  journal:  "Beau 
tiful,  clear  weather,  with  a  moderate  trade- wind,  from  about 
east  'by  south,  and  the  well-known  fleecy  trade-clouds  sailing 
leisurely  over  our  heads." 

It  is  Sunday,  and  muster-day,  and  the  Alabama  has  once 
more  been  put  in  perfect  order.  She  has  had  a  coat  of  paint, 
inside  and  out,  her  masts  have  been  freshly  scraped,  and  her 
rigging  re-rattled,  and  tarred  down.  Her  guns  are  glistening 
in  the  new  coat  of  "composition"  which  the  gunner  and  his 
mates  have  put  upon  them ;  her  engine-room  is  all  aglow  with 
burnished  brass  and  steel ;  her  decks  are  white  and  sweet,  and 
her  awnings  are  spread.  The  muster  is  over,  the  men  are 
lying  listlessly  about  the  decks,  and  our  lady  passengers  are 
comfortably  seated  on  the  quarter-deck,  with  several  of  the 
young  officers  around  them,  and  with  the  children  playing  at 
their  feet.  Such  was  the  contrast  which  the  Alabama  pre 
sented,  on  that  quiet  Sabbath  day,  with  her  former  self  only  a 
few  weeks  back,  when  we  had  been  rolling  and  tumbling  in 
the  Gulf  Stream,  with  crippled  yards,  torn  sails,  and  her  now 
bright  sides  seamed  and  defaced  with  iron-rust  from  her  cor 
roding  chains. 

"We  were  soon  ready  to  go  into  port  —  our  first  port  since 
leaving  Terceira.  Men  and  officers  were  all  desirous  of  a  little 
relaxation,  and  were  pretty  soon  on  the  look-out  for  land.  On 
the  next  day,  at  two  p.  M.,  we  made  the  island  of  Dominica — the 
same  Dominica  that  lay  so  fast  asleep  in  the  gentle  moonlight, 
on  the  night  that  the  little  Sumter  ran  so  close  along  it,  like  a 
startled  deer,  after  her  escape  from  the  Iroquois.  We  were  re 
turning  to  our  old  cruising-ground,  after  an  interval  of  just  one 
year,  in  a  finer  and  faster  ship,  and  we  cared  very  little  now 
about  the  Iroquois,  and  vessels  of  her  class.  Having  doubled  the 


510  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

north-east  end  of  Dominica,  during  the  night,  at  four  o'clock, 
the  next  morning,  we  lowered  the  propeller,  put  the  ship  under 
steam,  and  ran  down  for  the  island  of  Martinique.  We  passed 
close  enough  to  the  harbor  of  St.  Pierre,  where  we  had  been 
so  long  blockaded,  to  look  into  it,  and  see  that  there  were  no 
men-of-war  of  the  enemy  anchored  there,  and,  continuing  our 
course,  ran  into  the  anchorage  of  Fort  de  France,  and  dropped 
our  anchor  at  about  ten  A.  M. 

Rear- Admiral  Conde  was  still  Governor,  and  I  sent  a  lieu 
tenant,  immediately,  to  call  on  him,  and  report  our  arrival. 
He  received  me  kindly,  notwithstanding  the  little  sharp-shooting 
that  had  passed  between  us,  in  the  way  of  official  correspond 
ence —  and  franked  the  ports  of  the  island  to  me  as  before.  I 
had  long  since  forgiven  him,  for  the  want  of  independence  and 
energy  he  had  displayed,  in  not  preventing  the  Yankee  skipper 
from  making  signals  to  the  Iroquois  on  the  night  of  my  escape, 
as  the  said  signals,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  had  redounded  to  my 
benefit,  instead  of  Palmer's.  In  an  hour  or  two,  we  had  landed 
our  prisoners ;  the  ladies  and  their  husbands  taking  a  very 
civil  leave  of  us.  In  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  our  decks 
were  crowded  with  curious  Frenchmen,  come  off  to  look  at  the 
"  pirate  "  ship,  of  which  they  had  heard  so  much,  through  Mr. 
Seward's  interesting  volumes  of  "  English  Composition,"  called 
"State  Papers,"  and  the  villification  and  abuse  of  the  Northern 
press.  They  were  evidently  a  little  puzzled  at  rinding  in  the 
Alabama  a  rather  stylish-looking  ship  of  war,  with  polite  young 
officers  to  receive  them,  at  the  gangway,  and  show  them  round 
the  ship,  instead  of  the  disorderly  privateer,  or  pirate,  they  had 
expected  to  find.  I  could  see  some  of  these  gentlemen  eying  me 
with  curiosity,  and  with  evident  disappointment  depicted  in  their 
countenances,  as  rny  young  officers  would  point  me  out  to  them. 
They  had  come  on  board  to  see  a  Captain  Kidd,  or  Blue  Beard, 
at  the  least,  and  had  found  only  a  common  mortal,  in  no  wise 
distinguished  from  the  officers  by  whom  he  was  surrounded, 
except,  perhaps,  that  his  gray  coat  was  a  little  more  faded,  and 
his  moustache  a  little  more  the  color  of  his  coat. 

The  ship  was  surrounded  with  bum-boats,  laden  with  fruits, 
and  other  supplies  for  the  sailors,  and  a  brisk  traffic  was  going 
on,  alongside,  and  in  the  port  gangway,  in  pipes,  and  tobacco, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      511 

orchata,  and  orange-water ;  and,  as  we  found  as  night  began  to 
set  in,  in  something  a  little  stronger.  We  had  no  marine  guard 
onboard  the  Alabama,  and  there  was,  consequently,  no  sentinel 
at  the  gangway  in  the  daytime.  We  were  necessarily  obliged 
to  rely  upon  the  master-at-arms,  and  the  quartermasters,  for 
examining  all  boats  that  came  alongside,  to  see  that  no  liquor 
was  smuggled  into  the  ship.  These  petty  officers  were  old 
sailors  like  the  rest,  and  I  have  rarely  seen  a  sailor  who  could 
be  relied  upon,  for  any  purpose  of  police,  where  his  brother 
sailor  was  concerned. 

Whilst  I  was  below,  a  little  after  sunset,  taking  a  cup  of  tea, 
and  enjoying  some  of  the  delicious  fruit  which  Bartelli  had 
provided  for  me,  I  heard  some  confusion  of  voices,  and  a  tramp 
ing  of  feet  on  the  deck  over  my  head,  and  soon  afterward,  the 
first  lieutenant  came  into  my  cabin  to  tell  me,  that  there  was 
considerable  disorder  in  the  ship.  I  repaired  on  deck  imme 
diately,  and  saw  at  a  glance  that  the  crew  was  almost  in  a  state 
of  mutiny.  It  was  evidently  a  drunken  mutiny,  however,  and 
not  very  alarming.  An  officer  had  gone  forward  to  quell  some 
disturbance  on  the  forecastle,  when  one  of  the  sailors  had  thrown 
a  belaying-pin  at  him,  and  others  had  abused  him,  and  threat 
ened  him  with  personal  violence.  Some  of  the  men,  when  di 
rected  to  assist  in  seizing  and  confining  their  more  disorderly 
comrades,  had  refused ;  and  as  I  reached  the  deck,  there  was  a 
surly,  and  sulky  crowd  of  half-drunken  sailors  gathered  near 
the  foremast,  using  mutinous  language,  and  defying  the  author 
ities  of  the  ship.  I  immediately  ordered  the  first  lieutenant  to 
"  beat  to  quarters."  The  drum  and  fife  were  gotten  up,  and  such 
was  the  effect  of  previous  discipline  upon  the  crew,  that  the 
moment  they  heard  the  well-known  beat,  and  the  shrill  tones 
of  the  fife,  they  "fell  in,"  mechanically,  at  their  guns  —  some 
of  them  so  drunk,  that  their  efforts  to  appear  sober  were  quite 
ludicrous. 

This  was  what  I  had  reckoned  upon.  At  quarters,  the  officers 
always  appeared  armed,  as  if  they  were  going  into  battle 
There  were  very  few  arms  about  the  deck,  upon  which  the 
sailors  could  lay  their  hands — the  cutlasses  and  pistols  being 
kept  locked  up,  in  the  arms-chests.  Of  course,  I  now  had  it 

all  my  own  way — thirty  armed  officers  being  more  than  a 
33 


512  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

match  for  110  men  armed  with  nothing  but  sheath-knifes  and 
belaying-pins.  I  began  now  to  quell  the  mutiny ;  or  rather 
it  was  already  quelled,  and  I  began  to  bring  Jack  back  to  his 
senses.  In  company  with  my  first  lieutenant  and  aide-de-camp, 
I  passed  along  the  platoons  of  men  as  they  stood  at  their  guns, 
and  stopping  wherever  I  observed  a  drunken  man,  I  ordered 
his  comrades  to  arrest  him.  This  was  immediately  done,  with 
out  demur  in  any  instance,  and  the  culprit  was  ironed.  In  this 
way  I  got  as  many  as  twenty  disorderly  fellows.  These  drunken 
men,  the  moment  the  attempt  was  made  to  arrest  them,  began  to 
show  fight,  and  to  be  abusive  in  their  language.  They  were, 
however,  soon  overpowered,  and  rendered  harmless.  In  this 
way  I  passed  forward  and  aft,  two  or  three  times,  eying  the 
men  as  I  passed,  to  be  certain  that  I  had  gotten  hold  of  all  the 
rioters. 

When  I  had  done  this,  I  directed  the  mutineers  to  be  taken 
to  the  gangway,  and  calling  two  or  three  of  the  most  active  of 
the  quartermasters,  I  made  them  provide  themselves  with 
draw-buckets,  and  commencing  with  the  most  noisy  and 
drunken  of  the  culprits,  I  ordered  them  to  dash  buckets  of 
water  over  them  in  quick  succession.  The  punishment  was 
so  evidently  novel  to  the  recipients,  that  they  were  at  first 
disposed  to  deride  it.  With  drunken  gravity  they  would 
laugh  and  swear  by  turns,  and  tell  the  "bloody  quarter 
masters"  to  "come  on  with  their  water,  they  were  not  afraid 
of  it."  But  I  was  quite  sure  of  my  remedy,  for  I  had  tried 
it  before;  and  as  the  drunken  fellows  would  call  for  more 
water,  in  contempt  and  derision,  I  gratified  them,  and  caused 
bucketsful  to  be  dashed  on  them  with  such  rapidity,  that 
pretty  soon  they  found  it  difficult  to  catch  their  breath,  in  the 
intervals  between  the  showers.  The  more  they  would  struggle 
and  gasp  for  breath,  the  more  rapidly  the  buckets  would  be 
emptied  upon  them. 

The  effect  was  almost  electric.  The  maudlin  fellows,  some 
what  sobered  by  the  repeated  shocks  of  the  cold  water,  began 
now  to  swear  less  vociferously.  In  fact,  they  had  no  voice  to 
swear  with,  for  it  was  as  much  as  they  could  do,  to  breathe. 
They  no  longer  "  bloodied "  the  quartermasters,  or  called  for 
more  water.  Being  reduced  thus  to  silence,  and  still  the  water 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      513 

descending  upon  them  as  rapidly  as  ever,  with  half-sobered 
brain,  and  frames  shivering  with  the  cold,  they  would  now 
become  seriously  alarmed.  Did  the  captain  mean  to  drown 
them  ?  Was  this  the  way  he  designed  to  punish  them  for 
mutiny,  instead  of  hanging  them  at  the  yard-arm  ?  They  now 
turned  to  me,  and  begged  me,  for  God's  sake,  to  spare  them. 
If  I  would  only  let  them  go  this  time,  I  should  never  have 
cause  to  complain  of  them  again.  I  held  off  a  little  while,  as 
if  inexorable  to  their  prayers  and  entreaties,  the  better  to  im 
press  upon  them  the  lesson  I  was  teaching  them,  and  then 
ordered  them  to  be  released.  When  their  irons  were  taken 
off,  they  were  sober  enough  to  go  below  to  their  hammocks, 
without  another  word,  and  "turn  in"  like  good  boys!  It  took 
me  some  time  to  get  through  with  this  operation,  for  I  had  the 
delinquents — about  a  dozen  of  the  most  noisy  —  soused  one 
at  a  time.  The  officers  and  crew  were  all  this  while  —  some 
two  hours  —  standing  at  their  guns,  at  quarters,  and  I  could, 
now  and  then,  overhear  quite  an  audible  titter  from  some  of 
the  sober  men,  as  the  drunken  ones  who  were  undergoing  the 
shower-bath  would  now  defy  my  authority,  and  now  beg  for 
mercy.  When,  at  last,  I  had  finished,  I  turned  to  my  first 
lieutenant,  and  told  him  to  "  beat  the  retreat." 

And  this  was  the  way,  reader,  in  which  I  quelled  my  first, 
and  only  mutiny  on  board  the  Alabama.  It  became  a  saying 
afterward,  among  the  sailors,  that  "Old  Beeswax  was  h — 11 
upon  watering  a  fellow's  grog." 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 

THE  ALABAMA  AT  MARTINIQUE IS  BLOCKADED  BY  THE 

ENEMY'S  STEAMER,  SAN  JACINTO — HOW  SHE  ESCAPED 
THE  "OLD  WAGON" — THE   ISLAND   OF  BLANQUILLA, 

THE  NEW  RENDEZVOUS COALING  SHIP A  YANKEE 

SKIPPER HOW    THE    OFFICERS    AND    MEN   AMUSED 

THEMSELVES THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  PARKER  COOKE, 

UNION,  AND  STEAMER  ARIEL. 

I  FOUND  here  at  her  anchors,  as  I  had  expected,  my  coal- 
ship,  the  Agrippina.  She  had  been  lying  here  eight  days. 
Her  master,  an  old  Scotchman,  who,  like  most  old  sailors,  was 
fond  of  his  grog,  had  been  quite  indiscreet,  as  I  soon  learned, 
in  talking  about  his  ship,  and  her  movements.  Instead  of  pre 
tending  to  have  come  in  for  water  or  repairs,  or  to  hunt  a 
market,  or  for  something  of  the  kind,  he  had  frequently,  when 
"half  seas-over,"  in  the  coffee-houses  on  shore,  boasted  of  his 
connection  with  the  Alabama,  and  told  his  brother  tars  that 
that  ship  might  be  daily  looked  for.  Eight  days  were  a  suffi 
cient  space  of  time  for  these  conversations  to  be  repeated,  in 
the  neighboring  islands ;  and  as  I  knew  that  the  enemy  had 
several  cruisers  in  the  West  Indies,  I  was  only  surprised  that 
some  one  of  them  had  not  looked  in  upon  the  Agrippina 
before.  It  would  not  do  for  me  to  think  of  coaling  in  Mar 
tinique  under  the  circumstances,  and  so  I  ordered  my  coal- 
ship  to  get  under  way  forthwith,  and  proceed  to  a  new  rendez 
vous  —  a  small  island  on  the  Spanish  Main,  where,  in  due 
time,  we  will  rejoin  her.  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  hex 
get  a  good  offing  before  nightfall,  and  knew  that  she  was  safe. 
It  was  well  that  I  took  this  precaution,  for  on  the  very  next 
morning,  before  I  had  turned  out,  an  officer  came  below  to  in 
form  me  that  ar  enemy's  ship-of-war  had  appeared  off  the  har- 

514 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  515 

bor !  Dressing  myself,  and  going  on  deck,  sure  enough,  there 
was  one  of  the  enemy's  large  steamships,  lying  close  within 
the  mouth  of  the  harbor,  with  one  of  the  brightest  and  largest 
of  "  old  flags  "  flying  from  her  peak.  She  did  not  anchor,  lest 
she  should  come  under  the  twenty-four  hours'  rule ;  but  pretty 
soon  lowered  a  boat,  and  communicated  with  the  authorities 
on  shore.  It  soon  transpired  that  she  was  the  famous  San 
Jacinto,  a  name  which  has  become  inseparably  connected  in 
the  American  memory,  with  one  of  the  greatest  humiliations 
ever  put  upon  the  Great  Republic.  Wilkes,  and  Seward, 
and  the  San  Jacinto  have  achieved  fame.  They  began  by 
attempting  to  make  a  little  war-capital  out  of  John  Bull, 
and  ended  by  singing,  as  we  have  seen,  the  "seven  penitential 
psalms ;"  or,  at  least,  as  many  of  these  psalms  as  could  be 
sung  in  "  seven  days,"  short  metre  being  used.  I  could  not  help 
thinking,  as  I  looked  at  the  old  ship,  of  Mr.  Seward's  elaborate 
despatch  to  Lord  Russell,  set  to  the  tune  of  "  Old  Hundred," 
and  of  the  screams  of  Miss  Slidell,  as  she  had  been  gallantly 
charged  by  the  American  marines,  commanded,  for  the  occa 
sion,  by  an  officer  bearing  the  proud  old  name  of  Fairfax,  and 
born  in  the  State  of  Virginia  1 

We  paid  no  sort  of  attention  to  the  arrival  of  this  old  wagon 
of  a  ship.  She  was  too  heavy  for  me  to  think  of  engaging,  as  she 
threw  more  than  two  pounds  of  metal  to  my  one  —  her  battery 
consisting  of  fourteen  eleven-inch  guns  —  and  her  crew  was 
more  than  twice  as  numerous  as  my  own  ;  but  we  had  the 
speed  of  her,  and  could,  of  course,  go  to  sea  whenever  we 
pleased.  I  was  glad,  however,  that  I  had  gotten  the  Agrippina 
safely  out  of  her  way,  as  she  might  otherwise  have  been  in 
definitely  blockaded.  We  remained  quietly  at  our  anchors 
during  the  day ;  such  of  the  officers  visiting  the  shore  as  de 
sired,  and  the  stewards  of  the  messes  being  all  busy  in  laying 
in  a  supply  of  fruits  and  other  refreshments.  We  were,  in  the 
meantime,  quite  amused  at  the  warlike  preparations  that  were 
going  on  on  board  the  San  Jacinto.  The  captain  of  that  ship, 
whose  name,  I  believe,  was  Ronckendorff,  made  the  most  elab 
orate  preparations  for  battle.  We  could  see  his  men  aloft, 
busily  engaged  in  slinging  yards,  stoppering  topsail  sheets, 
getting  up  preventer  braces,  and  making  such  other  prepara- 


516  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tions,  as  the  Victory  or  Royal  Sovereign  might  have  made  on 
the  eve  of  Trafalgar. 

Poor  Ronckendorff,  what  a  disappointment  awaited  him !  the 
Alabama  was  going  to  sea  that  very  night.  There  was  a  Yan 
kee  merchant-ship  in  the  harbor,  and  just  at  nightfall,  a  boat 
pulled  out  from  her  to  the  San  Jacinto,  to  post  her,  probably, 
as  to  the  channels  and  outlets,  and  to  put  her  in  possession  of 
the  rumors  afloat.  The  fates  were  much  more  propitious  as 
to  weather,  than  they  had  been  to  the  little  Sumter,  when  she 
eluded  the  Iroquois.  The  night  set  in  dark  and  rainy.  We 
ran  up  our  boats.,  lighted  our  fires,  and  when  the  steam  was 
ready,  got  under  way,  as  we  would  have  done  on  any  ordinary 
occasion,  except  only  that  there  were  no  lights  permitted  to  be 
seen  about  the  ship,  and  that  the  guns  were  loaded  and  cast 
loose,  and  the  crew  at  quarters.  In  the  afternoon,  a  French 
naval  officer  had  come  on  board,  kindly  bringing  me  a  chart 
of  the  harbor,  from  which  it  appeared  that  I  could  run  out  in 
almost  any  direction  I  might  choose.  I  chose  the  most  south 
ern  route,  and  giving  my  ship  a  full  head  of  steam,  we  passed 
out,  without  so  much  as  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  San  Jacinto! 
The  next  news  that  we  received  from  the  "  States,"  informed 
us  that  the  San  Jacinto  was  perfectly  innocent  of  our  escape 
until  the  next  morning  revealed  to  her  our  vacant  place  in  the 
harbor.  Her  commander  was  even  then  incredulous,  and  re 
mained  cruising  off  the  harbor  for  a  day  or  two  longer,  until 
he  could  satisfy  himself  that  I  had  not  hauled  rny  ship  up  into 
some  cunning  nook,  or  inlet,  and  hid  her  away  out  of  sight ! 

The  next  afternoon  I  had  joined  my  coal-ship,  and  we  ran 
in  to  our  anchorage,  together,  in  the  little,  barren  island  of 
Blanquilla,  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  where  we  came  to 
about  nightfall.  This  was  one  of  those  little  coral  islands 
that  skirt  the  South  American  coast,  not  yet  fully  adapted 
to  the  habitation  of  man.  It  was  occasionally  visited  by  a 
passing  fisherman,  or  turtler,  and  a  few  goat-herds,  from  the 
main-land,  had  come  over  to  pasture  some  goats  on  the  coarse 
grass.  As  we  ran  in  to  this  anchorage,  which  I  remembered 
well  from  having  visited  it  once  in  a  ship  of  war  of  the  old 
service,  I  was  surprised  to  see  a  Yankee  whaling  schooner  at 
anchor.  She  was  lying  very  close  in  with  the  beach,  on  which 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      517 

she  had  a  tent  pitched,  and  some  boilers  in  operation,  trying 
out  the  oil  from  a  whale  which  she  had  recently  struck.  The 
master  of  this  little  vessel,  seeing  us  running  down  the  island, 
under  the  United  States  colors,  came  off,  in  one  of  his  boats, 
to  pilot  us  in,  and  was  apparently  quite  pleased  to  find  him 
self  on  board  one  of  his  own  gun-boats.  He  told  us  all  he 
had  heard  about  the  Alabama,  and  went  into  ecstasies  over 
our  fine  battery,  and  the  marvellous  accounts  of  our  speed, 
which  some  of  the  young  men  gave  him,  and  declared  that  we 
were  the  very  ship  to  "  give  the  pirate  Semmes  fits." 

A  terrible  collapse  awaited  him.  When  I  had  let  go  my 
anchor,  I  sent  for  him,  and  told  him  who  we  were.  That  we 
were  no  less  than  the  terrible  Alabama  herself.  He  stood  aghast 
for  a  moment.  An  awful  vision  seemed  to  confront  him. 
His  little  schooner,  and  his  oil,  and  the  various  little  'ventures 
which  he  had  on  board,  with  which  to  trade  with  the  natives 
along  the  coast,  and  turn  that  "honest  penny,"  which  has  so 
many  charms  in  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen,  were  all  gone  up 
the  spout !  And  then  he  stood  in  the  presence  of  the  man 
whose  ship  he  had  characterized  as  a  "  pirate,"  and  whom  he 
had  told  to  his  face,  he  was  no  better  than  a  freebooter.  But 
I  played  the  magnanimous.  I  told  the  skipper  not  to  be 
alarmed;  that  he  was  perfectly  safe  on  board  the  Alabama, 
and  that  out  of  respect  for  Venezuela,  within  whose  maritime 
jurisdiction  we  were,  I  should  not  even  burn  his  ship.  I 
should  detain  him,  however,  as  a  prisoner,  for  a  few  days,  I 
added,  to  prevent  his  carrying  news  of  me  to  the  enemy,  until 
I  was  ready  myself  to  depart.  He  gladly  assented  to  these 
terms,  and  was  frequently  afterward  on  board  the  ship  during 
our  stay. 

We  lay  five  days  at  the  little  island  of  Blanquilla,  coaling 
ship,  and  getting  ready  for  another  cruise.  We  broke  out 
our  hold  for  the  first  time,  and  cleansed  and  whitewashed 
it.  We  hoisted  out  our  boats,  and  rigged  them  for  sailing ; 
and  in  the  afternoons,  after  the  excessive  heats  had  moderated 
a  little,  sailing  and  fishing  parties  were  formed,  and  the  officers 
had  some  very  pleasant  little  picnics  on  shore.  Fish  were 
abundant,  and  on  occasion  of  these  picnics,  a  fine  red-fish, 
weighing  twenty  pounds  and  more,  would  sometimes  be  found 


518  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

cut  up,  and  in  the  frying-pan,  almost  before  it  had  ceased 
floundering.  The  crew  were  sent  on  shore,  "  on  liberty,"  in 
quarter  watches,  taking  their  rifles  and  ammunition,  and  fish- 
spears,  and  fishing-lines  along  with  them.  The  water  was  as 
clear  as  crystal,  and  there  being  some  beautiful  bathing-places 
along  the  beach,  bathing  became  a  favorite  amusement.  Al 
though  this  coast  abounds  in  sharks  of  large  size,  they  are 
not  found  to  be  dangerous,  when  there  is  a  number  of  bathers 
enjoying  the  sport  together.  The  shark  is  a  great  coward, 
and  rarely  attacks  a  man,  unless  it  can  surprise  him. 

My  gig  was  a  fine  boat,  fitted  with  a  lug  sail,  and  I  used 
frequently  to  stretch  off  long  distances  from  the  land  in  her, 
enjoying  her  fine  sailing  qualities,  in  the  fresh  sea-breeze  that 
would  be  blowing,  the  greater  part  of  the  day.  At  other  times 
I  would  coast  the  island  along  for  miles,  now  putting  into  one 
little  cove,  and  now  into  another,  sometimes  fishing,  and  at 
others  hunting  sea-shells,  and  exploring  the  wonders  of  the 
coral  banks.  Pelican,  gulls,  plover,  and  sand-snipe  were  abun 
dant,  and  my  boat's  crew,  when  we  would  land,  and  haul  our 
boat  up  for  a  stroll,  would  sometimes  make  capital  shots.  In 
deed,  we  generally  returned  on  board  laden  with  fish,  game,  and 
marine  curiosities,  of  various  kinds,  —  prominent  among  which 
would  be  specimens  of  the  little  coral  insect,  and  its  curious 
manufactures.  Miniature  limestone-trees,  with  their  pointed 
branches,  shrubs,  fans,  and  a  hundred  other  imitations  of  the 
flora  of  the  upper  world  would  be  fished  up  from  beneath  the 
sparkling  waters,  live  their  day  of  wonder,  and  when  they  had 
faded  and  lost  their  beauty,  be  thrown  overboard  again. 

We  found  here  flocks  of  the  flamingo  —  a  large  bird  of  the 
crane  species,  with  long  legs  and  bill,  for  wading  and  feeding 
in  the  shallow  lagoons  which  surround  the  island.  Its  plu 
mage  is  of  the  most  delicate  pink,  inclining  to  scarlet,  and 
when  the  tall  birds  are  drawn  up  in  line,  upon  a  sand  beach, 
where  there  is  some  mirage,  or  refraction,  they  look  not  unlike 
a  regiment  of  red-coated  soldiers.  They  are  quite  shy,  but 
we  carried  some  of  them  on  board,  out  of  the  rich  plumage  of 
which  Bartelli  made  me  some  fans.  Officers  and  men,  both  of 
whom  had  been  long  confined  on  board  ship — it  being  now  three 
months  since  the  Alabama  was  commissioned — visibly  im- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     519 

proved  in  health  whilst  we  lay  at  Blanquilla.  The  reader  may 
recollect  that  we  captured  in  the  brig  Dunkirk,  a  deserter  from 
the  Sumter.  We  had  tried  him  by  court-martial  before  reach 
ing  Martinique,  and  sentenced  him  to  serve  out  his  term,  under 
certain  penalties.  At  Martinique,  we  found  him  a  chief  spirit 
among  the  mutineers,  whose  grog  I  had  "  watered "  as  de 
scribed  in  the  last  chapter.  Another  court  now  sat  upon  his 
case,  and  in  obedience  to  its  sentence,  the  fellow  was  turned 
upon  the  beach  at  Blanquilla,  with  "  bag  and  hammock."  This 
worthy  citizen  of  the  Great  Republic  joined  the  Yankee  whal 
ing  schooner,  and  went  into  more  congenial  company  and  pur 
suits. 

Having  finished  our  coaling,  and  made  the  other  prepara 
tions  necessary  for  sea,  I  dispatched  my  coal-ship,  which  had 
still  another  supply  of  coal  left,  to  another  rendezvous  —  the 
Areas  islands,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  gave  the  Yankee 
schooner  leave  to  depart,  telling  the  master  to  make  a  free  sheet 
of  it,  and  not  let  me  catch  him  on  the  high  seas,  as  it  might 
not  be  so  well  for  him  a  second  time.  He  took  me  at  my 
word,  had  all  the  sail  on  his  little  craft  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  and  I  question  whether  he  stopped  this  side  of  Nantucket. 

My  object,  in  running  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  was  to  strike 
a  blow  at  Banks'  expedition,  which  was  then  fitting  out 
for  the  invasion  of  Texas.  This  gentleman,  who  had  been  a 
prominent  Massachusetts  politician,  but  who  had  no  sort  of 
military  talent,  had  risen  to  the  surface  with  other  scum,  amid 
the  bubbling  and  boiling  of  the  Yankee  caldron,  and  was  ap 
pointed  by  "Honest  Abe"  to  subjugate  Texas.  Banks  had 
mounted  a  stud-horse,  on  Boston  Common,  on  militia-review 
days,  before  the  war,  and  had  had  himself  lithographed,  stud 
horse,  cocked-hat,  feathers,  and  all,  and  these  were  credentials 
not  to  be  despised.  I  had  learned  from  captured  Northern 
papers,  that  he  was  fitting  out  at  Boston  and  New  York,  a 
large  expedition,  to  consist  of  not  less  than  30,000  men.  A 
large  proportion  of  this  army  was  to  consist  of  cavalry  and 
light  artillery.  To  transport  such  an  army,  a  large  number  of 
transport-ships  would  be  required.  The  expedition  was  to 
rendezvous  at  Galveston,  which  the  ene*nv  had  captured  from 
us,  not  a  great  while  before. 


520  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

As  there  were  but  twe  .ve  feet  of  water  on  the  Galveston  bar, 
very  few  of  these  transport-ships  would  be  able  to  enter  the 
harbor;  the  great  mass  of  them,  numbering,  perhaps,  a  hundred 
and  more,  would  be  obliged  to  anchor,  pell-mell,  in  the  open 
sea.  Much  disorder,  and  confusion  would  necessarily  attend 
the  landing  of  so  many  troops,  encumbered  by  horses,  artillery, 
baggage-wagons,  and  stores.  My  design  was  to  surprise  this 
fleet  by  a  night-attack,  and  if  possible  destroy  it,  or  at  least 
greatly  cripple  it.  The  Northern  press,  in  accordance  with  its 
usual  habit,  of  blabbing  everything,  had  informed  me  of  the 
probable  time  of  the  sailing  of  the  expedition,  and  I  designed 
so  to  time  my  own  movements,  as  to  arrive  simultaneously 
with  the  stud-horse  and  the  major-general,  or  at  least  a  day  or 
two  afterward. 

It  was  to  be  presumed,  of  course,  that  some  of  the  enemy's 
gun-boats  would  accompany  the  expedition,  but  I  hoped  to  be 
able  to  fall  so  unexpectedly  upon  their  convoy,  as  to  find  them 
off  their  guard.  There  was  no  Confederate  cruiser  in  the  Gulf, 
and  I  learned  from  the  enemy's  own  papers,  that  the  Alabama 
was  well  on  her  way  to  the  coast  of  Brazil  and  the  East  Indies. 
The  surprise  would  probably  be  complete,  in  the  dead  of  night, 
and  when  the  said  gun -boats  of  the  enemy  would  be  sleeping 
in  comparative  security,  with  but  little,  if  any  steam  in  their 
boilers.  Half  an  hour  would  suffice  for  my  purpose  of  setting 
fire  to  the  fleet,  and  it  would  take  the  gun-boats  half  an  hour 
to  get  up  steam,  and  their  anchors,  and  pursue  me. 

It  was  with  this  object  in  view,  that  we  were  now  getting 
under  way  from  the  island  of  Blanquilla.  But  the  Banks' 
expedition  would  not  arrive  off  Galveston,  probably,  before 
about  the  10th  of  January,  and  as  we  were  now  only  in  the  lat 
ter  days  of  November,  I  had  several  weeks  on  my  hands,  before 
it  would  become  necessary  for  me  to  proceed  to  my  new  ren 
dezvous.  I  resolved  to  devote  this  interval  to  the  waylaying 
of  a  California  treasure-steamer,  as  a  million  or  so  of  dollars 
in  gold,  deposited  in  Europe,  would  materially  aid  me,  in  my 
operations  upon  the  sea.  I  could  purchase  several  more  A  la- 
lamas,  to  develop  the  " nautical  enterprise"  of  our  people,  and 
assist  me  to  scourge  the  enemy's  commerce. 

There  were  two  routes  by  which  the  California  steamers 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      521 

returned  from  Aspinwall  —  one  by  the  east  end  of  Cuba,  and 
the  other  by  the  west  end.  I  chose  the  former  for  my  ambus 
cade,  S3  being  probably  the  most  used.  To  reach  my  new 
cruising-ground,  I  put  my  ship  under  sail,  and  made  a  detour 
by  the  way  of  the  islands  of  Porto  Rico  and  St.  Domingo,  pass 
ing  through  the  Mona  Passage,  through  which  much  of  the 
West  India  commerce  of  the  enemy  passed,  with  the  hope  of 
picking  up  something  by  the  way.  We  left  our  anchorage  at 
Blanquilla  on  the  26th  of  November,  and  made  the  island  of 
Porto  Rico  on  the  morning  of  the  29th.  We  coasted  along 
the  south  side  of  this  island,  with  a  gentle  breeze  and  smooth 
sea,  sufficiently  near  to  enjoy  its  fine,  bold  scenery,  passing  only 
a  couple  of  sail  during  the  day  —  one  a  large  French  steamer, 
bound  to  the  eastward,  and  the  other  an  English  bark.  We 
showed  them  the  United  States  colors.  The  bark  saluted 
the  "old  flag,"  by  striking  her  colors  to  it,  but  the  "old  flag" 
did  not  return  the  salute,  as  it  was  hoisted  at  the  wrong  peak. 
The  Englishman  must  have  thought  his  Yankee  friend  rather 
discourteous. 

We  entered  the  Mona  Passage,  lying  between  St.  Domingo 
and  Porto  Rico,  after  nightfall,  but  the  moon  was  shining  suffi 
ciently  bright  to  enable  us  to  get  hold  of  the  small  islands  of 
Mona  and  Desecho,  and  thus  grope  our  way  in  safety.  The 
currents  in  this  strait  being  somewhat  uncertain,  the  naviga 
tion  is  treacherous  when  the  weather  is  dark.  Early  on  the 
next  morning,  we  were  off  the  Bay  of  Samana,  and  were  run 
ning  with  a  flowing  sheet  along  the  coast  of  St.  Domingo.  I 
had  approached  the  Mona  Passage  with  much  caution,  fully 
expecting  to  find  so  important  a  thoroughfare  guarded  by  the 
enemy,  but  there  was  nothing  in  the  shape  of  a  ship  of  war  to 
be  seen.  The  enemy  was  too  busy  blockading  the  Southern 
coasts  to  pay  much  attention  to  his  commerce.  In  the  course 
of  the  morning,  we  boarded  a  Spanish  schooner,  from  Boston, 
bound  for  the  old  city  of  St.  Domingo,  from  which  we  received 
a  batch  of  late  newspapers,  giving  us  still  further  accounts, 
among  other  things,  of  the  preparation  of  the  Banks'  expedition, 
about  which  all  New  England  seemed,  just  then,  to  be  agog. 

The  great  Massachusetts  leader  had  been  given  carte  blanche, 
and  he  was  making  the  best  possible  use  of  it.  He  was  fitting 


522  MEMOIKS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

himself  out  very  splendidly,  but  his  great  expedition  resem 
bled  rather  one  of  Cyrus'  or  Xerxes',  than  one  of  Xenophon's. 
The  Boston  papers  dilated  upon  the  sp]endid  bands  of  music,  the 
superb  tents,  the  school-marms,  and  Ihe  relays  of  stud-horses 
that  were  to  accompany  the  hero  of  Boston  Common.  But 
the  best  feature  of  the  expedition  was  the  activity  and  thrift 
which  had  suddenly  sprung  up  in  all  the  markets  of  New  Eng 
land,  in  consequence.  The  looms,  the  spindles  and  the  shoe 
makers'  awls  were  in  awful  activity.  In  short,  every  man  or 
boy  who  could  whittle  a  stick,  whittled  it,  and  sold  it  to  the 
Government.  The  whalemen  in  New  Bedford,  Nantucket,  and 
Martha's  Vineyard  were  in  especial  glee.  They  were  sell 
ing  all  their  whaling  ships,  which  were  too  old,  or  too  rotten 
for  further  service,  to  the  Government,  for  transports,  at  enor 
mous  prices.  Many  a  bluff  old  whaler  that  had  rode  out  a 
gale  under  the  lee  of  an  iceberg  at  the  Navigators'  Islands, 
or  "  scraped  her  keel  on  Coromandel's  coast,"  forty  years  before, 
was  patched  and  caulked  and  covered  over  with  pitch  and 
paint,  and  sold  to  an  ignorant,  if  not  corrupt,  army  quarter 
master,  for  as  good  as  "bran  new."  No  wonder  that  the  war 
was  popular  in  New  England.  There  was  not  only  negro  in 
it,  but  there  was  money  in  it  also. 

Filling  away  from  the  Spanish  schooner,  which  we  requested 
to  report  us,  in  St.  Domingo,  as  the  United  States  steamer  Iro- 
guois,  we  continued  our  course  down  the  island.  It  was  Sun 
day,  and  the  day  was  fine.  The  crew  was  dressed,  as  usual, 
for  muster,  and  what  with  the  ship  in  her  gala-dress  of  awn 
ings,  and  glitter  of  "bright- work,"  the  island,  the  sea,  and  the 
weather,  a  more  beautiful  picture  could  not  well  have  been 
presented  to  the  beholder.  In  the  distance  were  the  blue,  and 
hazy  hills,  so  fraught  with  the  memories  of  Columbus,  and  the 
earlier  Spanish  explorers.  Nearer  to,  was  the  old  town  of 
Isabella,  the  first  ever  built  in  the  New  World  by  civilized 
men,  and  nearer  still  was  the  bluff,  steep,  rock-bound  coast, 
against  which  the  most  indigo  of  seas  was  breaking  in  the 
purest  and  whitest  of  foam.  .  The  sailors  had  thrown  them 
selves  upon  the  deck  in  groups,  each  group  having  its  reader, 
who  was  reading  aloud  to  attentive  listeners  the  latest  war- 
news,  as  gleaned  from  the  papers  we  had  received  from  the 


DUKING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       523 

Spanish  schooner;  and  the  officers,  through  whose  hands  the 
said  newspapers  had  already  passed,  were  smoking  and  chat 
ting,  now  of  Columbus,  and  now  of  the  war.  Presently  the 
shrill  cry  of  "  sail  ho!  "  came  ringing  from  aloft ;  and  the  scene 
on  board  the  Alabama  shifted  almost  as  magically  as  it  does  in 
a  theatre.  Every  man  sprang  to  his  feet,  without  waiting  for 
an  order ;  the  newspapers  were  stuck  away  in  cracks  and  cran 
nies  ;  the  helm  was  shifted,  to  bring  the  ship's  head  around  to 
the  proper  point  for  chasing,  and  studding-sails,  and  kites  were 
given  simultaneously  to  the  wind. 

When  we  began  to  raise  the  spars  and  sails  of  the  chase 
above  the  sea,  from  the  deck,  there  was  a  general  exclamation 
of  "Yankee!"  The  tapering  royal  and  sky-sail  masts,  with 
the  snowiest  of  canvas,  told  the  tale,  as  they  had  told  it  so  often 
before.  A  run  of  a  few  hours  more  brought  us  up  with  the 
American  bark  Parker  Cooke,  of.  and  from  Boston,  bound  to 
Aux  Cayes,  on  the  south  side  of  the  island  of  St.  Domingo. 
If  the  Cooke  had  been  chartered,  and  sent  out  for  our  especial 
benefit,  the  capture  could  not  have  been  more  opportune.  The 
Alabama's  commissariat  was  beginning  to  run  a  little  low,  and 
here  was  the  Cooke  provision-laden.  We  had  found,  by  expe 
rience  in  the  Sumter,  that  our  Boston  friends  put  up  the  very 
best  of  crackers,  and  ship-bread,  and  sent  excellent  butter,  and 
cheese,  salted  beef  and  pork,  and  dried  fruits  to  the  West 
India  markets ;  nor  were  we  disappointed  on  the  present  occa 
sion.  Both  ships  were  now  hove  to,  under  short  sail,  within 
convenient  boating  distance,  and  the  rest  of  the  day  was  con 
sumed  in  transporting  provisions  from  the  prize.  It  was 
sunset  before  we  concluded  our  labors,  and  at  the  twilight 
hour,  when  the  sea-breeze  was  dying  away,  and  all  nature  was 
sinking  to  repose,  we  applied  the  torch  to  the  Cooke. 

As  we  filled  away,  and  made  sail,  I  could  not  but  moralize 
on  the  spectacle.  Sixty  years  before,  the  negro  had  cut  the 
throat  of  the  white  man,  ravished  his  wife  and  daughters,  and 
burned  his  dwelling  in  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  now  in  sight. 
The  white  man,  in  another  country,  was  now  inciting  the  negro 
to  the  perpetration  of  the  same  crimes  against  another  white 
man,  whom  he  had  called  brother.  The  white  man  who  was 
thus  inciting  the  negro,  was  the  Puritan  of  New  England, 


524  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

whose  burning  ship  was  lighting  up  the  shores  of  St.  Domingo  I 
That  Puritan,  only  a  generation  before,  had  entered  into  a 
solemn  league  and  covenant,  to  restore  to  the  Southern  man 
his  fugitive  slave,  if  he  should  escape  into  his  territory.  This 
was  the  way  in  which  he  was  keeping  his  plighted  faith  !  Does 
anyone  wonder  that  the  Alabama  burned  New  England  ships? 
We  began  now  to  receive  some  "  returns  "  of  the  effect  of  our 
late  captures  upon  Northern  commerce.  The  papers  captured 
on  board  the  CooJce  were  full  of  lamentations.  Our  pious 
brethren  did  not  confine  themselves  to  the  forms  set  down  by 
Jeremiah,  however,  but  hissed  their  execrations  through  teeth 
grinding  with  rage.  I  will  not  treat  my  readers  to  any  of 
these  specimens  of  the  art  Philippic,  but  will  confine  myself  to 
a  few  business  excerpts  instead,  taken  indiscriminately  from 
the  New  York  and  Boston  papers. 

Boston  crieth  aloud. 

"ADVANCES  ON  MARINE  INSURANCE. —  In  consequence  of  the 
destruction  caused  at  sea  by  the  privateer  steamer  Alabama,  the 
officers  of  the  insurance  companies  of  Boston  have  fixed  the  present 
war  rates  on  different  voyages  as  follows :  —  To  the  north  of 
Europe,  4@5  percent.  ;  Mediterranean,  5@6  ;  India,  4£  ;  Gulf  ports, 
4 ;  California  gold  steamers,  4  ;  West  India  risks,  5  ]  coastwise, 
£@H.  These  rates  are  liable  to  be  altered  according  to  the  neces 
sary  requirements  of  the  times,  consequent  upon  the  unusual  hazards 
to  which  commerce  is  now  exposed." 

New  York  responds  to  the  cry  of  Boston. 

"  The  damaging  effect  of  the  Alabama's  raid  on  our  shipping 
upon  the  maritime  interests  of  this  port  were  as  conspicuous  to-day 
as  yesterday.  It  was  next  to  impossible  for  the  owner  of  an  Ameri 
can  ship  to  procure  freight  unless  he  consented  to  make  a  bogus 
sale  of  his  ship." 

"  Freights  to  Great  Britain  are  rather  more  active,  under  favor 
able  foreign  advices  for  breadstuffs,  but  rates  by  American  vessels 
depressed  ;  foreign  bottoms  most  in  favor,  but  even  these  now  find 
it  difficult  to  employ  themselves  profitably.  To  Liverpool,  flour  is 
9d@2s." 

I  heard  again  from  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
by  the  Cooke.  My  friend,  Low,  was  still  lamenting  over  his 
lost  ships.  Like  Eachael  weeping  for  her  children,  he  refused 
to  be  comforted  because  they  were  not.  Another  grand  pow- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      525 

wow  had  been  called,  and  another  set  of  resolutions  passed. 
SCENE:  A  luxuriously  furnished  suite  of  apartments,  with  well- 
padded  arm-chairs,  and  big  inkstands;  a  table;  on  the  walls, 
several  pictures  of  burning  ships,  with  the  "pirate  ship  "  in  the 
distance;  of  John  Bull  running  off  with  the  "  carrying -trade," 
and  Jonathan  screaming  after  him;  and  of  Mr.  Low  tearing  his 
hair.  Enter  the  dramatis  persons.  Low  loquitur :  — 

"Mr.  A.  Low  read  a  very  long  preamble  and  resolution  expres 
sive  of  the  feelings  of  the  American  public  in  regard  to  the  shelter 
afforded  to  the  Alabama  by  British  authorities.  He  also  read  a 
letter  from  our  Consul  at  Liverpool,  Mr.  Dudley,  in  which  that 
functionary  sets  forth  the  efforts  he  made  to  direct  the  attention  of 
the  British  authorities  to  the  Alabama,  and  concludes  by  asserting 
that  there  are  now  four  large  vessels  fitting  out  at  Liverpool  to 
follow  the  piratical  example  of  the  Alabama  —  three  of  iron  and 
one  of  wood.  Nine  vessels  are  preparing  to  run  the  blockade. 

"  Mr.  Low  explained  at  some  length  the  object  and  scope  of  his 
proposed  resolution.  He  declared  that  American  ships  could  no 
longer  get  cargoes,  in  consequence  of  the  depredations  of  the  Ala 
bama. 

"  Hon.  F.  A.  Conkling  spoke  in  behalf  of  granting  letters-of- 
marque.  He  saw  no  other  alternative  between  this  and  a  complete 
paralyzation  of  our  commerce.  He  read  extracts  from  Cogswell's 
'  Maritime  History,'  showing  the  effectiveness  of  privateers  in  our 
previous  wars. 

"  C.  H.  Marshall  spoke  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Low's 
preamble  and  resolution. 

"  Mr.  Maury  stated  that  he  had  received  a  letter  from  Liverpool, 
saying  that  the  new  pirate  ships  building  for  the  Confederates  are 
vastly  more  formidable  than  the  Alabama. 

11  The  preamble  and  resolutions  set  forth  at  length  the  evil  conse 
quences  likely  to  ensue  from  a  repetition  of  such  piratical  acts  as 
the  fitting  out  of  more  vessels  like  the  Alabama,  in  the  ports  of 
Great  Britain ;  that  information  has  been  received  of  other  vessels 
having  sailed  to  prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the  United  States;  that 
the  English  Government  does  not  interfere  to  put  a  stop  to  the 
aggressions  of  the  pirate,  though  British  goods  have  been  de 
stroyed  ;  that  the  Alabama  is  continually  supplied  from  Great 
Britain  with  coal  and  ammunition,  by  which  she  is  enabled  to  pur 
sue  her  piratical  courses  against  American  commerce,  the  conse 
quence  being  to  raise  the  premium  upon  American  vessels  and  their 
cargoes,  and  to  depress  the  rates  of  freight  upon  American  ships, 
and  to  transfer  our  carrying-trade  to  the  ships  of  other  nations. 
Therefore  the  Chamber  is  led  to  the  following  conclusions : 

"  1st.  That  through  the  active  instrumentality  of  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain,  the  so-called  Confederate  States  are  furnished  with 
ships,  men,  arms,  and  ammunition,  with  which  to  war  upon  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States ; 


526  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  2d.  That  without  such  foreign  aid  the  States  in  revolt  against 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  would  be  powerless  to  effect 
any  injury  to  our  commerce  on  the  high  seas. 

"  '3d.  That  this  war  upon  American  commerce  carried  on  by 
ships  built  and  manned  in  Great  Britain,  is  not  rebuked  by  the 
British  press  generally ;  is  not  discouraged  by  the  public  sentiment 
of  a  once  friendly  nation  claiming  to  be  governed  by  high  and  hon 
orable  principles,  and  is  not  effectively  and  thoroughly  arrested  by 
the  stronger  arm  of  the  British  Government. 

"  Uh.  That  as  a  result  of  the  foregoing  acts  and  conclusions,  the 
merchants  of  the  United  States  are  subject  in  a  certain  degree  to 
the  evils  that  would  attend  a  state  of  war  with  Great  Britain,  and 
are  compelled  to  witness  the  carrying-trade  of  their  country  trans 
ferred  from  their  own  vessels  to  British  bottoms,  under  all  the 
sanctions  and  advantages  of  peace  and  neutrality  to  the  latter — 
while  the  source  of  this  great  peril,  threatening  to  drive  American 
commerce  from  the  ocean,  is  of  British  origin. 

"  .Now,  therefore,  resolved,  that  a  Committee  of  ten  be  appointed 
to  take  into  consideration  the  foregoing,  and  to  report,  at  a  special 
meeting  to  be  called  for  the  purpose,  what  action  it  becomes  this 
Chamber  to  take  in  the  premises." 

How  astonishing  it  is,  that  these  gentlemen  when  they  were 
denouncing  Great  Britain  for  supplying  the  Confederates  with 
men  and  munitions  of  war,  did  not  think  of  the  supplies  they 
were  themselves  drawing  from  the  same  source.  I  have  before 
referred  to  a  speech  of  Mr.  Laird,  the  builder  of  the  Alabama, 
in  the  British  House  of  Commons.  I  now  refer  to  another 
passage  of  the  same  speech,  as  a  sufficient  answer  to  Mr. 
Low's  complaints  :  — 

"If  a  ship  without  guns  and  without  arms,  [he  is  alluding  to  the 
Alabama  when  she  left  the  Mersey,]  is  a  dangerous  article,  surely 
rifled  guns  and  ammunition  of  all  sorts  are  equally  —  (cheers)  — 
and  even  more  dangerous.  (Cheers.)  I  have  referred  to  the  bills 
of  entry  in  the  Custom-houses  of  London  and  Liverpool,  and  I 
find  there  have  been  vast  shipments  of  implements  of  war  to  the 
Northern  States,  through  the  celebrated  houses  of  Baring  &  Co.  — 
(loud  cheers  and  laughter), —  Brown,  Shipley  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool, 
and  a  variety  of  other  names,  which  I  need  not  more  particularly 
mention,  but  whose  Northern  tendencies  are  well  known  to  this 
House.  (Hear!  hear!)  If  the  member  for  Rochdale,  or  the  honor 
able  member  for  Branchford  wishes  to  ascertain  the  extent  to 
which  the  Northern  States  of  America  have  had  supplies  of  arms 
from  this  country,  they  have  only  to  go  to  a  gentleman  who,  I  am 
sure,  will  be  ready  to  afford  them  every  information,  and  much 
more  readily  than  he  would  to  me,  or  to  any  one  else  calling  upon 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    ST.xPES.       527 

him  —  the  American  Consul  in  Liverpool.  Before  that  gentleman, 
the  manifest  of  every  ship  is  laid,  he  has  to  give  an  American  pass 
to  each  vessel ;  he  is,  consequently,  able  to  tell  the  exact  number 
of  rifles  which  have  been  shipped  from  this  country  for  the  United 
States  —  information,  I  doubt  not,  which  would  be  very  generally 
desired  by  this  House.  (Loud  cries  of  '  hear  ! ')  I  have  obtained 
from  the  official  custom-house  returns,  some  details  of  the  sundries 
exported  from  the  United  Kingdom  to  the  Northern  States  of 
America,  from  the  1st  of  May,  1861,  to  the  31st  of  December,  1862. 
There  were  — Muskets,  41,500  — (hear!  hear !) —rifles,  341,000  — 
(cheers)  — gun-flints,  26,500 — percussion-caps,  49,982,000  —  (cheers 
and  laughter) — and  swords,  2250.  The  best  information  I  could 
obtain,  leads  rne  to  believe  that  from  one  third  to  a  half  may  be 
added  to  these  numbers  for  items  which  have  been  shipped  to  the 
Northern  States  as  hardware.  (Hear!  hear!)  I  have  very  good 
reason  for  saying  that  a  vessel  of  2000  tons  was  chartered  six 
weeks  ago,  for  the  express  purpose  of  taking  out  a  cargo  of  "hard 
ware  "  to  the  United  States.  (Cheers.)  The  exportation  has  not 
ceased  yet.  From  the  1st  of  January  to  the  17th  of  March,  1863, 
the  customs  bills  of  entry  show  that  23,8tO  gun-barrels,  30,802 
rifles,  and  3,105,800  percussion-caps  were  shipped  to  the  United 
States.  (Hear  !  hear  !)  So  that  if  the  Southern  States  have  got 
two  ships  unarmed,  unfit  for  any  purpose  of  warfare  —  for  they 
procured  their  armaments  somewhere  else  —  the  Northern  States 
have  been  well  supplied  from  this  country,  through  the  agency  of 
some  most  influential  persons.  (Hear  !  hear !)  " 

"  The  American  Consul  in  Liverpool,"  alluded  to  in  the 
above  extract,  is  the  same  gentleman  —  Dudley  —  who  was 
assisting  Mr.  Low  to  denounce  Great  Britain  for  supplying  the 
Confederate  States! 

The  Parker  Cooke  made  a  beautiful  bonfire,  lighting  up  the 
sea  and  land  for  leagues ;  and  as  the  wind  continued  light,  it 
was  near  midnight  before  we  had  run  it  below  the  horizon. 
Before  morning  we  gave  chase  to  another  sail,  but  at  daylight, 
by  which  time  we  were  within  a  couple  of  miles  of  her,  she 
showed  us  the  Spanish  colors.  We  chased,  and  overhauled 
soon  afterward  a  Dutch  galliot,  and  later  in  the  day,  a  Spanish 
bark.  The  land  was  still  in  sight  on  our  port  beam,  and 
toward  nightfall,  we  passed  Cape  Frai^ois. 

Between  midnight  and  dawn,  on  this  same  night,  we  had 
quite  an  alarm.  A  large  ship-of-war  came  suddenly  upon  us, 
in  the  darkness !  Like  ourselves,  she  was  running  down  the 

coast,  but  she  was  under  both  steam  and  sail,  having  her  stud 
34 


528  MEMOIES     OF     SERVICE     AFLOAT 

ding-sails  set  on  both,  sides,  whereas  the  Alabama  was  entirely 
without  steam,  with  her  propeller  triced  up.  If  the  stranger 
had  been  an  enemy,  we  should  have  been  almost  entirely  at 
her  mercy.  The  reader  may  imagine,  therefore,  how  anxious 
I  was  for  the  next  few  minutes.  She  soon  dispelled  my  fears, 
however,  for  she  passed  rapidly  on,  at  no  greater  distance  from 
us,  than  a  hundred  yards,  her  lights  lighting  up  the  counte 
nances  of  my  men,  as  they  stood  at  their  guns  —  for  by  this 
time  I  had  gotten  them  to  their  quarters  —  quite  distinctly. 
She  did  not  take  the  least  notice  of  us,  or  swerve  a  hair's- 
breadth  from  her  course.  I  knew,  from  this,  she  could  not  be 
an  enemy,  and  told  my  first  lieutenant,  even  before  she  had 
well  passed  us,  that  he  might  let  his  men  leave  their  guns. 
She  was,  probably,  a  Spanish  steam-frigate,  on  lier  way  to  the 
island  of  Cuba. 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  of  December,  we  passed  the  little 
island  of  Tortuga,  so  famous  in  the  history  of  the  buccaneers 
and  pirates  who  once  infested  these  waters,  and  on  the  next 
day,  found  ourselves  in  the  passage  between  St.  Domingo  and 
Cuba.  There  were  many  sails  passing  in  different  directions, 
all  of  which  we  overhauled,  but  they  proved  to  be  neutral. 
Here  was  another  important  thoroughfare  of  the  enemy's  com 
merce  entirely  unguarded.  There  was  not  only  no  ship-of- 
war  of  the  enemy  to  be  seen,  but  none  of  the  neutrals  that  I 
had  spoken,  had  fallen  in  with  any.  We  had,  therefore,  a  clear 
sea  before  us,  for  carrying  out  our  design  of  waylaying  a  Cali 
fornia  steamer.  In  the  afternoon,  we  stretched  over  to  the 
east  end  of  Cuba,  and  took  our  station  in  "watch  and  wait." 

On  the  same  night,  we  chased  and  overhauled  a  French  bark. 
The  sea  was  smooth,  and  a  bright  moon  shining.  The  chase 
paid  no  attention  to  our  blank  cartridge,  though  we  were  close 
>on  board  of  her,  and  stood  a  shot  before  she  would  come  to  the 
wind.  As  we  threw  this  purposely  between  her  masts,  and 
•pretty  close  over  the  heads  of  her  people,  she  came  to  the  con 
clusion  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  trifle  longer,  and  rounded 
to  and  backed  her  main  yard.  When  asked  by  the  boarding- 
officer,  why  he  did  not  heave  to,  at  the  first  signal,  the  master 
replied  naively  that  he  was  a  Frenchman,  and  at  war  with  no 
body.!  Philosophical  Frenchman  1 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      529 

We  had  accurate  time-tables  of  the  arrivals  and  departures  of 
the  California  steamers,  in  the  files  of  the  New  York  papers, 
that  we  had  captured,  and  by  these  tables,  the  homeward-bound 
steamer  would  not  be  due  for  a  few  days  yet.  We  spent  this 
interval  in  lying  off  and  on  the  east  end  of  Cuba,  under  easy  sail, 
chasing  more  or  less  during  the  day,  but  without  success,  all 
the  vessels  overhauled  being  neutrals,  and  closing  in  with  Cape 
Maize  during  the  night,  and  holding  on  to  its  very  brilliant 
light  until  morning.  The  weather  was  clear,  and  the  moon 
near  her  full,  so  that  I  had  almost  as  good  a  view  of  the  passage 
by  night  as  by  day. 

On  the  5th  of  December,  a  prize  ran  into  our  arms,  without 
the  necessity  of  a  chase.  It  was  a  Baltimore  schooner  called 
the  Union,  old,  and  of  little  value.  She  had,  besides,  a  neutral 
cargo,  properly  documented,  for  a  small  town  called  Port  Maria, 
on  the  north  side  of  Jamaica.  I  transferred  the  prisoners  of 
the  CooJce  to  her,  and  released  her  on  ransom-bond.  My 
original  orders  were  not  to  capture  Maryland  vessels,  but  that 
good  old  State  had  long  since  ceased  to  occupy  the  category  in 
which  our  Congress,  and  the  Executive  had  placed  her.  She 
was  now  ranged  under  the  enemy's  flag,  and  I  could  make  no 
discrimination  in  her  favor. 

On  the  next  day  the  California  steamer  was  due,  and  a  very 
bright  lookout  was  kept ;  a  number  of  the  young  officers  vol 
unteering  their  services  for  the  occasion.  In  the  transparent 
atmosphere  of  this  delightful  climate,  we  could  see  to  great 
distances.  The  west  end  of  St.  Domingo,  about  Cape  Tiburon, 
was  visible,  though  distant  ninety  miles.  But  not  so  much  as 
a  smoke  was  seen  during  the  entire  day,  and  the  sun  went 
down  upon  disappointed  hopes.  The  next  day  was  Sunday, 
and  the  holy-stones  had  been  busy  over  my  head  during  all  the 
morning  watch,  putting  the  decks  in  order  for  muster.  I  had 
turned  out,  and  dressed,  and  swept  the  entire  horizon  with  my 
telescope,  without  seeing  any  thing  to  encourage  me.  The  crew 
had  breakfasted,  and  the  word,  "All  hands  clean  yourselves,  in 
white  frocks  and  trousers,  for  muster ! "  had  been  growled  out 
by  the  boatswain,  and  echoed  by  his  mates.  The  decks  were 
encumbered  with  slothes-bags,  and  Jack  was  arraying  himself 
as  directed.  I  had  gone  down  to  my  own  breakfast,  and  was 


530         .  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

enjoying  one  of  Bartelli's  cups  of  good  coffee,  hopeless  for  that 
day  of  my  California  steamer,  and  my  million  of  dollars  in  gold. 
Suddenly  the  prolonged  cry  of  "  S-a-i-1  h-o!  "  came  ringing,  in  a 
clear  musical  voice,  from  aloft ;  the  look-out  having  at  length 
descried  a  steamer,  and  being  anxious  to  impart  the  intelligence 
in  as  emphatic  a  manner  as  possible,  to  the  startled  listeners  on 
the  deck  below.  The  "  Where-away  ?  "  of  the  officer  of  the  deck, 
shouted  through  his  trumpet,  followed,  and  in  a  moment  more 
came  the  rejoinder,  "Broad  on  the  port  bow,  sir  I"  "What 
does  she  look  like?"  again  inquired  the  officer  of  the  deck. 
"She  is  a  large  steamer,  brig-rigged,  sir!  "  was  the  reply.  An 
officer  now  came  below  to  announce  to  me  what  I  had  already 
heard. 

Here  was  a  steamer  at  last,  but  unfortunately  she  was  not  in 
the  right  direction,  being  in  the  north-west  instead  of  the  south 
east —  the  latter  being  the  direction  in  which  the  California 
steamer  should  appear.  All  was  excitement  now  on  deck. 
The  engineers  and  firemen  were  set  at  work,  in  great  haste,  to 
get  up  their  steam.  The  sailors  were  hurried  with  their 
"cleaning,"  and  the  bags  stowed  away.  "All  hands  work 
ship !  "  being  called,  the  first  lieutenant  took  the  trumpet,  and 
furled  the  sails,  making  a  "snug  roll-up  of  it,"  so  that  they 
might  hold  as  little  wind  as  possible,  and  lowered  the  propel 
ler.  In  twenty  minutes  we  were  ready  for  the  chase,  with 
3 very  thing  snug  "  alow  and  aloft,"  and  with  the  steam  hissing 
from  the  gauge- cocks.  The  strange  steamer  came  up  very 
rapidly,  and  we  scrutinized,  her  anxiously  to  see  whether  she 
was  a  ship  of  war,  or  a  packet-ship.  She  showed  too  much 
hull  out  of  the  water  to  be  a  ship  of  war,  and  yet  we  could  not 
be  sure,  as  the  enemy  had  commissioned  a  great  many  packet- 
steamers,  and  put  heavy  armaments  on  board  of  them.  When 
she  was  within  three  or  four  miles  of  us,  we  showed  her  the 
United  States  colors,  and  she  responded  in  a  few  minutes,  by 
hoisting  the  same.  Like  ourselves,  she  had  her  sails  furled, 
and  was  carrying  a  very  large  "  bone  in  her  mouth "  under 
steam  alone. 

We  could  now  see  that  she  was  fast,  and  from  the  absence 
of  guns  at  her  sides,  a  packet-ship.  I  now  put  my  ship  in 
motion,  with  a  view  to  lay  her  across  the  stranger's  path,  as 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE    STATES.      531 

though  I  would  speak  her.  But  I  missed  doing  this  by  about  a 
couple  of  ship's  lengths,  the  stranger  passing  just  ahead  of  me. 
A  beautiful  spectacle  presented  itself  as  I  passed  under  the 
stern  of  that  monster  steamship.  The  weather  was  charming, 
there  being  a  bright,  clear  sky,  with  only  a  few  fleecy  trade- 
clouds  passing.  There  was  just  enough  of  the  balmiest  and 
gentlest  of  winds,  to  ruffle,  without  roughening  the  surface  of 
the  sea.  The  islands  of  Cuba,  St.  Domingo,  and  Jamaica — 
the  two  latter,  in  the  blue  and  hazy  distance,  and  the  former 
robed  in  the  gorgeous  green  known  only  to  the  tropics  —  were 
in  sight.  The  great  packet-steamer  had  all  her  awnings  set, 
and  under  these  awnings,  on  the  upper  deck,  was  a  crowd  of 
passengers,  male  and  female.  Mixed  with  the  male  passen 
gers  were  several  officers  in  uniform,  and  on  the  forward  deck, 
there  were  groups  of  soldiers  to  be  seen.  This  crowd  pre 
sented  a  charming  picture,  especially  the  ladies,  most  of  whom 
were  gayly  dressed,  with  the  streamers  from  their  bonnets, 
their  veils,  and  their  waste  ribbons  flirting  with  the  morning 
breeze.  We  were  sufficiently  close  to  see  the  expression  of 
their  countenances.  Many  of  them  were  viewing  us  with 
opera  glasses,  evidently  admiring  the  beautiful  proportions, 
fine  trim,  and  general  comeliness  of  one  of  their  own  gun-boats 
— for  the  reader  will  recollect,  we  were  wearing  still  the  United 
States  flag. 

As  I  passed  the  wake  of  the  steamer,  I  wheeled  in  pursuit, 
fired  a  blank  cartridge,  and  hauling  down  the  Federal,  threw 
the  Confederate  flag  to  the  breeze.  It  was  amusing  to  witness 
the  panic  which  ensued.  If  that  old  buccaneer,  Blue  Beard, 
himself,  had  appeared,  the  consternation  could  not  have  been 
greater.  The  ladies  screamed  —  one  of  those  delightful,  dra 
matic  screams,  half  fear,  half  acting,  which  can  only  ascend 
from  female  voices  —  and  scampered  off  the  deck  in  a  trice; 
the  men  running  after  them,  and  making  quite  as  good,  if  not 
better  time.  The  effect  of  my  gun,  and  change  of  flags  on  the 
steamer  herself,  seemed  to  be  scarcely  less  electric.  She  had 
no  intention,  whatever,  of  obeying  my  command  to  halt.  On 
the  contrary,  I  could  see  from  the  increased  impetus  with 
which  she  sprang  forward,  and  the  dense  volumes  of  black 
smoke  that  now  came  rushing,  and  whirling  from  her  smoke- 


532  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

stack,  that  she  was  making  every  possible  effort  to  escape. 
She  had  gotten  a  little  the  start  of  me,  as  I  was  wheeling  to 
pursue  her,  and  might  be  now,  some  three  or  four  hundred 
yards  distant. 

The  reader  has  been  on  the  race-course,  and  seen  two  fleet 
horses,  with  necks  and  tails  straightened,  and  running  about 
"  neck  and  neck."  This  will  give  him  a  pretty  good  idea  of 
the  race  which  is  now  going  on.  We  had  not  stretched  a 
mile,  when  it  became  quite  evident  that  the  stranger  had  the 
heels  of  me,  and  that,  if  I  would  capture  her,  I  must  resort  to 
force.  I  ordered  my  "persuader,"  as  the  sailors  called  my 
rifled  bow-gun,  to  be  cleared  away,  and  sent  orders  to  the  offi 
cer,  to  take  aim  at  the  fugitive's  foremast,  being  careful  to 
throw  his  shot  high  enough  above  the  deck  not  to  take  life. 
When  the  gun  was  ready  to  be  fired,  I  yawed  the  ship  a  little, 
though  the  effect  of  this  was  to  lose  ground,  to  enable  the  offi 
cer  the  better,  to  take  his  aim.  A  flash,  a  curl  of  white  smoke, 
and  a  flying  off  of  large  pieces  of  timber  from  the  steamer's 
mast,  were  simultaneous  occurrences.  It  was  sufficient.  The 
mast  had  not  been  cut  quite  away,  but  enough  had  been 
done  to  satisfy  the  master  of  the  steamer  that  he  was  entirely 
within  our  power,  and  that  prudence  would  be  the  better  part 
of  valor.  In  a  moment  after,  we  could  see  a  perceptible  dimi 
nution  in  the  motion  of  the  "  walking-beam,"  and  pretty  soon 
the  great  wheels  of  the  steamer  ceased  to  revolve,  and  she  lay 
motionless  on  the  water. 

We  "slowed  down"  our  own  engine,  and  began  to  blow  off 
steam  at  once,  and  ranging  up  alongside  of  the  prize,  sent  a 
boat  on  board  of  her.  It  was  thus  we  captured  the  steamer 
Ariel,  instead  of  going  to  muster,  on  Sunday,  the  7th  of  De 
cember,  1862.  But  Fortune,  after  all,  had  played  us  a  scurvy 
trick.  The  Ariel  was  indeed  a  California  steamer,  but  instead  of 
being  a  homeward-bound  steamer,  with  a  million  of  dollars  in 
gold,  in  her  safe,  I  had  captured  an  outward-bound  steamer,  with 
five  hundred  women  and  children  on  board !  This  was  an  ele 
phant  I  had  not  bargained  for,  and  I  was  seriously  embarrassed 
to  know  what  to  do  with  it.  I  could  not  take  her  into  any  neutral 
port,  even  for  landing  the  passengers,  as  this  was  forbidden, 
by  those  unfriendly  orders  in  council  I  have  more  than  once 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     533 

spoken  of,  and  I  had  no  room  for  the  passengers  on  board  the 
Alabama.  The  most  that  I  could  hope  to  do,  was  to  capture 
some  less  valuable  prize,  within  the  next  few  days,  turn  the 
passengers  of  the  Ariel  on  board  of  her,  and  destroy  the 
steamer.  Our  capture,  however,  was  not  without  useful  re 
sults.  The  officers  and  soldiers  mentioned  as  being  on  board 
of  her,  were  a  battalion  of  marines,  going  out  to  the  Pacific,  to 
supply  the  enemy's  ships  of  war  on  that  station.  There  were 
also  some  naval  officers  on  board,  for  the  same  purpose.  These 
were  all  paroled,  and  deprived  of  their  arms.  The  rank  and 
file  numbered  140. 

When  my  boarding-officer  returned,  he  reported  to  me  that 
there  was  a  great  state  of  alarm  among  the  passengers  on 
board.  They  had  been  reading  the  accounts  which  a  malicious, 
and  mendacious  Northern  press  had  been  giving  of  us,  and 
took  us  to  be  no  better  than  the  "plunderers,"  and  " robbers" 
we  had  been  represented  to  be.  The  women,  in  particular,  he 
said,  were,  many  of  them,  in  hysterics,  and  apprehensive  of  the 
worst  consequences.  I  had  very  little  sympathy  for  the  ter 
rors  of  the  males,  but  the  tear  of  a  woman  has  always  un 
manned  me.  And  as  I  knew  something  of  the  weakness  of  the 
sex,  as  well  as  its  fears,  I  resorted  to  the  following  stratagem  to 
calm  the  dear  creatures.  I  sent  for  my  handsomest  young 
lieutenant  —  and  I  had  some  very  handsome  young  fellows  on 
board  the  Alabama  —  and  when  he  had  come  to  me,  I  told  him 
to  go  below,  and  array  himself  in  his  newest  and  handsomest 
uniform,  buckle  on  the  best  sword  there  was  in  the  ward 
room,  ask  of  Bartelli  the  loan  of  my  brightest  sword-knot,  and 
come  up  to  me  for  his  orders.  Sailors  are  rapid  dressers,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  my  lieutenant  was  again  by  my  side,  look 
ing  as  bewitching  as  I  could  possibly  desire.  I  gave  him 
my  own  boat,  a  beautiful  gig,  that  had  been  newly  painted, 
and  which  my  coxswain,  who  was  a  bit  of  a  sea-dandy,  had 
furnished  with  scarlet  cushions,  and  fancy  yoke  and  steering 
ropes,  and  directed  him  to  go  on  board  the  Ariel,  and  coax 
the  ladies  out  of  their  hysterics.  "  Oh !  I'll  be  sure  to  do  that, 
sir,"  said  he,  with  a  charming  air  of  coxcombry,  '  I  never  knew 
a  fair  creature  who  could  resist  me  more  than  fifteen  minutes." 
As  he  shoved  off  from  the  side,  in  my  beautiful  little  cockle- 


634  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

shell  of  a  boat,  with  its  fine-looking,  lithe  and  active  oarsmen, 
bending  with  the  strength  of  athletes  to  their  ashen  blades,  I 
could  but  pause  a  moment,  myself,  in  admiration  of  the  picture. 

A  few  strokes  of  his  oars  put  him  alongside  of  the  steamer, 
and  asking  to  be  shown  to  the  ladies'  cabin,  he  entered  the 
scene  of  dismay  and  confusion.  So  many  were  the  signs  of 
distress,  and  so  numerous  the  wailers,  that  he  was  abashed,  for 
a  moment,  as  he  afterward  told  me,  with  all  his  assurance. 
But  summoning  courage,  he  spoke  to  them  about  as  follows:  — 
"Ladies!  The  Captain  of  the  Alabama  has  heard  of  your  dis 
tress,  and  sent  me  on  board  to  calm  your  fears,  by  assuring 
you,  that  you  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Southern  gentle 
men,  under  whose  protection  you  are  entirely  safe.  We  are 
by  no  means  the  ruffians  and  outlaws,  that  we  have  been 
represented  by  your  people,  and  you  have  nothing  whatever 
to  fear."  The  sobs  ceased  as  he  proceeded,  but  they  eyed  him 
askance  for  the  first  few  minutes.  As  he  advanced  in  their 
midst,  however,  they  took  a  second,  and  more  favorable  glance 
at  him.  A  second  glance  begat  a  third,  more  favorable  still, 
and  when  he  entered  into  conversation  with  some  of  the  ladies 
nearest  him  —  picking  out  the  youngest  and  prettiest,  as  the 
rogue  admitted — he  fpund  no  reluctance  on  their  part  to 
answer  him.  In  short,  he  was  fast  becoming  a  favorite.  The 
ice  being  once  broken,  a  perfect  avalanche  of  loveliness  soon 
surrounded  him;  the  eyes  of  the  fair  creatures  looking  all  the 
brighter  for  the  tears  that  had  recently  dimmed  them. 

Presently  a  young  lady,  stepping  up  to  him,  took  hold  of 
one  of  the  bright  buttons  that  were  glittering  on  the  breast  of 
his  coat,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  not  permit  her  to  cut  it 
off,  as  a  memento  of  her  adventure  with  the  Alabama.  He 
assented.  A  pair  of  scissors  was  produced,  and  away  went 
the  button !  This  emboldened  another  lady  to  make  the  same 
request,  and  away  went  another  button ;  and  so  the  process 
went  on,  until  when  I  got  my  handsome  lieutenant  back,  he 
was  like  a  plucked  peacock — he  had  scarcely  a  button  to  his 
coat !  There  were  no  more  Hebes  drowned  in  tears,  on  board 
the  Ariel. 

But  what  struck  my  young  officer  as  very  singular  was  the 
deportment  of  the  male  passengers.  Some  of  these  seemed  to 
be  overhauling  their  trunks  in  a  great  hurry,  as  though  there 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      535 

were  valuables  in  them,  which  they  were  anxious  to  secrete. 
Their  watches,  too,  had  disappeared  from  some  of  their  vest- 
pockets.  "  I  verily  believe,"  said  he,  as  he  was  giving  me  an 
account  of  the  manner  in  which  he  performed  his  mission, 
"that  these  fellows  think  we  are  no  better  than  the  North 
ern  thieves,  who  are  burning  dwelling-houses,  and  robbing  our 
women  and  children  in  the  South  ! " 

I  take  pleasure  in  contrasting,  in  these  memoirs,  the  conduct 
of  my  officers  and  crew,  during  the  late  war,  in  the  uniform 
respect  which  they  paid  to  the  laws  of  war,  and  the  dictates 
of  humanity,  with  that  of  some  of  the  generals  and  colonels 
of  the  Federal  Army,  who  debased  our  common  nature,  and 
disgraced  the  uniforms  they  wore  by  the  brutality  and  pil- 
ferings  I  have  described.  There  were  500  passengers  on  board 
the  Ariel.  It  is  fair  to  presume,  that  each  passenger  had  with 
him  a  purse,  of  from  three  to  five  hundred  dollars.  Under 
the  laws  of  war,  all  this  money  would  have  been  good  prize. 
But  not  one  dollar  of  it  was  touched,  or  indeed  so  much  as  a 
passenger's  baggage  examined. 

I  carried  out  my  intention,  already  expressed,  of  keeping 
the  Ariel  in  company  with  me,  for  two  or  three  daj^s,  hoping 
that  I  might  capture  some  less  valuable  ship,  into  which  to 
turn  her  passengers,  that  I  might  destroy  her.  I  was  very 
anxious  to  destroy  this  ship,  as  she  belonged  to  a  Mr.  Yander- 
bilt,  of  New  York,  an  old  steamboat  captain,  who  had  amassed 
a  large  fortune,  in  trade,  and  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  South. 
Lucrative  contracts  during  the  war  had  greatly  enhanced  his 
gains,  and  he  had  ambitiously  made  a  present  of  one  of  his 
steamers  to  the  Federal  Government,  to  be  called  after  him,  to 
pursue  "rebel  pirates." 

Failing  to  overhaul  another  ship  of  the  enemy  in  the  few 
days  that  I  had  at  my  disposal,  I  released  the  Ariel,  on  ransom- 
bond,  and  sent  her,  and  her  large  number  of  passengers,  on 
their  way  rejoicing.  I  found  Captain  Jones  of  the  Ariel  a 
clever  and  well-informed  gentleman,  and  I  believe  he  gave  a 
very  fair  account  of  the  capture  of  his  ship  when  he  reached 
New  York.  He  pledged  me  that  Yanderbilt's  ransom-bond, 
which  he  signed  as  his  agent,  would  be  regarded  as  a  debt  of 
honor.  The  bond  is  for  sale,  cheap,  to  any  one  desiring  to 
redeem  Mr.  Yanderbilt's  honor 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

THE  ALABAMA  IS  DISABLED,  AND  STOPS  TO  REPAIR 
HER  MACHINERY PROCEEDS  TO  HER  NEW  REN 
DEZVOUS,  THE  ARCAS  ISLANDS,  AND  THENCE  TO 

GALVESTON COMBAT      WITH       THE       UNITED       STATES 

STEAMER      HATTERAS. 

THE  Alabama  was  disabled  for  two  or  three  days,  soon  after 
the  events  recorded  in  the  last  chapter,  by  an  accident  which 
occurred  to  her  engine — the  giving  way  of  one  of  the  valve 
castings.  I  was,  in  consequence,  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the 
tracks  of  commerce,  and  lie  as  perdue  as  possible,  until  the 
damage  could  be  repaired.  For  this  purpose,  I  ran  close  in 
with  the  land,  on  the  north  side  of  the  island  of  Jamaica, 
where,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  fishing-boat,  and  a 
passing  coasting  sloop,  nothing  was  to  be  seen.  Mr.  Freeman, 
my  chief  engineer,  was  a  capital  machinist,  and  a  man  of  great 
fertility  of  resource,  and  he  went  to  work  at  once  to  remedy 
the  mishap.  Nothing  but  the  puffing  of  the  bellows,  the 
clinking  of  the  hammer  on  the  anvil,  and  the  rasping  of  files 
was  heard  now  for  forty-eight  hours.  At  the  end  of  this  time, 
the  engine  was  again  in  order  for  service.  But  we  should 
have  no  occasion  to  use  it  for  some  days  yet. 

It  was  now  the  12th  of  December,  and  it  was  time  for  us  to 
begin  to  think  of  running  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  pursuit 
of  General  Banks.  Accordingly  we  put  the  ship  under  sail, 
and  ran  along  down  the  island  of  Jamaica  to  the  west  end. 
Hence  we  stretched  over  into  that  other  track  of  the  California 
steamers,  returning  to  the  United  States  by  the  west  end  of 
Cuba ;  intending  to  follow  this  track  as  far  as  Cape  San  Anto 
nio,  hoping  that  we  might  stumble  upon  something  by  the 

536 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  537 

way.  The  California  steamer  was  not  now  my  principal  ob 
ject,  however,  but  only  an  incident  to  my  Mexican  Gulf 
scheme.  I  did  not  design  to  waste  time  upon  her.  Whilst 
pursuing  our  way  leisurely  along  this  track,  we  experienced  a 
most  singular  series  of  bad  weather.  We  took  an  old-fash 
ioned  norther,  which  lasted  us  three  days,  and  blew  us  well 
down  into  the  Gulf  of  Honduras.  Here  we  became  the  sport 
of  a  variety  of  currents  —  setting  generally  to  the  westward, 
but  sometimes  in  a  contrary  direction.  We  sighted  some  of 
the  islands  lying  parallel  with  the  coast,  but  being  anxious  to 
get  forward,  did  not  touch  at  any  of  them  As  we  drew  out  of 
the  Gulf  of  Honduras,  we  again  crossed  the  track  of  the  Cali 
fornia  steamers,  but  fortune  continued  adverse,  and  none  came 
along.  A  delay  of  a  week  or  two  here  might  enable  me  to  pick 
up  one  of  these  treasure  steamers,  but  this  would  interfere  with 
my  designs  against  Banks,  as  before  remarked,  and  I  forbore. 
On  the  20th  of  December  we  made  the  Mexican  province  of 
Yucatan,  and,  just  before  nightfall,  got  hold  of  Cape  Catoche. 
My  land-fall  was  a  very  happy  one,  though,  owing  to  the  bad 
weather,  I  had  had  no  "  observation "  for  thirty-six  hours. 
I  sounded  soon  after  dark,  in  twenty-eight  fathoms  of  water, 
and  being  quite  sure  of  my  position,  ran  into  the  Yucatan 
passage,  by  the  lead,  the  night  being  too  dark  to  permit  us  to 
discern  anything.  The  coast  is  clean,  and  the  soundings 
regular,  and  I  felt  my  way  around  the  Cape  without  the  least 
difficulty,  finding  myself,  the  next  morning,  in  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  running  off  to  the  westward  with  a  free  wind.  The 
water  was  of  a  chalky  whiteness,  a  little  tinged  with  green, 
resembling  the  water  on  the  Bahama  Banks,  and  we  ran  along 
in  a  depth  of  twenty  fathoms,  the  entire  day,  scarcely  varying 
a  foot.  I  had  accomplished  my  object,  thus  far,  with  perfect 
success.  I  had  not  sighted  a  sail  since  leaving  the  west  end 
of  Jamaica,  which  could  report  me,  and  had  entered  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  by  night,  unseen  of  any  human  eye,  on  the  land 
or  the  sea.  On  the  day  after  entering  the  Gulf,  we  did  pass  a 
solitary  sail  —  a  large  steamer  —  steering  in  the  direction  of 
Havana,  but  she  was  hull  down,  and  could  make  nothing  of 
us.  She  may  have  been  an  enemy,  but  was  probably  a  French 
ship  of  war,  or  transport,  from  Vera  Cruz ;  the  French  expe- 


538  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

dition  that  culminated  in  the  death  of  the  unfortunate  Maxi 
milian  having  landed  in  Mexico  about  a  year  before,  and 
there  being  much  passing  of  steamships  between  France  and 
Vera  Cruz. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  night  overtaking  us,  within  about 
twenty  miles  of  the  Areas,  we  anchored  in  twenty  fathoms  of 
water,  in  the  open  sea.  The  Yucatan  coast  is  like  that  of 
West  Florida,  and  the  Guianas,  before  described.  It  is  a  con 
tinuous  harbor,  a  ship  being  able  to  hold  on  to  her  anchors  in 
the  heaviest  gale.  Getting  under  way  the  next  morning,  we 
continued  on  our  course,  and  pretty  soon  made  a  bark  stand 
ing  in  the  same  direction  with  ourselves.  It  was  our  old 
friend,  the  Agrippina,  with  her  bluff  bows,  and  stump  top-gal 
lant  masts.  She  had  been  all  this  time  making  her  way  hither 
from  Blanquilla —  a  period  of  nearly  four  weeks  ;  the  incorri 
gible  old  Scotch  captain  having  stopped,  on  his  way,  to  refresh 
his  crew,  and  do  a  little  private  trading.  However,  he  was  in 
good  time,  and  so,  letting  him  off  with  a  gentle  reprimand,  we 
ran  in  to  the  Areas  together,  and  anchored  at  about  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon. 

We  remained  at  these  little  islands  a  week,  coaling  ship, 
and  refitting  and  repainting.  We  could  not  have  been  more 
thoroughly  out  of  the  world  if  we  had  been  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  African  desert.  A  Eobinson  Crusoe  here  might  have 
had  it  all  to  himself;  and  to  give  color  to  the  illusion,  we 
found  on  one  of  the  islands  a  deserted  hut,  built  of  old  boards 
and  pieces  of  wreck,  with  an  iron  pot  or  two,  and  some  pieces 
of  sail-cloth  lying  about.  An  old  dug-out,  warped  and  cracked 
by  the  sun,  lay  hauled  up  near  the  hut,  and  a  turtle-net,  in 
pretty  good  repair,  was  found,  stowed  away  in  one  corner  of 
Crusoe's  abode.  But  what  had  become  of  the  hermit  who  once 
inhabited  these  desolate  little  coral  islands,  over  which  the 
wild  sea-bird  now  flew,  and  screamed,  in  undivided  dominion  ? 
An  humble  grave,  on  the  head-board  of  which  had  been  rudely 
carved  with  a  knife,  a  name,  and  a  date,  told  the  brief  and 
mournful  story.  A  companion  had  probably  laid  the  hermit 
away  and  departed.  A  more  fitting  burial-place  for  a  sailor 
could  not  well  be  conceived  ;  for  here  the  elements  with  which 
he  was  wont  to  battle  had  full  sweep,  and  his  requiem  was 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      539 

sung,  without  ceasing,  by  the  booming  wave,  that  shook  and 
rocked  him  in  his  winding-sheet  of  sand,  when  the  storm 
raged. 

The  islands  are  three  in  number,  lying  in  a  triangle.  They 
are  surrounded  by  deep  water,  and  it  is  probably  not  a  great 
many  years  since  the  little  stone-mason  of  the  sea,  the  coral 
line  insect,  first  brought  them  to  the  surface,  for  the  only  veg 
etation  as  yet  on  any  of  them  is  a  carpet  of  sea-kale,  on  the 
largest  of  them,  and  a  stunted  bush  or  two.  In  the  basin,  in 
the  centre  of  the  triangle,  the  Alabama  is  anchored,  and  so 
pellucid  is  the  water,  that  not  only  her  anchor,  which  lies  in 
seven  fathoms,  is  visible,  from  stock  to  fluke,  but  all  the  won 
ders  of  the  coral  world,  before  described,  lie  open  to  inspec 
tion  ;  with  the  turtle  groping  about  amid  the  sea-fern,  the  little 
fishes  feeding,  or  sporting,  and  madrepore  and  sponges  lying 
about  in  profusion.  Bartelli  drew  up  from  this  submarine 
forest,  one  of  the  largest  of  the  latter,  and  having  cured  it  in 
the  sun,  and  rendered  it  sweet  by  frequent  ablution,  transferred 
it  to  my  bath-room.  The  naturalist  would  have  revelled  at 
the  Areas,  in  viewing  the  debris  of  sea-shells,  and  coral,  and 
the  remains  of  stranded  fish,  that  lay  strewn  along  the  beach ; 
and  in  watching  the  habits  of  the  gannet,  man-of-war  bird,  and 
a  great  variety  of  the  sea-gull,  all  of  which  were  laying,  and  incu 
bating.  As  the  keel  of  one  of  our  boats  would  grate  upon  the 
sand,  clouds  of  these  birds  would  fly  up,  and  circle  around  our 
heads,  screaming  in  their  various  and  discordant  notes  at  our 
intrusion.  Beneath  our  feet,  the  whole  surface  of  the  islands 
was  covered  with  eggs,  or  with  young  birds,  in  various  stages 
of  growth.  Here,  as  at  Blanquilla,  all  our  boats  were  hoisted 
out,  and  rigged  for  sailing;  and  fishing,  and  turtling  parties 
were  sent  out  to  supply  the  crew,  and  in  the  evening  sailing 
and  swimming  matches,  and  target-shooting  took  place.  This 
was  only  the  by-play,  however,  whilst  the  main  work  of  the 
drama  was  going  forward,  viz.,  the  coaling,  and  preparation  of 
the  Alabama  for  her  dash  at  the  enemy. 

Our  upper  deck  had  again  become  open,  and  required  re- 
caulking  ;  and  some  patching  and  refitting  was  necessary  to  be 
done  to  the  sails.  As  we  wanted  our  heels  to  be  as  clean  as 
possible,  we  careened  the  ship,  and  gave  her  copper  a  good 


540  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

scrubbing  below  the  water-line,  where  it  had  become  a  little 
foul.  Having  taken  all  the  coal  out  of  the  Agrippina,  we  bal 
lasted  her  with  the  coral  rock,  which  we  found  lying  abun 
dantly  at  our  hands,  watered  her  from  the  Alabama,  and  gave  her 
her  sailing  orders  for  Liverpool.  She  was  to  report  to  Captain 
Bullock,  for  another  cargo  of  coal,  to  be  delivered  at  another  ren 
dezvous,  of  the  locality  of  which  the  reader  will  be  informed  in 
due  time.  During  the  week  that  we  lay  at  the  Areas,  there  had 
evidently  been  several  gales  of  wind  at  work  around  us,  though 
none  of  them  had  touched  us.  On  two  or  three  occasions, 
when  the  wind  was  quite  light,  and  the  sky  clear  overhead,  a 
heavy  sea  was  observed  to  be  breaking  on  the  northern  shores 
of  the  islands.  There  is  no  doubt  that  on  these  occasions  there 
were  "  northers  "  prevailing  along  the  Mexican  coast.  I  was 
led  hence  to  infer,  that  these  terrible  gales  do  not  extend,  as  a 
general  rule,  a  great  distance  seaward  from  that  coast.  We 
were  very  little  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  Yera  Cruz, 
which  is  in  the  track  of  these  terrible  storms,  and  yet  we  had 
only  felt  the  pulsations  of  them,  as  it  were ;  the  huge  breakers 
on  the  Areas  beating  time,  in  a  still  atmosphere,  to  the  storm 
which  was  raging  at  Vera  Cruz.  It  was  seventeen  days  from 
the  time  we  doubled  Cape  Catoche,  until  we  left  the  Areas. 
During  all  this  time,  we  were  off  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  the  sea 
son  was  near  mid-winter,  and  yet  we  had  not  had  a  norther. 
Along  the  Mexican  coast  from  Tampico  to  Yera  Cruz,  at  this 
season  of  the  year,  the  usual  interval  between  these  gales,  is 
from  three  to  five  days. 

As  has  been  mentioned  to  the  reader,  the  Banks'  expedition 
was  expected  to  rendezvous  at  Galveston,  on  the  10th  of  Janu 
ary.  On  the  5th  of  that  month  we  got  under  way  from  the 
Areas,  giving  ourselves  five  days  in  which  to  make  the  dis 
tance,  under  sail.  Our  secret  was  still  perfectly  safe,  as  only  a 
single  sail  had  passed  us,  whilst  we  lay  at  anchor,  and  she  at  too 
great  a  distance  to  be  able  to  report  us.  We  had  an  abundant 
supply  of  coal  on  board,  the  ship  was  in  excellent  trim,  and  as 
the  sailors  used  to  say  of  her,  at  this  period,  could  be  made  to 
do  everything  but  "talk."  My  crew  were  well  drilled,  my 
powder  was  in  good  condition,  and  as  to  the  rest,  I  trusted  to 
luck,  and  to  the  "  creek's  not  being  too  high."  The  weather 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    541 

continued  fine  throughout  our  run,  and  on  the  llth  at  noon  — 
having  been  delayed  a  day  by  a  calm— 7 we  observed  in  lati 
tude  28°  51'  45",  and  longitude  94°  55',  being  just  thirty  miles 
from  Galveston.  I  now  laid  rny  ship's  head  for  the  Galveston 
light-house,  and  stood  in,  intending  to  get  a  distant  sight  of 
the  Banks'  fleet  before  nightfall,  and  then  haul  off,  and  await 
the  approach  of  night,  before  I  ran  in,  and  made  the  assault. 

I  instructed  the  man  at  the  mast-head,  to  keep  a  very  bright 
look-out,  and  told  him  what  to  look  out  for,  viz.,  an  immense 
fleet  anchored  off  a  light-house.  The  wind  was  light,  and  the 
afternoon  was  pretty  well  spent  before  there  was  any  sign  from 
the  mast-head.  The  look-out  at  length  cried,  "  Land  ho !  sail  ho ! " 
in  quick  succession,  and  I  already  began  to  make  sure  of  my 
game.  But  the  look-out,  upon  being  questioned,  said  he  did  not 
see  any  fleet  of  transports,  but  only  five  steamers  which  looked 
like  ships  of  war.  Here  was  a  damper !  What  could  have  become 
of  Banks,  and  his  great  expedition,  and  what  was  this  squadron 
of  steam  ships-of-vvar  doing  here?  Presently  a  shell,  thrown 
by  one  of  the  steamers,  was  seen  to  burst  over  the  city.  "Ah, 
ha!"  exclaimed  I,  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  who  was  standing 
by  me,  "there  has  been  a  change  of  programme  here.  The 
enemy  would  not  be  firing  into  his  own  people,  and  we  must 
have  recaptured  Galveston,  since  our  last  advices."  "So  it 
would  seem,"  replied  the  officer.  And  so  it  turned  out.  In 
the  interval  between  our  leaving  the  West  Indies,  and  arriving 
off  Galveston,  this  city  had  been  retaken  by  General  Magruder, 
assisted  by  a  gallant  seaman  of  the  merchant  service,  Captain 
Leon  Smith.  Smith,  with  a  couple  of  small  river  steamers, 
protected  by  cotton  bags,  and  having  a  number  of  sharp 
shooters  on  board,  assaulted  and  captured,  or  drove  to  sea  the 
enemy's  entire  fleet,  consisting  of  several  heavily  armed  steam 
ships. 

The  recapture  of  this  place  from  the  enemy  changed  the 
destination  of  the  Banks'  expedition.  It  rendezvoused  at  New 
Orleans,  whence  General  Banks,  afterward,  attempted  the  inva 
sion  of  Texas  by  the  valley  of  the  Eed  Eiver.  He  was  here 
met  by  General  Dick  Taylor,  who,  with  a  much  inferior  force, 
demolished  him,  giving  him  such  a  scare,  that  it  was  with  diffi 
culty  Porter  could  stop  him  at  Alexandria,  to  assist  him  in  the 


642  MEMOIES    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT. 

defence  of  his  fleet,  until  he  could  extricate  it  from  the  shal 
lows  of  the  river  where  it  was  aground.  The  hero  of  Boston 
Common  had  not  had  such  a  scare  since  Stonewall  Jackson 
had  chased  him  through  Winchester,  Virginia. 

What  was  best  to  be  done  in  this  changed  condition  of  affairs? 
I  certainly  had  not  come  all  the  way  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
to  fight  five  ships  of  war,  the  least  of  which  was  probably  my 
equal.  And  yet,  how  could  I  very  well  run  away,  in  the  face 
of  the  promises  I  had  given  my  crew  ?  for  I  had  told  them  at 
the  Areas  islands,  that  they  were,  if  the  fates  proved  propitious, 
to  have  some  sport  off  Galveston.  Whilst  I  was  pondering  the 
difficulty,  the  enemy  himself,  happily,  came  to  my  relief;  for 
pretty  soon  the  look-out  again  called  from  aloft,  and  said,  "One 
of  the  steamers,  sir,  is  coming  out  in  chase  of  us."  The  Ala 
bama  had  given  chase  pretty  often,  but  this  was  the  first  time 
she  had  been  chased.  It  was  just  the  thing  I  wanted,  how 
ever,  for  I  at  once  conceived  the  design  of  drawing  this  single 
ship  of  the  enemy  far  enough  away  from  the  remainder  of  her 
fleet,  to  enable  me  to  decide  a  battle  with  her  before  her  con 
sorts  could  come  to  her  relief. 

The  Alabama  was  still  under  sail,  though,  of  course,  being  so 
near  the  enemy,  the  water  was  warm  in  her  boilers,  and  in  a 
condition  to  give  us  steam  in  ten  minutes.  To  carry  out  my 
design  of  decoying  the  enemy,  I  now  wore  ship,  as  though  I 
were  fleeing  from  his  pursuit.  This,  no  doubt,  encouraged  him, 
though,  as  it  would  seern,  the  captain  of  the  pursuing  ship 
pretty  soon  began  to  smell  a  rat,  as  the  reader  will  see  presently 
by  his  report  of  the  engagement.  I  now  lowered  my  propeller, 
still  holding  on  to  my  sails,  however,  and  gave  the  ship  a  small 
head  of  steam,  to  prevent  the  stranger  from  overhauling  me  too 
rapidly.  We  were  still  too  close  to  the  fleet,  to  think  of  en 
gaging  him.  I  thus  decoyed  him  on,  little  by  little,  now  turn 
ing  my  propeller  over  slowly,  and  now  stopping  it  altogether. 
In  the  meantime  night  set  in,  before  we  could  get  a  distinct 
view  of  our  pursuer.  She  was  evidently  a  large  steamer,  but 
we  knew  from  her  build  and  rig,  that  she  belonged  neither  to 
the  class  of  old  steam  frigates,  or  that  of  the  new  sloops,  and 
we  were  quite  willing  to  try  our  strength  with  any  of  the  other 
classes. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      543 

At  length,  when  I  judged  that  I  had  drawn  the  stranger  out 
about  twenty  miles  from  his  fleet,  I  furled  my  sails,  beat  to 
quarters,  prepared  my  ship  for  action,  and  wheeled  to  meet 
him.  The  two  ships  now  approached  each  other,  very  rapidly. 
As  we  came  within  speaking  distance,  we  simultaneously 
stopped  our  engines,  the  ships  being  about  one  hundred  yards 
apart.  The  enemy  was  the  first  to  hail.  "What  ship  is  that?" 
cried  he.  "This  is  her  Britannic  Majesty's  steamer  Petrel"  we 
replied.  We  now  hailed  in  turn,  and  demanded  to  know  who 
he  was.  The  reply  not  coming  to  us  very  distinctly,  we  re 
peated  our  question,  when  we  heard  the  words,  "This  is  the 

United  States  ship "  the  name  of  the  ship  being  lost  to 

us.  But  we  had  heard  enough.  All  we  wanted  to  know  was, 
that  the  stranger  was  a  United  States  ship,  and  therefore  our 
enemy.  A  pause  now  ensued  —  a  rather  awkward  pause,  as 
the  reader  may  suppose.  Presently,  the  stranger  hailed  again, 
and  said,  "  If  you  please,  I  will  send  a  boat  on  board  of  you." 
His  object  was,  of  course,  to  verify  or  discredit  the  answer  we 
had  given  him,  that  we  were  one  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's 
cruisers.  We  replied,  "Certainly,  we  shall  be  happy  to  receive 
your  boat ;  "  and  we  heard  a  boatswain's  mate  call  away  a  boat, 
and  could  hear  the  creaking  of  the  tackles,  as  she  was  lowered 
into  the  water. 

Things  were  now  come  to  a  crisis,  and  it  being  useless  to 
delay  our  engagement  with  the  enemy  any  longer,  I  turned  to 
my  first  lieutenant,  and  said,  "I  suppose  you  are  all  ready  for 
action  ?"  "We  are,"  he  replied;  "the  men  are  eager  to  begin, 
and  are  only  waiting  for  the  word."  I  then  said  to  him,  "Tell 
the  enemy  who  we  are,  for  we  must  not  strike  him  in  disguise, 
and  when  you  have  done  so,  give  him  the  broadside."  Kell  now 
sang  out,  in  his  powerful,  clarion  voice,  through  his  trumpet, 
"This  is  the  Confederate  States  steamer  Alabama!"  and  turn 
ing  to  the  crew,  who  were  all  standing  at  their  guns — the  gun 
ners  with  their  sights  on  the  enemy,  and  lock-strings  in  hand — 
gave  the  order,  fire !  Away  went  the  broadside  in  an  instant, 
our  little  ship  feeling,  perceptibly,  the  recoil  of  her  guns.  The 
night  was  clear.  There  was  no  moon,  but  sufficient  star-light 
to  enable  the  two  ships  to  see  each  other  quite  distinctly,  at  the 

distance  of  half  a  mile,  or  more,  and  a  state  of  the  atmosphere 
35 


544  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE   AFLOAT 

highly  favorable  to  the  conduct  of  sound.  The  wind,  besides, 
was  blowing  in  the  direction  of  the  enemy's  fleet.  As  a  matter 
of  course,  our  guns  awakened  the  echoes  of  the  coast,  far  and 
near,  announcing  very  distinctly  to  the  Federal  Admiral  — 
Bell,  a  Southern  man,  who  had  gone  over  to  the  enemy  —  that 
the  ship  which  he  had  sent  out  to  chase  the  strange  sail,  had  a 
fight  on  her  hands.  He  immediately,  as  we  afterward  learned, 
got  under  way,  with  the  Brooklyn,  his  flag-ship,  and  two  others 
of  his  steamers,  and  came  out  to  the  rescue. 

Our  broadside  was  returned  instantly ;  the  enemy,  like  our 
selves,  having  been  on  his  guard,  with  his  men  standing  at 
their  guns.  The  two  ships,  when  the  action  commenced,  had 
swerved  in  such  a  way,  that  they  were  now  heading  in  the 
same  direction — the  Alabama  fighting  her  starboard-broadside, 
and  her  antagonist  her  port-broadside.  Each  ship,  as  she  de 
livered  her  broadside,  put  herself  under  steam,  and  the  action 
became  a  running  fight,  in  parallel  lines,  or  nearly  so,  the  ships 
now  nearing,  and  now  separating  a  little  from  each  other.  My 
men  handled  their  pieces  with  great  spirit  and  commendable 
coolness,  and  the  action  was  sharp  and  exciting  while  it  lasted ; 
which,  however,  was  not  very  long,  for  in  just  thirteen  minutes 
after  firing  the  first  gun,  the  enemy  hoisted  a  light,  and  fired 
an  off-gun,  as  a  signal  that  he  had  been  beaten.  We  at  once 
withheld  our  fire,  and  such  a  cheer  went  up  from  the  brazen 
throats  of  my  fellows,  as  must  have  astonished  even  a  Texan, 
if  he  had  heard  it.  We  now  steamed  up  quite  close  to  the 
beaten  steamer,  and  asked  her  captain,  formally,  if  he  had  sur 
rendered.  He  replied  that  he  had.  I  then  inquired  if  he  was 
in  want  of  assistance,  to  which  he  responded  promptly  that  he 
was,  that  his  ship  was  sinking  rapidly,  and  that  he  needed  all 
our  boats.  There  appeared  to  be  much  confusion  on  board 
the  enemy's  ship;  officers  and  crew  seemed  to  be  apprehensive 
that  we  would  permit  them  to  drown,  and  several  voices  cried 
aloud  to  us  for  assistance,  at  the  same  time.  When  the  cap 
tain  of  the  beaten  ship  came  on  board  to  surrender  his  sword 
to  me,  I  learned  that  I  had  been  engaged  with  the  United 
States  steamer  Hatteras,  Captain  Blake.  I  will  now  let  Cap 
tain  Blake  tell  his  own  story.  The  following  is  his  official 
report  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Federal  Navy :  — 


DURING  THE  WAK  BETWEEN  THE  STATES.      545 

UNITED  STATES'  CONSULATE, 
KINGSTON,  JAMAICA,  Jan.  21,  1863. 

SIB  :  — It  is  my  painful  duty  to  inform  the  Department  of  the 
destruction  of  the  United  States  steamer  Hatteras,  recently  under 
my  command,  by  the  rebel  steamer  Alabama,  on  the  night  of  the 
llth  inst.,  off  the  coast  of  Texas.  The  circumstances  of  the  dis 
aster  are  as  follows :  — 

Upon  the  afternoon  of  the  llth  inst.,  at  half-past  two  o'clock, 
while  at  anchor  in  company  with  the  fleet  under  Commodore  Bell,  off 
Galveston,  Texas,  I  was  ordered  by  signal  from  the  United  States 
flag-ship  Brooklyn,  to  chase  a  sail  to  the  southward  and  eastward. 
I  got  under  way  immediately,  and  steamed  with  all  speed  in  the 
direction  indicated.  After  some  time  the  strange  sail  could  be  seen 
from  the  Hatteras,  and  was  ascertained  to  be  a  steamer,  which  fact 
I  communicated  to  the  flag-ship  by  signal.  I  continued  the  chase 
and  rapidly  gained  upon  the  suspicious  vessel.  Knowing  the  slow 
rate  of  speed  of  the  Hatteras,  I  at  once  suspected  that  deception 
was  being  practised,  and  hence  ordered  the  ship  to  be  cleared  for 
action,  with  everything  in  readiness  for  a  determined  attack  and  a 
vigorous  defence. 

When  within  about  four  miles  of  the  vessel,  I  observed  that  she 
had  ceased  to  steam,  and  was  lying  broadside  and  awaiting  us.  It 
was  nearly  seven  o'clock,  and  quite  dark ;  but,  notwithstanding  the 
obscurity  of  the  night,  I  felt  assured,  from  the  general  character  of 
the  vessel  and  her  manoeuvres,  that  I  should  soon  encounter  the 
rebel  steamer  Alabama.  Being  able  to  work  but  four  guns  on  the 
side  of  the  Hatteras  —  two  short  32-pounders,  one  30-pounder  rifled 
Parrott  gun,  and  one  20-pounder  rifled  gun  —  I  concluded  to  close 
with  her,  that  my  guns  might  be  effective,  if  necessary. 

I  came  within  easy  speaking  range  —  about  seventy-five  yards  — 
and  upon  asking,  "  What  steamer  is  that  ?  "  received  the  answer, 
"  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Vixen."  I  replied  that  I  would  send  a 
boat  aboard,  and  immediately  gave  the  order.  In  the  meantime,  the 
vessels  were  changing  positions,  the  stranger  endeavoring  to  gain 
a  desirable  position  for  a  raking  fire.  Almost  simultaneously  with 
the  piping  away  of  the  boat,  the  strange  craft  again  replied,  "  We 
are  the  Confederate  steamer  Alabama,"  which  was  accompanied 
with  a  broadside.  I,  at  the  same  moment,  returned  the  fire.  Being 
well  aware  of  the  many  vulnerable  points  of  the  Hatteras,  I  hoped, 
by  closing  with  the  Alabama,  to  be  able  to  board  her,  and  thus  rid 
the  seas  of  the  piratical  craft.  I  steamed  directly  for  the  Alabama, 
but  she  was  enabled  by  her  great  speed,  and  the  foulness  of  the 
bottom  of  the  Hatteras,  and,  consequently,  her  diminished  speed, 
to  thwart  my  attempt  when  I  had  gained  a  distance  of  but  thirty 
yards  from  her.  At  this  range,  musket  and  pistol  shots  were  ex 
changed.  The  firing  continued  with  great  vigor  on  both  sides.  At 
length  a  shell  entered  amidships  in  the  hold,  setting  fire  to  it,  and, 
at  the  same  instant  —  as  I  can  hardly  divide  the  time  —  a  shell 
passed  thi  )ugh  the  sick  bay,  exploding  in  an  adjoining  compart- 


546  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

ment,  also  producing  fire.  Another  entered  the  cylinder,  filling  the 
engine-room  and  deck  with  steam,  and  depriving  me  of  my  power 
to  manoeuvre  the  vessel,  or  to  work  the  pumps,  upon  which  the  re 
duction  of  the  fire  depended. 

With  the  vessel  on  fire  in  two  places,  and  beyond  human  power, 
a  hopeless  wreck  upon  the  waters,  with  her  walking-beam  shot 
away,  and  her  engine  rendered  useless,  I  still  maintained  an  active 
fire,  with  the  double  hope  of  disabling  the  Alabama  and  attracting 
the  attention  of  the  fleet  off  Galveston,  which  was  only  twenty- 
eight  miles  distant. 

It  was  soon  reported  to  me  that  the  shells  had  entered  the  Hat- 
teras  at  the  water-line,  tearing  off  entire  sheets  of  iron,  and  that 
the  water  was  rushing  in,  utterly  defying  every  attempt  to  remedy 
the  evil,  and  that  she  was  rapidly  sinking.  Learning  the  melan 
choly  truth,  and  observing  that  the  Alabama  was  on  my  port  bow, 
entirely  beyond  the  range  of  my  guns,  doubtless  preparing  for  a 
raking"  fire  of  the  deck,  I  felt  I  had  no  right  to  sacrifice  uselessly, 
and  without  any  desirable  result,  the  lives  of  all  under  my  com 
mand. 

To  prevent  the  blowing  up  of  the  Hatteras  from  the  fire,  which 
was  making  much  progress,  I  ordered  the  magazine  to  be  flooded, 
and  afterward  a  lee  gun  was  fired.  The  Alabama  then  asked  if 
assistance  was  desired,  to  which  an  affirmative  answer  was  given. 

The  Hatteras  was  then  going  down,  and  in  order  to  save  the 
lives  of  my  officers  and  men,  I  caused  the  armament  on  the  port 
side  to  be  thrown  overboard.  Had  I  not  done  so,  I  am  confident 
the  vessel  would  have  gone  down  with  many  brave  hearts  and 
valuable  lives.  After  considerable  delay,  caused  by  the  report  that 
a  steamer  was  seen  coming  from  Galveston,  the  Alabama  sent  us 
assistance,  and  I  have  the  pleasure  of  informing  the  Department 
that  every  living  being  was  conveyed  safely  from  the  Hatteras  to 
the  Alabama. 

Two  minutes  after  leaving  the  Hatteras  she  went  down,  bow 
first,  with  her  pennant  at  the  mast-head,  with  all  her  muskets  and 
stores  of  every  description,  the  enemy  not  being  able,  owing  to  her 
rapid  sinking,  to  obtain  a  single  weapon. 

The  battery  upon  the  Alabama  brought  into  action  against  the 
Hatteras  numbered  seven  guns,  consisting  of  four  long  32-pounders, 
one  100-pounder,  one  68-pounder,  and  one  24-pounder  rifled  gun. 
The  great  superiority  of  the  Alabama,  with  her  powerful  battery 
and  her  machinery  under  the  water-line,  must  be  at  once  recognized 
by  the  Department,  who  are  familiar  with  the  construction  of  the 
Hatteras,  and  her  total  unfitness  for  a  conflict  with  a  regular  built 
vessel  of  war. 

The  distance  between  the  Hatteras  and  the  Alabama  during  the 
action  varied  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  yards.  Nearly  fifty 
shots  were  fired  from  the  Hatteras,  and  I  presume  a  greater  num 
ber  from  the  Alabama. 

I  desire  to  refer  to  the  efficient  and  active  manner  in  which  Act 
ing  Master  Porter,  executive  officer,  performed  his  duty.  The  con- 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      547 

duct  of  Assistant  Surgeon  Edward  S.  Matthews,  both  during  the 
action  and  afterward,  in  attending  to  the  wounded,  demands  my 
unqualified  commendation.  I  would  also  bring  to  the  favorable 
notice  of  the  Department  Acting  Master's  Mate  McGrath,  tempo 
rarily  performing  duty  as  gunner.  Owing  to  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  Hatteras,  I  am  only  able 
to  refer  to  the  conduct  of  those  officers  who  came  under  my  especial 
attention ;  but  from  the  character  of  the  contest,  and  the  amount 
of  damage  done  to  the  Alabama,  I  have  personally  no  reason  to 
believe  that  any  officer  failed  in  his  duty. 

To  the  men  of  the  Hatteras  I  cannot  give  too  much  praise.  Their 
enthusiasm  and  bravery  was  of  the  highest  order. 

I  enclose  the  report  of  Assistant  Surgeon  E.  S.  Matthews,  by 
which  you  will  observe  that  five  men  were  wounded  and  two 
killed.  The  missing,  it  is  hoped,  reached  the  fleet  at  Galveston. 

I  shall  communicate  to  the  Department,  in  a  separate  report,  the 
movements  of  myself  and  my  command,  from  the  time  of  our  trans 
fer  to  the  Alabama  until  the  departure  of  the  earliest  mail  from 
this  place  to  the  United  States. 

I  am,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

H.  C.  BLAKE, 
Lieutenant  Commanding. 
Hon.  GIDEON  WELLES, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington. 

Setting  aside  all  the  discourteous  stuff  and  nonsense  about 
"a  rebel  steamer/'  and  a  "piratical  craft/'  of  which  Captain 
Blake,  who  had  been  bred  in  the  old  service,  should  have  been 
ashamed,  especially  after  enjoying  the  hospitalities  of  my 
cabin  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  the  above  is  a  pretty  fair  report 
of  the  engagement.  I  am  a  little  puzzled,  however,  by  the 
Captain's  statement,  that  he  could  use  but  four  guns  on  a  side. 
We  certainly  understood  from  all  the  officers  and  men  of  the 
Hatteras,  at  the  time,  that  she  carried  eight  guns;  six  in  broad 
side,  and  two  pivots,  just  like  the  Alabama, — the  only  differ 
ence  between  the  two  ships  being,  that  the  Alabama's  pivot 
guns  were  the  heaviest. 

There  is  another  remark  in  the  report  that  is  quite  new  to 
me.  I  am  informed,  for  the  first  time,  that  Captain  Blake 
desired  to  board  me.  I  cannot,  of  course,  know  what  his  in 
tentions  were,  but  I  saw  no  evidence  of  such  an  intention,  in 
the  handling  of  his  ship ;  and  Captain  Blake  must  himself 
have  known  that,  iu  the  terribly  demoralized  condition  of  his 
crew,  when  they  found  that  they  had  really  fallen  in  with  the 


548  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Alabama,  he  could  not  have  depended  upon  a  single  boarder. 
What  Captain  Blake  means  by  saying  that  his  ship  went  down, 
with  her  pennant  flying,  I  am  at  a  loss,  as  every  seaman  must 
be,  to  understand.  Did  he  not  surrender  his  ship  to  me?  And 
if  so,  what  business  had  his  pennant,  any  more  than  his  ensign, 
to  be  flying?  But  this,  I  suppose,  was  a  little  clap-trap,  like 
his  expressions,  "rebel,"  and  "pirate,"  thrown  in  to  suit  the 
Yankee  taste  of  the  day.  Indeed,  nothing  was  more  lamen 
table  to  me,  during  the  whole  war,  than  to  observe  how  readily 
the  officers  of  the  old  Navy,  many  of  whom  belonged  to  the 
gentle  families  of  the  land,  and  all  of  whom  had  been  bred  in 
a  school  of  honor,  took  to  the  slang  expressions  of  the  day, 
and  fell,  pell-mell,  into  the  ranks  of  the  vulgar  and  fanatical 
rabble  that  was  hounding  on  the  war. 

The  officers  of  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  to  say  the  least, 
were  as  much  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  fighting  for  a  principle 
as  themselves,  and  one  would  have  thought  that  there  would  have 
been  a  chivalrous  rivalry  between  the  two  services,  as  to  which 
should  show  the  other  the  most  courtesy.  This  was  the  case, 
a  thousand  years  ago,  between  the  Christian  and  the  Saracen. 
Did  it  result  from  their  forms  of  government,  and  must  demo 
crats  necessarily  be  vulgarians  ?  Must  the  howling  Demos 
devour  everything  gentle  in  the  land,  and  reduce  us  all  to  the 
common  level  of  the  pot-house  politician,  and  compel  us  to  use 
his  slang?  Radicalism  seemed  to  be  now,  just  what  it  had 
been  in  the  great  French  Revolution,  a  sort  of  mad-dog  virus ; 
every  one  who  was  inoculated  with  it,  becoming  rabid.  The 
bitten  dog  howled  incessantly  with  rage,  and  underwent  a  total 
transformation  of  nature.  But  our  figure  does  not  fit  the  case 
exactly.  There  was  more  method  in  this  madness,  than  in  that 
of  the  canine  animal,  for  the  human  dog  howled  as  much  to 
please  his  master,  as  from  rage.  The  size  of  the  sop  which  he 
was  to  receive  depended,  in  a  great  measure,  upon  the  vigor 
of  his  howling. 

But  to  return  to  the  Alabama  and  the  Hatteras.  As  soon 
as  the  action  was  over,  and  I  had  seen  the  latter  sink,  I  caused 
all  lights  to  be  extinguished  on  board  my  ship,  and  shaped  my 
course  again  for  the  passage  of  Yucatan.  In  the  meantime, 
the  enemy's  boat,  which  had  been  lowered  for  the  purpose  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      549 

boarding  me,  pulled  in  vigorously  for  the  shore,  as  soon  as  it 
saw  the  action  commence,  and  landed  safely ;  and  Admiral 
Bell,  with  his  three  steamers,  passed  on  either  side  of  the  scene 
of  action — the  steamers  having  been  scattered  in  the  pursuit, 
to  cover  as  much  space  as  possible,  and  thus  increase  their 
chances  of  falling  in  with  me.  They  did  not  find  the  Alabama, 
or  indeed  anything  else  during  the  night,  but  as  one  of  the 
steamers  was  returning  to  her  anchorage  off  Galveston,  the 
next  morning,  in  the  dejected  mood  of  a  baffled  scout,  she  fell 
in  with  the  sunken  Hatteras,  the  tops  of  whose  royal  masts 
were  just  above  water,  and  from  the  main  of  which,  the  pen 
nant — the  night  pennant,  for  the  action  was  fought  at  night  — 
spoken  of  by  Captain  Blake,  was  observed  to  be  flying.  It 
told  the  only  tale  of  the  sunken  ship  which  her  consort  had  to 
take  back  to  the  Admiral.  The  missing  boat  turned  up  soon 
afterward,  however,  and  the  mystery  was  then  solved.  There 
was  now  as  hurried  a  saddling  of  steeds  for  the  pursuit  as 
there  had  been  in  the  chase  of  the  young  Lochinvar,  and  with 
as  little  effect,  for  by  the  time  the  steeds  were  given  the  spur, 
the  Alabama  was  distant  a  hundred  miles  or  more. 

There  was  very  little  said  by  the  enemy,  about  this  engage 
ment,  between  the  Alabama  and  the  Hatteras,  as  was  usual  with 
him  when  he  met  with  a  disaster ;  and  what  was  said  was  all 
false.  My  own  ship  was  represented  to  be  a  monster  of  speed 
and  strength,  and  the  Hatteras,  on  the  other  hand,  to  be  a  tug, 
or  river  steamer,  or  some  such  craft,  with  two  or  three  small 
guns  at  the  most.  The  facts  are  as  follows :  The  Hatteras  was 
a  larger  ship  than  the  Alabama,  by  one  hundred  tons.  Her 
armament,  as  reported  to  us  by  her  own  people,  was  as  fol 
lows:  Four  32-pounders;  two  Parrot  30-pounder  rifles;  one 
20-pounder  rifle;  and  one  12-pounder  howitzer — making  a 
total  of  eight  guns.  The  armament  of  the  Alabama  was  as 
follows :  Six  32-pounders ;  one  8-inch  shell  gun ;  one  BTakeley 
rifle  of  100  pounds— total,  eight  guns.  There  was,  besides,  a 
little  toy-rifle — a  9 -pounder  —  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Ala 
bama,  which  had  been  captured  from  a  merchant-ship,  and 
which,  I  believe,  was  fired  once  during  the  action.  The  crew 
of  the  Hatteras  was  108  strong;  that  of  the  Alabama  110. 
There  was  thus,  as  the  reader  sees,  a  considerable  disparity 


550  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

between  the  two  ships,  in  the  weight  of  their  pivot-guns,  and 
the  Alabama  ought  to  have  won  the  fight;  and  she  did 
win  it,  in  thirteen  minutes — taking  care,  too,  though  she  sank 
her  enemy  at  night,  to  see  that  none  of  his  men  were  drowned 
— a  fact  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  contrast,  by-and-by,  with 
another  sinking.  The  only  casualty  we  had  on  board  the  Ala- 
lama  was  one  man  wounded.  The  damages  to  our  hull  were 
so  slight,  that  there  was  not  a  shot-hole  which  it  was  necessary 
to  plug,  to  enable  us  to  continue  our  cruise ;  nor  was  there  a 
rope  to  be  spliced.  Blake  behaved  like  a  man  of  courage,  and 
made  the  best  fight  he  could,  ill  supported  as  he  was  by  the 
"volunteer"  officers  by  whom  he  was  surrounded,  but  he  fell 
into  disgrace  with  the  Demos,  and  had  but  little  opportunity 
shown  him  during  the  remainder  of  the  war,  to  retrieve  his 
disaster. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

THE  ALABAMA  PROCEEDS  TO  JAMAICA,  AND  LANDS  HER 
PRISONERS THE  CAPTAIN  VISITS  THE  COUNTRY IN 
TERCOURSE  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  NAVAL  OFFICERS 

EARL  RUSSELL'S  LETTER  —  PREPARATIONS  FOR  SEA  —  A 
BOAT-RACE  BY  MOONLIGHT CAPTAIN  BLAKE  COM 
PLAINS  OF  "  DIXIE  " HOW  THE  MATTER  IS  SETTLED. 

THE  little  by -pi  ay,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  related  in  the 
last  chapter,  being  over,  I  determined  to  make  the  best 
of  my  way  to  the  island  of  Jamaica,  there  land  rny  prisoners, 
on  parole,  patch  up  the  two  or  three  shot-holes  the  enemy  had 
made  above  the  water-line,  re-coal,  and  proceed  on  rny  eastern 
cruise,  against  the  enemy's  commerce,  as  originally  contem 
plated.  We  had  a  long  passage  to  Jamaica,  as  we  took  a  suc 
cession  of  southerly  gales,  that  greatly  retarded  our  speed. 
My  first  intention  was  to  make  the  whole  run  under  steam,  but 
after  struggling  against  these  gales  for  three  or  four  days,  I 
found  my  fuel  diminishing  so  rapidly,  that  it  became  prudent 
to  let  the  fires  go  down,  and  put  the  ship  under  sail.  This 
delay  was  very  vexatious,  as  our  little  ship  was  greatly  incon* 
venienced  by  the  number  of  prisoners  we  had  on  board. 

Friday,  the  1.6th  of  January,  is  noted  on  my  journal  as  fol 
lows: —  The  gale  continued  all  day,  moderating  toward  night. 
The  sky  is  overcast  with  a  dull  canopy  of  leaden  clouds,  the 
sun  barely  showing  himself  to  us,  for  a  moment  at  a  time, 
through  an  occasional  rift,  during  the  entire  day.  Observing  the 
water  to  be  discolored,  at  one  P.  M.  we  sounded  on  the  Yuca 
tan  Bank.  The  soundings  on  this  bank  being  an  excellent 
guide,  I  continued  to  run  along  the  edge  of  it  until  eleven  p. 
M.,  when  we  passed  off  it,  into  the  deep  waters  of  the  Yucatan 
Passage.  We  now  put  the  ship  under  steam  again,  and  aiding 

651 


552  MEMOIKS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

the  steam  by  reefed  trysails,  we  battled  witli  an  adverse  sea 
and  current  during  the  rest  of  the  night.  We  found  the  cur 
rent  setting  into  the  passage,  to  be  as  much  as  two  and  a  half 
knots  per  hour,  which  was  greater  than  I  had  ever  known  it 
before. 

I  may  take  this  occasion  to  remind  the  reader,  that  the 
old  theory  of  Dr.  Franklin  and  others,  was,  that  the  Gulf 
Stream,  which  flows  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  between  the 
north  coast  of  Cuba,  and  the  Florida  Eeefs  and  Keys,  flows 
into  the  Gulf,  through  the  channel  between  the  west  end  of 
Cuba,  and  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  in  which  the  Alabama  now 
was.  But  the  effectual  disproof  of  this  theory  is,  that  we 
know  positively,  from  the  strength  of  the  current,  and  its 
volume,  or  cross  section,  in  the  two  passages,  that  more  than 
twice  the  quantity  of  water  flows  out  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
than  flows  into  it  through  this  passage.  Upon  Dr.  Franklin's 
theory,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  a  very  short  time  would  become 
dry  ground.  Nor  can  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  which  is  the  only 
stream  worth  noticing,  in  this  connection,  that  flows  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  come  to  his  relief,  as  we  have  seen  that  that 
river  only  empties  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  about  one  three 
thousandth  part  as  much  water,  as  the  Gulf  Stream  takes  out. 
We  must  resort,  of  necessity,  to  an  under-current  from  the 
north,  passing  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  under  the  Gulf  Stream, 
rising  to  the  surface  when  heated,  and  thus  swelling  the  vol 
ume  of  the  outflowing  water.  I  refer  my  readers,  curious  in 
this  matter,  to  the  work  of  Captain  Maury,  entitled  the  "Phy 
sical  Geography  of  the  Sea."  It  is  full  of  profound  philoso 
phy,  on  the  subjects  of  which  it  treats,  and  is  written  in  so 
pleasing  a  style,  and  is  so  strewn  with  flowers,  as  to  make  the 
reader  forget  that  he  is  travelling  the  thorny  paths  of  science. 

The  18th  of  January  was  Sunday,  and  we  were  obliged  to  in 
termit  the  usual  Sunday  muster,  on  account  the  of  bad  weather, 
which  continued  without  intermission  —  the  wind  still  blowing 
a  gale,  and  the  passing  clouds  deluging  us  with  rain.  Two 
days  afterward,  viz.,  on  the  20th,  we  made  the  west  end  of  the 
island  of  Jamaica,  a  little  after  midnight,  and  as  we  crawled 
under  the  lee  of  the  coast,  we  broke,  for  the  first  time,  the 
force  of  the  wind  with  which  we  had  been  so  long  struggling. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      553 

We  had  been  thus  nine  days  making  the  passage  from  Galves- 
ton  to  the  west  end  of  Jamaica,  and  were  the  greater  part  of 
another  day,  in  coasting  the  island  up  to  Port  Royal.  We  had 
shown  first  one,  and  then  another  neutral  flag  to  several  neu 
tral  ships  that  we  had  passed,  but  the  enemy's  flag  was  no 
where  to  be  seen.  Giving  chase  to  a  bark,  whilst  we  were 
still  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  we  were  quite  amazed,  as  we  came 
up  with  her,  to  find  that  she  was  our  old  consort,  the  Agrip- 
pina  !  This  bluff-bowed  old  Scotch  ship  had  been  all  the  time 
since  she  left  us  at  the  Areas  Islands  —  eight  days  —  battling 
with  adverse  winds,  and  was  still  only  a  couple  of  hundred 
miles  or  so  advanced  on  her  voyage. 

We  made  the  Plum  Point  lighthouse,  at  half-past  four  P.  M., 
and  were  off  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  of  Port  Eoyal  just  as 
the  evening  began  to  deepen  into  twilight.     We  hoisted  the 
French  flag,  and  firing  a  gun,  and  making  the  usual  signal  for 
a  pilot,  one  came  promptly  on  board  of  us.   Day  was  fading  into 
night  so  fast,  that  we  had  scarcely  light  enough  left  to  enable 
us  to  grope  our  way  through  the  tortuous  and  narrow  channel, 
and  it  was  quite  dark  when  our  anchor  was  let  go.    Of  course, 
we  did  not  permit  the  pilot  to  anchor  us  as  a  Frenchman,  and  when 
we  told  him  that  it  was  the  Alabama  he  was  taking  in,  he    did 
not  appear  at  all  surprised,  but  remarked  very  coolly,  "I  knew 
all  the  while  that  you  were  no  Frenchman."  I  felt  much  relieved, 
when  at    length  I  heard  the  plunge  of    the  anchor  into  the 
water,  followed  by  the  rattling  of  the  chain-cable  through  the 
hawse-hole.     On  the  high  seas,  with  the  enemy  all  the  time 
in  full  chase  of  me,  constant  vigilance  was  required  to  guard 
against  surprise;  and  my  battle  with  the  elements  was  almost 
as  constant,  as  that  with  the  enemy.      When  I  reached  the 
friendly  shelter,  therefore,  of  a  neutral  port,  belonging  to  such 
of  the  powers  of  the  earth  as  were  strong  enough  to  prevent 
themselves  from  being  kicked  by  the  enemy,  my  over-taxed 
nervous  system  relaxed  in  a  moment,  and  I  enjoyed  the  lux 
ury  of  a  little  gentlemanly  idleness.     Kell  was  of  wonderful 
assistance  to  me,  in  this  respect.      I  always  left  the  ship  in 
his  hands,  with  the  utmost  confidence,  and  my  confidence  was 
never  misplaced.     He  was,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  an  excellent 
disciplinarian,  and  being,  besides,  a  thorough  master  of    his 
profession,  I  had  in  him  all  that  I  could  desire. 


554  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

We  were  boarded  by  a  lieutenant  from  the  English  flag-ship, 
immediately  upon  anchoring,  and  the  news  spread  like  wild 
fire  through  all  Port  Royal,  that  the  Alabama  had  arrived,  with 
the  officers  and  crew  of  a  Federal  gunboat  which  she  had  sunk 
in  battle,  on  board  as  prisoners.  Night  as  it  was,  we  were  soon 
swarmed  with  visitors,  come  off  to  welcome  us  to  the  port,  and 
tender  their  congratulations.  The  next  morning  I  called  on 
Commodore  Dunlap,  who  commanded  a  squadron  of  Admiral 
Milne's  fleet,  and  was  the  commanding  naval  officer  present. 
This  was  the  first  English  port  I  had  entered,  since  the  Alabama 
had  been  commissioned,  and  no  question,  whatever,  as  to  the 
antecedents  of  my  ship  was  raised.  I  had,  in  fact,  brought  in 
pretty  substantial  credentials,  that  I  was  a  ship  of  war  — 130 
of  the  officers  and  men  of  one  of  the  enemy's  sunken  ships. 
Great  Britain  had  had  the  good  sense  not  to  listen  to  the  frantic 
appeals,  either  of  Mr.  Seward  or  Minister  Adarns,  both  of 
whom  claimed,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  that  it  was  her  duty 
to  stultify  herself,  and  ignore  the  commission  of  my  ship. 
Nor  did  Commodore  Dunlap  say  anything  to  me  of  my 
destruction  of  British  property,  or  of  the  three  ships  of 
war,  which  that  adept  in  international  law,  the  "  Commercial 
Advertiser,"  of  New  York,  had  asserted  Admiral  Milne  had 
sent  after  me.  These  questions,  indeed,  had  all  been  authori 
tatively  settled,  I  found,  by  Earl  Russell,  the  British  Foreign 
Secretary,  by  the  following  letter  to  the  Liverpool  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  which  had  applied  to  him  for  information.  It  is 
copied  from  the  New  York  '•'  World  "  : 

"Sin:  I  am  directed  by  Earl  Russell  to  reply  to  your  letters  of 
the  6th  hist.,  respecting  the  destruction  by  the  Confederate  steamer 
Alabama  of  British  property  embarked  in  American  vessels  and 
burned  by  that  steamer.  Earl  Russell  desires  me  to  state  to  you 
that  British  property  on  board  a  vessel  belonging  to  one  of  the  bel 
ligerents  must  be  subject  to  all  the  risks  and  contingencies  of  war, 
so  far  as  the  capture  of  the  vessel  is  concerned.  The  owners  of  any 
British  property,  not  being  contraband  of  war,  on  board  a  Federal 
vessel  captured  and  destroyed  by  a  Confederate  vessel  of  war,  may 
claim  in  a  Confederate  Prize  Court  compensation  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  such  property." 

The  "World"  said  lachrymosely  of  the  above,  that  "it  was 
but  one  of  a  crowd  of  eloquent  indications  which  constantly 
multiply  upon  us  to  prove  that  Earl  Russell,  like  Mr.  Glad- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      555 

stone,  whatever  his  sympathies  may  be;  really  regards  the 
'  nation  of  Jefferson  Davis '  as  substantially  created,  and  looks 
upon  recognition  as  simply  a  question  of  time." 

I  forwarded,  through  Commodore  Dunlap,  an  official  report 
of  my  arrival  to  the  Governor  of  the  island,  with  a  request  to 
be  permitted  to  land  my  prisoners,  and  put  some  slight  repairs 
upon  my  ship  ;  both  of  which  requests  were  promptly  granted. 
Governor  Eyre  was  then  in  authority.  He  behaved  with  great 
spirit  and  firmness,  afterward,  in  nipping  in  the  bud  a  wide 
spread  negro  insurrection,  which  had  for  its  object,  the  massa 
cre  of  the  whites  and  the  plunder  of  their  property.  A  few 
negroes  were  killed  by  the  troops,  and  I  have  been  sorry  to 
learn  since,  that  his  Excellency  has  been  much  harassed,  in 
consequence,  by  both  English  and  American  fanatics.  The 
English  squadron  at  anchor  consisted  of  the  Jason,  the  Chal 
lenger,  and  Greyhound.  The  most  cordial  relations  were  at 
once  established  between  the  officers  of  all  these  ships,  and  those 
of  the  Alabama.  Indeed,  many  of  them  were  our  old  acquaint 
ances. 

An  English  friend  having  come  on  board,  to  invite  me  to 
pass  a  few  days  with  him,  in  the  mountains,  while  my  ship  was 
being  prepared  for  sea,  I  accepted  his  invitation,  and  turning 
over  all  the  unfinished  business  of  the  ship  to  Kell,  we  pulled 
up  to  Kingston  in  my  gig.  Here  I  found  my  friend's  carriage  in 
waiting,  and  entering  it,  we  were  soon  whirled  out  of  the  limits 
of  the  dusty  city,  into  the  most  charming  of  tropical  scenery. 
Except  landing,  occasionally,  for  a  few  hours  at  a  time,  at  the 
desert  little  islands  I  had  visited  in  the  Caribbean  Sea,  and  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  I  had  not  had  a  holiday  on  shore,  since  leaving 
the  Mersey,  on  my  way  to  commission  the  Alabama,  five  months 
before.  I  needed  a  little  rest,  and  recreation,  to  restore  my 
wasted  energies,  and  I  found  both  with  my  excellent  friend, 
Mr.  Fyfe. 

For  the  first  ten  miles,  we  rode  over  a  beautiful  macada 
mized  road,  or  rather  avenue,  lined  with  the  gigantic  cactus, 
growing  frequently  to  the  height  of  twenty  and  thirty  feet, 
and  several  specimens  of  the  palm ;  chief  among  which  was 
the  cocoanut-tree,  shooting  its  trunk  with  the  straightness  of 
an  arrow  to  a  great  height,  and  waving  gracefully  in  the 


556  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

breeze,  its  superb,  feather-like  foliage.  The  way  was  lined 
with  many  picturesque  country  houses,  each  surrounded  by 
its  extensive  and  well-kept  grounds,  on  which  were  growing 
crops,  chiefly  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  but  interspersed  occa 
sionally  with  a  field  of  Indian  corn,  or  sugar-cane.  Hedge 
rows  and  shade-trees  adorned  the  front  yards,  and  protected 
the  residences  from  the  sun,  giving  them  an  air  of  seclusion, 
coolness,  and  quiet  that  was  very  inviting.  We  occasionally 
obtained  glimpses  of  beautiful  valleys,  on  the  right  hand,  and 
on  the  left,  in  which  fairy  cottages  were  nestled.  The  scenery 
was  continually  changing,  as  the  road  wound  along,  now  skirt 
ing  the  base  of  abrupt  hills,  now  running  over  a  stream,  and 
now  plunging  into  the  recesses  of  a  wood,  with  the  trees  arch 
ing  overhead,  like  the  groined  work  of  a  cathedral. 

At  the  end  of  our  ten  miles  of  carriage-drive,  we  found  our 
selves  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  Here  we  alighted  at  a 
large  hostelry,  which  was  a  sort  of  combination  of  the  inn, 
caravansary,  and  country  store,  and  after  some  refreshment, 
mounted  saddle-horses  which  we  found  in  waiting.  The  roads 
soon  became  mere  bridle-paths.  As  we  ascended  the  slopes  of 
the  mountains,  we  changed  rapidly  the  character  of  the  vegeta 
tion  ;  every  hundred  feet  of  elevation  being  equivalent  to  a 
change  of  a  degree  or  more  of  latitude,  and  bringing  us  in  the 
presence  of  new  forest-trees  and  new  plants,  until  we  dis 
mounted  on  the  lawn  of  my  friend,  the  immediate  surround 
ings  of  which  were  all  English;  the  cedar,  and  other  well- 
known  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  temperate  latitudes,  supplanting 
the  tropical  vegetation  we  had  left  in  the  tierra  caliente  below 
us.  The  air,  too,  was  so  delightfully  changed,  from  the  sultry 
heats  of  the  coast,  that  we  found  a  fire  lighted  of  the  dry  and 
fragrant  branches  of  the  cedar-tree,  quite  pleasant  as  the  night 
set  in. 

The  reader  may  imagine  how  magical  the  change  was,  from 
the  cramped  quarters,  and  other  desagremens  of  a  small  ship, 
to  the  ample  halls,  and  elegant  leisure  of  an  English  home, 
perched  on  the  mountain-side,  and  overlooking  a  perfect  wil 
derness  of  tropical  vegetation.  The  sea  was  in  plain  sight  to 
the  eastward  of  us,  and  Kingston  and  Port  Royal  lay,  as  it 
were,  at  our  feet.  With  the  aid  of  a  fine  telescope  which  my 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       557 

friend  had  mounted  in  his  piazza,  I  could  distinguish  my  own 
ship  from  the  other  vessels  in  the  harbor,  though  they  all 
appeared  as  diminutive  as  so  many  sea-gulls,  nestling  upon 
the  water.  I  need  not  say  how  soundly  I  slept  that  night,  far 
away  from  war's  alarms,  fanned  by  the  gentlest  of  sea-breezes, 
in  the  sweetest  of  sheets,  and  lullabied  by  the  distant  breaker, 
as  it  stranded  itself  at  regular  intervals  upon  the  beach. 

I  was  awakened  the  next  morning  by  the  merry  songs  of  a 
hundred  birds,  that  came  appropriately  blended  with  the  per 
fume  of  the  flowers  that  clustered  around  my  windows ;  and  I 
have  seldom  looked  upon  a  more  beautiful  picture,  than  when 
I  threw  back  the  blinds,  and  caught  a  view  of  the  landscape, 
rejoicing  in  the  morning's  sun,  with  all  its  wealth  of  tropical 
fruits  and  flowers,  and  the  sea — the  glorious  sea  —  glittering 
like  a  mirror  in  the  distance.  Nothing  can  be  more  charming 
than  the  interior  of  an  English  household,  when  the  ice  has 
been  broken  and  you  have  fairly  gained  admission  into  the 
interior  of  the  temple.  The  successful  entertainment  of  a 
guest  is  one  of  those  artless  arts,  of  which  the  English  gentle 
man,  above  all  others,  is  master ;  and  the  art  consists  in  putting 
the  guest  so  entirely  at  ease,  as  to  make  him  feel  at  home  in 
the  first  half-hour.  With  a  library,  servants,  and  horses  at 
your  command,  you  are  literally  left  to  take  care  of  yourself 
—  meeting  the  family  in  the  parlors  and  sitting-rooms,  as  much, 
or  as  little  as  you  please. 

From  Flamstead,  which  was  the  name  of  the  country-seat  of 
my  friend,  we  rode  over  to  Bloxburg,  the  country-seat  of  his 
brother,  where  some  ladies  from  the  neighborhood  did  me  the 
honor  to  make  me  a  visit ;  and  from  Bloxburg  we  made  several 
other  agreeable  visits  to  neighboring  plantations.  I  was  in  an 
entirely  new  world — those  mountains  of  Jamaica  —  and  was 
charmed  with  everything  I  saw.  All  was  nature;  and  nature 
presented  herself  in  her  most  lovely  aspect,  whether  we  viewed 
the  sky  overhead,  the  sea  at  our  feet,  or  the  broken  and  pic 
turesque  country  around  us.  Time  flew  rapidly,  and  what 
with  delightful  rides,  and  lunches,  and  evening  parties,  where 
music,  and  the  bright  eyes  of  fair  women  beguiled  the  senses, 
I  should  have  been  in  danger  of  forgetting  the  war,  and  the 
Alabama,  if  Kell  had  not  sent  me  a  courier,  on  the  third  or 
fourth  day,  informing  me  that  he  was  nearly  ready  for  sea. 


558  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  descended  at  once  from  the  empyrean  in  which  I  had  been 
wandering,  took  a  hasty  leave  of  my  friends,  and  in  company 
with  Mr.  Fyfe,  rode  back  to  the  coast.  We  took  a  new  route 
back,  and  re-entered  Kingston  through  a  different  suburb  — 
stopping  to  lunch  with  one  of  Mr.  Fyfe's  friends,  an  English 
merchant,  at  his  magnificent  country-house.  But,  alas !  much 
of  the  magnificence  of  the  Kingston  of  former  years  is  pass 
ing  away.  I  had  known  it  in  its  palmiest  days,  having  visited 
it  when  a  midshipman  in  the  old  service,  before  the  happy 
slave  had  been  converted  into  the  wretched  freedman.  It  was 
then  a  busy  mart  of  commerce,  and  the  placid  waters  of  its 
unrivalled  harbor  were  alive  with  shipping  bearing  the  flags 
of  all  nations,  come  in  quest  of  her  great  staples,  sugar,  coffee, 
cocoa,  gensing,  &c.  Now,  a  general  air  of  dilapidation  and 
poverty  hangs  over  the  scene.  A  straggling  ship  or  two  only 
are  seen  in  the  harbor ;  the  merchants  have  become  shop 
keepers,  and  the  sleek,  well-fed  negro  has  become  an  idler  and 
a  vagrant,  with  scarce  rags  enough  to  hide  his  nakedness.  My 
host,  in  the  few  days  I  remained  with  him,  gave  me  much  val 
uable  information  concerning  the  negro,  since  his  emancipa 
tion,  which  I  will  not  detain  the  reader  to  repeat.  I  may  say  in 
a  few  words,  however,  that  the  substance  of  this  information  was, 
that  there  has  been  no  increase,  either  in  numbers,  intelligence, 
or  morals  among  them ;  and  that,  too,  under  circumstances,  all 
of  which  were  favorable  to  the  negro.  He  was  the  pet  of  the 
government  for  years  after  his  emancipation,  and  English  fanat 
ics  have  devoted  their  lives  to  his  regeneration,  but  all  without 
success.  He  is,  to-day,  with  a  few  exceptions  about  the  towns, 
the  same  savage  that  he  is  in  his  native  Dahomey.  An  Eng 
lish  parliament  had  declared  that  he  was  the  political  equal  of 
the  white  man  —  that  is,  of  the  colonial  white  man,  for  England 
takes  the  best  of  care,  that  the  imperial  legislature  is  never 
tainted  by  his  presence — and  I  found  him  a  generation  after 
ward,  far  below  his  former  level  of  slave. 

I  found  my  gig  in  waiting  for  me  at  the  wharf  in  Kingston, 
and  taking  leave  of  my  friend,  with  many  thanks  for  his  hos 
pitality,  I  pulled  on  board  of  my  ship  about  sunset.  And 
here,  what  a  scene  of  confusion  met  me,  and  what  reports  Kell 
had  to  make  of  how  my  fellows  had  been  "  cutting  up ! "  The 
paymaster  had  been  drunk  ever  since  he  landed,  neglecting  his 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        559 

duty,  and  behaving  in  a  most  disreputable  manner.  He  was 
"hail  fellow,  well  met"  with  all  the  common  sailors,  and 
seemed  to  have  an  especial  fancy  for  the  sailors  of  the  enemy. 
Kell  had  suspended  his  functions ;  and  had  sent  on  shore,  and 
had  him  brought  off  under  arrest.  He  had  become  partially 
sobered,  and  I  at  once  ordered  him  to  pack  up  his  clothing, 
and  be  off.  He  was  landed,  bag  and  baggage,  in  half  an  hour, 
and  in  due  time,  as  the  reader  has  already  seen,  he  married  a 
negro  wife,  went  over  to  England  with  her,  swindled  her  out 
of  all  her  property,  and  turned  Yankee,  going  over  to  Minister 
Adams,  and  becoming  one  of  his  right-hand  men,  when  there 
was  any  hard  swearing  wanted  in  the  British  courts  against 
the  Confederates. 

This  little  matter  disposed  of,  we  turned  our  attention  to  the 
crew.  They  had  had  a  run  on  shore,  and  Kell  was  just  gather 
ing  them  together  again.  The  ship's  cutters,  as  well  as  the 
shore-boats,  were  constantly  coming  alongside  with  small 
squads,  all  of  them  drunk,  some  in  one  stage  of  drunkenness, 
and  some  in  another.  Liquor  was  acting  upon  them  like  the 
laughing  gas;  some  were  singing  jolly,  good-humored  songs, 
whilst  others  were  giving  the  war-whoop,  and  insisting  on  a 
fight.  They  were  seized,  ironed  and  passed  below  to  the  care 
of  the  master-at-arms,  as  fast  as  they  came  on  board. 

A  couple  of  them,  not  liking  the  appearance  of  things  on 
board,  jumped  into  a  dug-out  alongside,  and  seizing  the  pad 
dles  from  the  negroes,  shoved  off  in  great  haste,  and  put  out 
for  the  shore.  It  was  night,  and  there  was  a  bright  moon 
lighting  up  the  bay.  A  cutter  was  manned  as  speedily  as 
possible,  and  sent  in  pursuit  of  the  fugitives.  Jack  had  grog 
and  Moll  ahead  of  him,  and  irons  and  a  court-martial  behind 
him,  and  he  paddled  like  a  good  fellow.  He  had  gotten  a 
good  start  before  the  cutter  was  well  under  way,  but  still,  the 
cutter,  with  her  long  sweeping  oars,  was  rather  too  much  for 
the  dug-out,  especially  as  there  were  five  oars  to  two  paddles. 
She  gained,  and  gained,  coming  nearer  and  nearer,  when  pres 
ently  the  officer  of  the  cutter  heard  one  of  the  sailors  in  the 
dug-out  say  to  the  other,  "I  '11  tell  you  what  it  is,  Bill,  there  's 
too  much  cargo  in  this  here  d — d  craft,  and  I  'm  going  to 
lighten  ship  a  little,"  and  at  the  same  instant,  he  saw  the  two 
36 


560  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

men  lay  in  their  paddles,  seize  one  of  the  negroes,  and  pitch 
him  head  foremost  overboard!  They  then  seized  their  pad 
dles  again,  and  away  darted  the  dug-out  with  renewed  speed. 

Port  Royal  Bay  is  a  large  sheet  of  water,  and  is,  besides,  as 
every  reader  of  Marryatt's  incomparable  tales  knows,  full  of 
ravenous  sharks.  It  would  not  do,  of  course,  for  the  cutter  to 
permit  the  negro  either  to  drown  or  to  be  eaten  by  the  sharks, 
and  so,  as  she  came  up  with  him,  sputtering  and  floundering  for 
his  life,  she  was  obliged  to  "back  of  all,"  and  take  him  in.  The 
sailor  who  grabbed  at  him  first,  missed  him,  and  the  boat  shot 
ahead  of  him,  which  rendered  it  necessary  for  her  to  turn  and 
pull  back  a  short  distance  before  she  could  rescue  him.  This 
done,  he  was  flung  into  the  bottom  of  the  cutter,  and  the  pur 
suit  renewed.  By  this  time  the  dug-out  had  gotten  even  a 
better  start  than  she  had  had  at  first,  and  the  two  fugitive  sai 
lors,  encouraged  by  the  prospect  of  escape,  were  paddling  more 
vigorously  than  ever.  Fast  flew  the  dug-out,  but  faster  flew 
the  cutter.  Both  parties  now  had  their  blood  up,  and  a  more 
beautiful  and  exciting  moonlight  race  has  not  often  been  seen. 
We  had  watched  it  from  the  Alabama,  until  in  the  gloaming 
of  the  night,  it  had  passed  out  of  sight.  We  had  seen  the  first 
manoeuvre  of  the  halting,  and  pulling  back  of  the  cutter,  but 
did  not  know  what  to  make  of  it.  The  cutter  began  now  to 
come  up  again  with  the  chase.  She  had  no  musket  on  board, 
or  in  imitation  of  the  Alabama,  she  might  have  "hove  the 
chase  to,"  with  a  blank  cartridge,  or  a  ball.  When  she  had 
gotten  within  a  few  yards  of  her,  a  second  time,  in  went  the 
paddles  again,  and  overboard  went  the  other  negro!  and  away 
went  the  dug-out!  A  similar  delay  on  the  part  of  the  cutter 
ensued  as  before,  and  a  similar  advantage  was  gained  by  the 
dug-out. 

But  all  things  come  to  an  end,  and  so  did  this  race.  The 
cutter  finally  captured  the  dug-out,  and  brought  back  Tom 
Bowse  and  Bill  Bower  to  their  admiring  shipmates  on  board 
the  Ala  lama.  This  was  the  only  violation  of  neutrality  I  was 
guilty  of,  in  Port  Royal  —  chasing,  and  capturing  a  neutral 
craft,  in  neutral  waters.  My  excuse  was,  the  same  that  Wilkes 
made  —  she  had  contraband  on  board.  I  do  not  know  whether 
Commodore  Dunlap  ever  heard  of  it;  but  if  he  had  complained, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      561 

I  should  have  set-off  the  rescuing  of  two  of  her  Majesty's  col 
ored  subjects  from  drowning,  against  the  recapture  of  my  own 
men.  The  fact  is,  the  towns-people,  themselves,  were  respon 
sible  for  all  these  disorders.  They  had  made  heroes  of  all  my 
fellows,  and  plied  them  with  an  unconscionable  number  of 
drinks.  Every  sea-port  town  has  its  sailor  quarter,  and  this 
in  the  good  old  town  of  Kingston  was  a  constant  scene  of  rev 
elry,  by  day  as  well  as  by  night,  during  the  stay  of  the  Ala- 
bamds  liberty  men  on  shore.  There  was  no  end  to  the  "break 
downs,"  and  "  double-shuffles,"  which  had  been  given  in  their 
honor,  by  the  beaux  and  belles  of  Water  Street.  Besides  my 
own  crew,  there  were  always  more  or  less  English  man-of-war 
sailors  on  shore,  on  liberty  from  the  different  ships,  and  up 
wards  of  a  hundred  had  been  landed  from  the  Hatteras.  It 
was  quite  remarkable  that  in  these  merry-makings,  and  de 
baucheries,  the  Confederate  sailors  and  the  Yankee  sailors 
harmonized  capitally  together.  They  might  frequently  be 
seen  arm  and  arm  in  the  streets,  or  hob-nobbing  together  — 
the  Confederate  sailor  generally  paying  the  score,  as  the  Yan 
kee  sailor's  strong  box  had  gone  down  with  his  ship,  and  his 
paymaster  was  rather  short  of  cash.  They  sailed  as  amicably 
together,  up  and  down  the  contradance,  and  hailed  each  other 
to  "  heave  to,"  when  it  was  time  to  "freshen  the  nip,"  as  though 
the  Alabama  and  Hatteras  had  never  been  yard-arm  and  yard- 
arm,  throwing  broadsides  into  each  other.  In  short,  my  men 
behaved  capitally  toward  their  late  enemies.  There  was  no 
unmanly  exultation  over  their  victory.  The  most  that  could 
be  seen  was  an  air  of  patronage  very  delicately  put  on,  as 
though  they  would  say,  "Well,  you  know  we  whipped  you, 
but  then  you  did  the  best  you  could,  and  there 's  an  end  of  it." 

Among  the  amusing  things  that  had  occurred  during  my 
absence  in  the  Jamaica  mountains,  was  a  flare-up,  which  Cap 
tain  Blake,  my  prisoner,  had  had  with  the  British  Commodore. 

The  steamer  Greyhound  had  a  band  of  music  on  board,  and 
as  one  of  the  young  lieutenants  was  an  old  acquaintance  of 
several  of  my  officers,  whom  he  had  met  at  Nassau,  he  ordered 
the  band  on  the  evening  after  our  arrival,  and  whilst  Captain 
Blake  was  still  on  board  the  Alabama,  to  play  "Dixie;"  which, 
I  may  remark,  by  the  way,  had  become  a  very  popular  air 


562  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

everywhere,  as  much  on  account  of  the  air  itself,  perhaps,  as 
because  of  its  association  with  a  weak  and  gallant  people 
struggling  for  the  right  of  self-government.  Captain  Blake 
chose  to  construe  this  little  compliment  to  the  Alabama,  as  an 
insult  to  Yankeedom,  and  made  a  formal  protest  to  the  British 
Commodore,  in  behalf  of  himself,  and  the  "old  flag."  Com 
modore  Dunlap  must  have  smiled,  when  he  read  Blake's  epistle. 
He  was  certainly  a  man  of  humor,  for  he  hit  upon  the  follow 
ing  mode  of  settling  the  grave  international  dispute.  He 
ordered  the  offending  Q-reyhound,  when  she  should  get  up  her 
band,  on  the  following  evening,  first  to  play  "  Dixie,"  and  then 
"Yankee  Doodle." 

When  the  evening,  which  was  to  salve  the  Yankee  honor, 
arrived,  great  was  the  expectation  of  every  one  in  the  squad 
ron.  The  band  on  board  the  Jason,  flag-ship,  led  off  by 
playing  "  God  save  the  Queen,"  that  glorious  national  anthem, 
which  electrifies  the  Englishman,  as  the  Marseilles'  hymn  does 
the  Frenchman,  the  world  over.  The  Challenger's  band  fol 
lowed  and  played  a  fine  opera  air.  The  evening  was  still  and 
fine,  and  the  poops  of  all  the  ships  were  filled  with  officers.  It 
then  came  the  Greyhound's  turn.  She  first  played  something 
unusually  solemn,  then  "  Dixie,"  with  slowness,  sweetness,  and 
pathos,  and  when  the  chorus 

"In  Dixie's  land,  I'll  take  my  stand, 
I'll  live,  and  die  in  Dixie!" 

had  died  away  on  the  soft  evening  air,  such  an  infernal  din, 
of  drums,  and  fifes,  and  cymbals,  and  wind  instruments,  each 
after  its  fashion,  going  it  strong  upon 

"Yankee  Doodle  Dandy!" 

arose,  as  to  defy  all  description  !  The  effect  was  electric ;  the 
officers  had  to  hold  their  sides  to  preserve  their  dignity,  and — 
Captain  Blake  was  avenged.  There  could  be  no  protest  made 
against  this  time-honored  rogue's  march.  It  was  the  favorite 
tune  of  the  b'hoys,  and  there  the  matter  had  to  end.  I  have 
never  learned  whether  Mr.  Seward  ever  called  Lord  Palmer- 
ston  to  an  account  about  it,  in  any  one  of  his  "Essays  on 
English  Composition." 


CHAPTEK  XLI. 

DEPARTURE  FROM  JAMAICA CAPTURE  OF  THE  GOLDEN 

RULE COASTING  THE  ISLAND  OF  HAYTI CAPTURE 

OF  THE  CHASTELAINE THE  OLD  CITY  OF  ST.  DO 
MINGO,  AND   ITS   REMINISCENCES THE   DOMINICAN 

CONVENT,  AND  THE  PALACE  OF  DIEGO  COLUMBUS 

THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  PALMETTO,  THE  OLIVE  JANE, 

AND  THE  GOLDEN  EAGLE HOW  THE  ROADS  ARE 

BLAZED  OUT  UPON  THE  SEA CAPTAIN  MAURY. 

ON  the  25th  of  January,  1863,  or  just  five  days  after  our 
arrival  at  Jamaica,  we  had  completed  all  our  preparations 
for  sea,  and  at  half-past  eight  P.  M.  steamed  out  of  the  harbor  of 
Port  Royal,  bound  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  thence  to  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope.  We  had  made  many  friends  during  our  short 
stay,  and  mutual  regrets  were  expressed  at  departure.  My  gal 
lant  young  officers  had  not  been  idle,  whilst  I  had  been  visiting 
the  mountains.  Many  little  missives,  put  up  in  the  tiniest  and 
prettiest  of  envelopes,  were  discovered  among  the  mail,  as  our 
last  mail-bag  was  prepared  for  the  shore,  and  as  a  good  deal  of 
damage  may  be  done  in  five  days,  there  were  probably  some 
heart-beatings  among  the  fair  islanders,  as  those  P.  P.  Cs.  were 
perused.  There  is  no  lover  so  susceptible,  or  so  devoted,  or 
whose  heart  is  so  capacious,  as  that  of  the  young  seaman.  His 
very  life  upon  the  sea  is  a  poem,  and  his  habitual  absence  from 
the  sex  prepares  him  to  see  loveliness  in  every  female  form. 

Though  it  was  night  when  we  emerged  from  the  harbor,  and 
when  we  ought  to  have  met  with  the  blandest  and  gentlest  of 
land  breezes,  laden  with  the  perfume  of  shrub  and  flower,  we 
passed  at  once  into  a  heavy  head  sea,  with  a  stiff  north-easter 
blowing.  With  yards  pointed  to  the  wind,  and  a  laboring  en 
gine,  we  steamed  along  past  Point  Mayrant  light,  off  which,  the 

563 


564  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

reader  may  recollect,  we  discharged  the  Ariel,  some  weeks 
before,  and  the  morning's  light  found  us  in  the  passage  be 
tween  Jamaica  and  St.  Domingo.     The  sun  rose  brightly,  the 
wind  moderated,  and  the  day  proved  to  be  very  fine. 

My  first  duty,  after  the  usual  morning's  muster  at  quarters, 
was  to  hold  a  court  of  general  sessions,  for  the  discharge  of 
my  vagabonds,  many  of  whom,  the  reader  will  recollect,  were 
still  in  irons ;  and  a  beautiful-looking  set  of  fellows  they  were, 
when  their  irons  wrere  removed,  and  they  were  brought  on 
deck  for  this  purpose.  They  were  now  all  sober,  but  the 
effects  of  their  late  debauches  were  visible  upon  the  persons 
of  all  of  them.  Soiled  clothing,  blackened  eyes,  and  broken 
noses,  frowsy,  uncombed  hair,  and  matted  and  disordered 
beard,  with  reddened  eyes  that  looked  as  if  sleep  had  long 
been  a  stranger  to  them — these  were  the  principal  features. 
Poor  Jack!  how  much  he  is  to  be  pitied!  Cut  loose  early 
from  the  gentle  restraints  of  home,  and  brought  into  contact 
with  every  description  of  social  vice,  at  an  age  when  it  is  so 
difficult  to  resist  temptation,  what  wonder  is  it,  that  we  find 
him  a  grown-up  child  of  nature,  subject  to  no  other  restraint 
than  such  as  the  discipline  of  his  ship  imposes  upon  him  ? 

"  When  wine  is  in,  wit  is  out,"  was  the  proverb  I  always 
acted  upon,  on  occasions  similar  to  the  present ;  that  is  to  say, 
when  the  "  wine  "  had  any  business  to  be  "  in."  I  expected, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  when  I  sent  my  sailors  on  shore,  "  on 
liberty,"  that  the  result  was  to  be  a  frolic,  and  I  was  always 
lenient  to  the  mere  concomitants  of  a  frolic ;  but  I  never  per 
mitted  them  to  abuse  or  maltreat  the  inhabitants,  or  perpetrate 
any  malicious  mischief.  But  if  they  got  drunk  on  board,  in 
violation  of  the  discipline  of  the  ship,  or,  in  other  words,  if 
the  wine  had  no  business  to  be  "  in,"  I  considered  that  the  wit 
had  no  business  to  be  "  out."  And  so  I  listened  to  their  peni 
tential  excuses,  one  by  one,  and  restored  them  to  duty,  retain 
ing  one  or  two  of  the  greatest  culprits  for  trial  by  court-martial, 
as  an  example  to  the  rest.  Having  disposed  of  the  other  cases, 
I  turned  to  Tom  Bowse  and  Bill  Bower,  the  heroes  of  the 
moonlight-chase,  and  said  to  them,  "  And  so  you  are  a  pretty 
set  of  fellows ;  you  not  only  tried  to  desert  your  ship  and  flag, 
but  you  endeavored  to  commit  murder,  in  your  attempt  to 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       565 

escape ! "  "  Murder !  "  replied  Bowse,  with  a  start  of  horror, 
that  I  could  see  was  entirely  honest,  "  we  never  thought  of 
such  a  thing,  sir  ;  them  Jamaica  niggers,  they  take  to  the  water 
as  natural  as  South-Sea  Islanders,  and  there  's  no  such  thing  as 
drowning  them,  sir."  "  That  was  it,  your  honor,"  now  put  in 
Bowse;  "it  was  only  a  bit  of  a  joke,  you  see,  sir,  played  upon 
the  officer  of  the  cutter.  We  knew  he  'd  stop  to  pick  'em  up, 
and  so  give  us  the  weathergauge  of  him."  "That  may  do 
very  well  for  the  murder,"  I  now  rejoined,  "but  what  about  the 
desertion?"  "Nary-a-bit  of  it,  your  honor,"  again  replied 
Bowse ;  "  we  only  meant  to  have  another  bit  of  a  frolic,  and 
come  back  all  in  good  time,  before  the  ship  sailed."  "Just  so," 
added  Bower;  "the  fact  is,  your  honor,  we  were  hardly  re 
sponsible  for  what  we  did  that  night ;  for  we  had  a  small  drop 
aboard,  and  then  the  moon  was  so  bright,  and  Moll  Riggs  she 
had  sent  us  such  a  kind  message  !  "  The  moonlight  and  Moll 
clinched  the  argument,  and  turning  to  the  master-at-arms,  with 
an  ill-suppressed  smile,  I  directed  him  to  turn  the  prisoners 
loose. 

I  had  scarcely  gotten  through  with  this  jail-delivery,  before 
the  cry  of  "  sail  ho ! "  rang  out  upon  the  clear  morning  air, 
from  the  mast-head.  There  was  no  necessity  to  alter  our 
course,  for  the  sail  was  nearly  ahead.  In  an  hour  more,  a 
very  pretty,  newly-painted  bark,  with  her  sails  flapping  idly  in 
the  calm  which  was  now  prevailing,  arose  to  view  from  the 
deck.  She  had  the  usual  Yankee  ear-marks,  tapering  masts 
and  cotton  sails,  and  we  felt  sure  of  another  prize.  We  showed 
her  the  United  States  colors  as  we  approached,  and  a  very 
bright  "  old  flag  "  soon  afterward  ascended  to  her  peak,  droop 
ing  despondently  for  want  of  wind  to  blow  it  out.  The  cat 
did  not  torture  the  mouse  long,  for  we  soon  changed  flags,  and 
gave  the  master  of  the  doomed  ship  the  same  satisfaction  that 
Jacob  Faithful  received,  when  he  found  his  missing  son's  shirt 
in  the  maw  of  the  shark  —  the  satisfaction  of  being  put  out 
of  doubt,  and  knowing  that  his  ship  would  be  burned.  The 
prize  proved,  upon  being  boarded,  to  be  the  Golden  Rule,  from 
New  York,  for  Aspinwall.  She  belonged  to  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Steamship  Company,  and  was  filled  with  an  assorted 
cargo  —  having  on  board,  among  other  things,  masts,  and  a 


566  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

complete  set  of  rigging  for  the  United  States  brig  Bainbridge, 
which  had  recently  had  everything  swept  by  the  board,  in  a 
gale  at  Aspinwall. 

Judging  from  the  bills  of  lading  found  on  board,  some  smal] 
portions  of  the  cargo  appeared  to  be  neutral,  but  there  being 
no  sworn  evidence  to  vouch  for  the  fact,  in  the  way  of  Con 
sular,  or  other  certificates,  I  applied  the  well-known  rule  of 
prize  law  to  the  case,  viz.,  that  everything  found  on  board 
an  enemy's  ship  is  presumed  to  belong  to  the  enemy,  until  the 
contrary  is  shown  by  proper  evidence ;  and  at  about  six  P.  M. 
applied  the  torch.  The  islands  of  St.  Domingo  and  Jamaica 
were  both  sufficiently  near  for  their  inhabitants  to  witness  the 
splendid  bonfire,  which  lighted  up  the  heavens  far  and  near, 
soon  after  dark.  A  looker-on  upon  that  conflagration  would 
have  seen  a  beautiful  picture,  for  besides  the  burning  ship, 
there  were  the  two  islands  mentioned,  sleeping  in  the  dreamy 
moonlight,  on  the  calm  bosom  of  a  tropical  sea,  and  the  rakish- 
looking  "British  Pirate"  steaming  in  for  the  land,  with  every 
spar,  and  line  of  cordage  brought  out  in  bold  relief,  by  the 
bright  flame  —  nay,  with  the  very  "pirates"  themselves  visible, 
handling  the  boxes,  and  bales  of  merchandise,  which  they  had 
"robbed"  from  this  innocent  Yankee,  whose  countrymen  at 
home  were  engaged  in  the  Christain  occupation  of  burning 
our  houses  and  desolating  our  fields. 

One  of  the  pleasant  recollections  connected  with  the  picture, 
was  that  I  had  tied  up  for  a  while  longer,  one  of  the  enemy's 
gun-brigs,  for  want  of  an  outfit.  It  must  have  been  some 
months  before  the  Bainbridge  put  to  sea.  There  was  another 
good  act  performed.  Lots  of  patent  medicines,  with  which 
the  enemy  was  about  inundating  the  South  American  coast, 
for  the  benefit  of  the  livers  of  their  fellow- democrats,  were 
consigned  to  the  flames.  The  reader  had  an  opportunity  to 
observe,  when  we  captured  the  Dunkirk,  how  zealously  our 
pious  brethren  of  the  North  were  looking  out  for  the  religion, 
and  morals  of  the  Portuguese,  in  a  sly  way.  He  now  sees  what 
a  regard  they  have  for  the  health  of  the  atrabilious  South 
Americans.  Both  operations  paid,  of  course,  and  whether  it 
was  a  tract,  or  a  pill  that  was  sold,  could  make  but  little  dif 
ference  to  the  manufacturers  of  the  merchandise. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     567 

"We  steamed  along  the  coast,  at  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight 
miles,  the  remainder  of  that  night  without  further  adventure ; 
and  the  next  morning  dawned  clear,  with  a  slight  change  of 
programme  as  to  weather.  There  were  clouds  hurrying  past  us, 
wetting  our  jackets,  now,  and  then,  without  interrupting  the 
sunshine,  and  a  stiff  northeaster  blowing.  This  was  a  head 
wind,  and  we  labored  against  it  all  day,  with  diminished  speed. 
At  three  p.  M.  we  made  the  remarkable  island,  or  rather,  moun 
tain  of  rock,  called  in  the  beautiful  Spanish,  Alta  Yela,  or 
Tall  Sail,  from  its  resemblance  to  a  ship  under  sail,  at  a  dis 
tance.  It  rises,  at  a  distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  the 
main  island  of  St.  Domingo,  with  almost  perpendicular  sides, 
to  the  height  of  several  hundred  feet,  and  affords  a  foothold 
for  no  living  creature,  but  the  sea-gull,  the  gannet,  and  other 
water-fowl.  Soon  after  nightfall,  we  boarded  a  Spanish  brig 
from  Montevideo,  bound  for  Havana ;  and  at  eleven  P.  M.,  Alta 
Vela  bearing  north,  and  being  distant  from  us,  about  five 
miles,  we  hove  to,  with  a  shot,  another  sail,  that  was  running 
down  the  coast.  She  was  a  rakish-looking  hermaphrodite 
brig,  and  in  the  bright  moonlight  looked  Yankee.  The  report 
of  our  heavy  gun,  reverberated  by  a  hundred  echoes  from 
Alta  Yela,  had  a  magical  effect  upon  the  little  craft.  Flying 
like  a  sea-gull  before  a  gale  only  a  moment  before,  she  be 
came,  in  an  instant,  like  the  same  sea-gull  with  its  wings  folded, 
and  riding  upon  the  wave,  without  other  motion  than  such  as 
the  wave  gave  it.  Eanging  within  a  convenient  distance,  we 
lowered,  and  sent  a  boat  on  board  of  her.  She  proved  to  be 
American,  as  we  had  suspected.  She  was  the  Ckastelaine  of 
Boston,  last  from  the  island  of  Guadeloupe,  whither  she  had 
been  to  deliver  a  cargo  of  staves,  and  was  now  on  her  way  to 
Cienfuegos,  in  the  island  of  Cuba,  in  quest  of  sugar  and  rum 
for  the  Boston  folks.  We  applied  the  torch  to  her,  lighting 
up  the  sea-girt  walls  of  Alta  Yela  with  the  unusual  spectacle 
of  a  burning  ship,  and  disturbing  the  slumber  of  the  sea-gulls 
and  gannets  for  the  balance  of  the  night. 

The  next  morning  found  us  still  steaming  to  the  eastward, 
along  the  Haytian  coast.  Having  now  the  crews  of  two  ships 
on  board,  as  prisoners,  I  hauled  in  closer  to  the  coast,  with 
the  intention  of  running  into  the  old  town  of  St.  Domingo, 


568  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  landing  them.  We  got  sight  of  this  old  city  early  in  the 
afternoon,  and  at  about  four  p.  M.  ran  in  and  anchored.  The 
anchorage  is  an  open  roadstead,  formed  by  the  debouchement 
of  the  picturesque  little  river  Ozama,  which  seems  to  have 
burst  through  the  rocky  barrier  of  the  coast,  to  find  its  way  to 
the  sea.  We  found  but  two  vessels  anchored  here  —  one  of 
them  being  a  New  York  brig,  recently  put  under  English 
colors.  She  had  a  "  bran-new  "  English  ensign  flying.  Ad 
miral  Milne  having  failed  to  respond  to  the  frantic  cries  of 
the  New  York  "  Commercial  Advertiser,"  to  protect  the 
Yankee  flag,  the  Yankee  ship-owners,  with  many  loathings 
and  contortions,  were  at  last  forced  to  gulp  the  English  flag. 
There  was  no  other  way  of  coaxing  England  to  protect  them. 
Being  in  a  neutral  port,  I  had  no  opportunity,  of  course,  of 
testing  the  verity  of  this  "  cross  of  St.  George,"  as  the  Yankees 
were  fond  of  calling  the  hated  emblem  of  England  —  hated, 
but  hugged  at  the  same  time,  for  the  protection  which  it  gave 
ship  and  cargo. 

It  will  be  recollected  that,  at  the  time  of  my  visit,  Spain  had 
repossessed  herself  of  the  eastern,  or  Dominican  end  of  the 
island  of  St.  Domingo ;  and  a  Spanish  naval  commander  now 
came  on  board  to  visit  rne.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  arranging 
with  him  for  the  landing  of  my  prisoners.  I  sent  them  to  the 
guard-ship,  and  he  sent  them  thence  to  the  shore.  This  done, 
and  arrangements  being  made  for  some  fresh  provisions  and 
other  refreshments/ to  be  sent  off  to  the  crew  in  the  morning, 
I  landed  for  a  stroll,  on  this  most  classical  of  all  American  soil. 
The  old  city  of  St.  Domingo !  How  many  recollections 
does  it  not  call  up  !  It  was  a  large  and  flourishing  city  a 
hundred  years  before  that  pestiferous  little  craft,  called  the 
Mayflower,  brought  over  the  cockatrice's  egg  that  hatched  out 
the  Puritan.  It  was  mentioned,  incidentally,  as  the  reader  may 
remember,  whilst  we  were  running  down  the  north  side  of  the 
island,  on  our  way  to  catch  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  California  steamer, 
that  the  little  town  of  Isabella,  on  that  side  of  the  island,  was 
the  first  city  founded  in  the  New  World ;  and  that  the  new  set 
tlement  was  soon  broken  up,  and  transferred  to  the  city  of  St. 
Domingo.  The  latter  city  grew  apace,  and  flourished,  and  was, 
for  many  years,  the  chief  seat  of  the  Spanish  empire  in  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       569 

New  World.  It  is,  to-day,  in  its  ruins,  the  most  interesting 
city  in  all  the  Americas.  Columbus  himself  lived  here,  and 
hither  his  remains  were  brought  from  Spain,  and  reposed  for 
many  years,  until  they  were  transferred  to  Cuba,  with  great 
pomp  and  ceremony.  The  names  of  Las  Casas,  Diego  Colum 
bus,  the  son  and  successor  of  the  admiral,  Oviedo,  Hernando 
Cortez,  and  a  host  of  others,  are  bound  up  in  its  history.  The 
latter,  the  renowned  conqueror  of  Mexico,  was  for  several 
years  a  notary  in  an  adjoining  province. 

"We  have  not  much  time  to  spare,  reader,  as  the  Alabama 
will  be  on  the  wing,  again,  with  the  morning's  light,  but  I  can 
not  forbear  pointing  out  to  you  two  of  the  principal  ruins  of 
this  famous  old  city.  One  of  them  is  the  Dominican  Convent, 
and  the  other  the  Palacio,  or  residence  of  Diego  Columbus. 
The  old  city  being  named  in  honor  of  St.  Dominic,  great  pains 
were  evidently  bestowed  upon  the  church  and  convent  that 
were  to  bear  his  name ;  and  so  substantially  was  the  former 
built,  that  it  stands  entire,  and  is  still  used  as  a  place  of  wor 
ship,  after  the  lapse  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  altars 
are  all  standing,  though  faded  and  worm-eaten,  and  see !  there 
is  a  lamp  still  burning  before  the  altar  of  the  Holy  Eucharist. 
That  lamp  was  lighted  in  the  days  of  Columbus,  and  has  been 
burning  continuously  ever  since !  Observe  these  marble  slabs 
over  which  we  are  walking.  The  entire  floor  is  paved  with 
them.  They  are  the  tombstones  of  the  dead,  that  were  dis 
tinguished  in  their  day,  but  who  have  long  since  been  forgot 
ten.  Here  is  a  date  of  1532,  on  one  of  them.  It  is  much  de 
faced  and  worn  by  the  footsteps  of  the  generations  that  have 
passed  over  it,  but  we  can  see  by  the  mitre  and  crozier,  that 
have  been  sculptured  on  it,  in  bas-relief,  that  the  remains  of  a 
bishop  lie  beneath.  His  name?  We  cannot  make  it  out. 
The  record  of  a  bishop,  carved  upon  the  enduring  marble,  and 
placed  upon  the  floor  of  his  own  cathedral,  has  been  lost. 
What  a  sermon  is  here  in  this  stone !  Raise  your  eyes  now 
from  the  floor,  and  cast  them  on  the  wall  opposite.  In  that 
niche,  in  the  great  cathedral  wall,  sang  the  choir  of  ancient 
days.  These  vaulted  roofs  have  resounded  with  music  from 
the  lips  of  many  generations  of  beauties,  that  have  faded 
like  the  butterfly  of  the  field,  leaving  no  more  trace  of  their 


570  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

names  and  lineage  than  that  little  wanderer  of  an  hour.  There 
stands  the  silent  organ,  whose  last  note  was  sounded  a  century 
or  more  ago,  with  its  gilding  all  tarnished,  its  stately  carving 
tumbled  down  and  lying  in  debris  at  its  feet,  and  the  bat  and 
the  spider  building  their  nests  in  the  cylinders  that  once  mim 
icked  the  thunder,  and  sent  thrills  of  devotion  through  the 
hearts  of  the  multitude.  There  are  remains  of  frescoes  on  the 
walls,  but  the  damp  and  the  mildew,  in  this  humid  climate, 
have  so  effectually  performed  their  office,  that  the  bright 
colors  have  disappeared,  and  only  a  dim  outline  of  their  design 
is  visible. 

Let  us  step  over  from  the  cathedral,  to  the  conventual  por 
tion  of  the  massive  block.  The  walls,  as  you  see,  are  exten 
sive,  and  are  standing,  in  a  sufficient  state  of  preservation,  to 
enable  us  to  trace  out  the  ground-plan,  and  reconstruct,  in 
imagination,  the  ancient  edifice.  Its  design  is  that  of  a  hollow 
square,  after  the  fashion  prevalent  in  Spain.  On  all  four  sides 
of  the  square  are  arrayed  the  cells  of  the  monks,  the  colon 
nades  in  front  of  which  are  still  standing.  In  the  centre  of 
the  square,  occupying  the  space,  which,  in  a  private  house, 
would  have  been  appropriated  to  a  jet  $eau,  and  flowers  in 
vases,  is  an  oblong  hall,  connected  at  either  end  with  the  main 
building.  This  was  the  refectory  of  the  ancient  establishment. 
What  scenes  does  not  the  very  sight  of  this  refectory  present 
to  the  imagination?  We  see  the  table  spread,  with  its  naked 
board,  humble  service,  and  still  more  humble  food ;  we  hear 
the  dinner-signal  sound  ;  and  we  see  long  lines  of  bearded  and 
hooded  monks,  with  crosses  and  beads  pendent  from  their 
girdles,  enter,  and  seat  themselves  to  partake  of  the  wonted 
refreshment.  We  hear  the  subdued  hum  of  many  voices — 
the  quiet  joke,  and  half-suppressed  merriment.  There,  at  the 
head  of  the  board,  sits  the  venerable  abbot,  whilst  the  chaplain 
reads  his  Latin  text,  from  his  stand,  during  the  repast.  Let 
now  the  years  begin  to  roll  by.  We  shall  miss,  first  one 
familiar  face  from  the  humble  board,  and  then  another,  until 
finally  they  all  disappear,  being  carried  away,  one  by  one,  to 
their  silent  tombs !  The  abbots  repose  beneath  those  marble 
slabs  in  the  cathedral  that  we  so  lately  wandered  over,  with 
lightened  footfall,  and  subdued  breath ;  but  the  brothers  are 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      571 

carried  to  the  common  burial-ground  of  the  order,  in  the  out 
skirts  of  the  town.  New  generations  enter,  occupy  the  same 
seats,  go  through  the  same  routine  of  convent  life,  and  in  turn 
disappear,  to  give  place  to  newer  comers  still ;  and  thus  is  ever 
swollen  the  holocaust  of  the  mighty  dead !  "  What  is  man, 
0  Lord  !  that  thou  shouldst  be  mindful  of  him  ?  " 

"The  dead  —  the  honored  dead  are  here  — 
For  whom,  behind  the  sable  bier, 
Through  many  a  long-forgotten  year, 

Forgotten  crowds  have  come, 

With  solemn  step  and  falling  tear, 

Bearing  their  brethren  home. 

"Beneath  these  boughs,  athwart  this  grass, 
I  see  a  dark  and  moving  mass, 
Like  Banquo's  shades  across  the  glass, 

By  wizard  hands  displayed; 
Stand  back,  and  let  these  hearses  pass, 

Along  the  trampled  glade." 

The  Convent  of  St.  Dominic  being  situated  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  old  city,  in  the  angle  formed  by  the  river  Ozama, 
and  the  sea,  observe  what  a  delightful  sea-breeze  meets  us,  as 
we  emerge  from  the  ruined  refectory.  Let  us  pause  a  while,  to 
lift  our  hats,  from  our  heated  brows,  and  refresh  ourselves, 
while  we  listen  to  the  unceasing  roar  of  the  surf,  as  it  beats 
against  the  rocky  cliff  below,  and  throws  its  spray  half-way  to 
our  feet.  What  a  charming  view  we  have  of  the  sea,  as  it  lies 
in  its  blue  expanse,  dotted  here  and  there  with  a  sail ;  and  of 
the  coasts  of  the  island  east  and  west  of  us  —  those  blackened, 
rock-bound  shores  that  seem  hoary  with  age,  and  so  much  in 
unison  with  the  train  of  thought  we  have  been  pursuing. 

There  are  but  three  crafts  anchored  in  the  roadstead,  where 
formerly  fleets  used  to  lie.  Of  two  of  these,  we  have  already 
spoken.  The  third  is  the  Alabama.  There  is  a  little  current 
setting  out  of  the  river,  and  she  lies,  in  consequence,  broadside 
to  the  sea,  which  is  setting  in  to  the  beach.  She  is  rolling 
gently  to  this  sea,  displaying  every  now  and  then,  bright  streaks 
of  the  copper  on  her  bottom.  She  is  full  of  men,  and  a  strange 
flag  is  flying  from  her  peak  —  not  only  strange  to  the  dead 
generations  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking,  but  new  even-  to 
our  own  times  and  history.  It  is  the  flag  of  a  nation  which  has 


572  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

just  risen  above  the  Horizon,  and  is  but  repeating  the  history 
of  the  world.  The  oppressed  has  struggled  against  the  op 
pressor  since  time  began.  The  struggle  is  going  on  still.  It 
will  go  on  forever,  for  the  nature  of  man  will  always  be  the 
same.  The  cockatrice's  egg  has  been  hatched,  and  swarms  of 
the  Puritan  have  come  forth  to  overrun  the  fair  fields  of  the 
South  that  they  may  possess  them;  just  as  the  wild  Germans 
overran  the  plains  of  Italy  centuries  before. 

But  away  with  such  thoughts  for  the  present.  We  came  on 
shore  to  get  rid  of  them.  They  madden  the  brain,  and  quicken 
the  pulse.  The  little  craft,  with  the  strange  flag,  has  borne  her 
captain  hither,  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  the  great  dis 
coverer,  whose  history  may  be  written  in  a  single  couplet. 

"A  Castilla,  y  Leon 
Nuevo  Mundo,  dio  Colon." 

On  her  way  hither,  her  keel  has  crossed  the  very  track  of  the 
three  little  vessels  from  Palos — two  of  them  mere  open  cara 
vels —  that  first  ventured  across  the  vast  Atlantic ;  and  now 
her  commander  is  standing  where  the  great  admiral  himself 
once  stood  —  on  the  very  theatre  of  his  early  glory.  And  alas! 
for  Spain,  on  the  theatre  of  his  shame,  or  rather  of  her  shame, 
too ;  for  there  stands  the  fortress  still,  in  which  are  exhibited 
to  the  curious  spectator  the  rings  in  the  solid  masonry  of  the 
wall,  to  which  Columbus  was  chained ! 

A  short  walk  will  take  us  to  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  Diego 
Columbus.  We  must  ascend  the  river  a  few  hundred  yards. 
Here  it  is,  a  little  below  the  port  of  the  present  day.  When 
built  it  stood  alone,  and  we  may  remember  that  the  towns 
people  complained  of  it,  on  this  account  —  saying  that  it  was 
intended  as  a  fortress,  to  keep  them  in  subjection.  It  is  now 
surrounded,  as  you  see,  by  the  ruins  of  many  houses.  If  you 
have  read  Oviedo's  description  of  it,  you  are  disappointed  in 
its  appearance;  for  that  historian  tells  us,  that  "no  man  in 
Spain  had  a  house  to  compare  with  it."  Its  form  is  that  of 
two  quadrangles  connected  by  a  colonnade,  but  it,  by  no 
means,  comes  up  to  the  modern  idea  of  a  palace.  The  roof 
has  'entirely  disappeared,  and  the  quadrangles  are  mere  shells 
filled  with  the  accumulating  debris  of  centuries,  amid  which 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     573 

large  forest-trees  have  taken  root  and  are  flourishing.  It  was 
built  of  solid  and  substantial  blocks  of  stone,  and  in  any  other 
country  but  the  tropics,  would  have  scarcely  shown  signs  of 
age  in  three  centuries.  But  here  the  fierce  rays  of  a  perpen 
dicular  sun,  the  torrents  of  rain  in  the  wet  season,  and  the 
occasional  hurricanes  and  earthquakes,  that  desolate  and  de 
stroy  everything  in  their  path,  soon  beat  down  the  stanchest 
buildings  —  the  very  blocks  of  granite  being  disintegrated,  by 
the  alternate  rain  and  sunshine,  and  crumbling  away  beneath 
their  influence.  It  is  situated  on  a  rising  ground,  command 
ing  a  fine  view  of  the  sea,  and  the  surrounding  country.  It 
is  surrounded  by  walls  and  battlements,  but  the  most  imposing 
feature  about  it,  must  have  been  the  approach  to  it  from  the 
city — the  visitor  passing  through  a  wide  avenue  of  shade- 
trees,  and  gaining  admission  to  it  by  a  majestic  flight  of  stone 
steps.  The  shade-trees  have  disappeared,  and  the  stone  steps 
have  been  removed  to  be  worked  up  into  other  buildings. 

We  have  called  this  house,  the  palace  of  Diego  Columbus, 
but  it  must  have  been  constructed  either  by  his  father,  the 
admiral,  or  his  uncle  Bartholomew,  the  Adelantado,  as  we  read 
that  when  Diego  came  out,  after  his  father's  death,  to  assume 
the  viceroyalty,  he  found  it  ready  built  at  his  hand.  Its 
blackened  walls  and  dirt-filled  saloons,  now  in  the  midst  of  a 
squalid  purlieu  of  the  modern  city,  must  have  witnessed  many 
a  scene  of  revelry  in  its  day,  as  Oviedo  tells  us,  that  when  the 
young  admiral  was  restored  to  the  honors  and  command  of 
his  father,  he  brought  out  to  his  new  government,  with  him, 
some  of  the  most  elegant  young  women  of  Spain,  as  a  sort  of 
maids  of  honor  to  his  own  beautiful  young  wife  —  the  mar 
riage  portions  of  all  of  whom  he  undertook  to  provide.  And 
that  in  due  time  these  young  women  were  all  happily  be 
stowed  upon  gallant  knights  and  wealthy  planters. 

There,  now,  reader,  we  have  taken  a  stroll  through  the 
classical  old  city  of  St.  Domingo  —  a  piece  of  good  fortune, 
which  falls  to  the  lot  of  very  few.  Its  romantic  history  seems 
to  have  been  forgotten ;  it  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  mon 
grel  race  of  blacks  and  whites,  and  is  rarely  visited  for  any 
other  purpose  than  that  of  trade.  The  negro  and  the  mulatto 
in  this  oldest  of  American  cities  are  thought  rather  more  of 


574  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

than  the  white  man,  and  the  Yankee  skipper  finds  in  it,  a  con 
genial  mart,  in  which  to  vend  his  cheese  and  his  codfish,  and 
distribute  his  tracts — political  and  moral — and  put  forth  his 
patent  medicines! 

We  did  not  get  under  way,  the  next  morning,  until  eight 
o'clock,  as  the  supplies  from  the  butchers  and  fruiterers  could 
not  be  gotten  on  board  at  an  earlier  hour.  Bartelli  came  off 
from  the  market,  loaded  as  usual,  bringing  with  him  a  bunch  of 
wild  pigeons,  very  similar  to  those  found  in  our  forests,  and  some 
excellent  cigars.  The  flavor  of  the  latter  is  not  quite  equal  to 
those  of  the  Havana,  but  they  are  mild  and  pleasant  smokers. 
He  brought  off)  also,  a  specimen  of  the  Haytian  paper  money, 
worth  five  cents  on  the  dollar.  Like  the  American  greenback, 
it  is  the  offshoot  of  revolution  and  political  corruption. 

As  eight  o'clock  struck,  turning  out  of  the  ship  the  motley 
crowd  of  negroes  and  mulattoes  who  had  come  off  to  trade 
with  the  sailors,  we  tripped  our  anchor,  and  turning  the  ship's 
head  again  to  the  eastward,  gave  her  the  steam.  The  day  was 
fine,  and  the  sea  smooth,  and  we  had  a  picturesque  run  along 
the  Haytian  coast,  for  the  rest  of  the  day.  The  coast  is  gen 
erally  clean,  what  few  dangers  there  are  being  all  visible. 
The  only  sails  sighted  were  fishing-boats  and  small  coasters 
laden  with  farm  produce,  running  down  to  St.  Domingo  for  a 
market.  At  times  a  number  of  these  were  in  sight,  and  the 
effect  was  very  pleasing.  The  coasts  of  Hayti  abound  in  fish, 
and  as  there  is  a  succession  of  fruits  all  the  year  round,  it  is 
the  paradise  of  the  negro.  A  canoe  and  a  fishing-line,  or  cast- 
net,  and  a  few  plantain  and  mango-trees  supply  his  table ;  and 
two  or  three  times  a  year,  he  cuts  a  mahogany  log,  and  floats 
it  down  the  little  mountain  streams,  to  the  coast,  where  he  sells 
it  for  paper  money  enough  to  buy  him  a  few  yards  of  cotton 
cloth,  or  calico.  Voila  tout! 

We  entered  the  Mona  Passage  at  half-past  eight  P.  M.  It 
was  unguarded  as  before.  During  the  night,  we  let  our  steam 
go  down,  to  give  the  engineer  an  opportunity  of  screwing  up 
the  cylinder-head.  Under  way  again  before  daylight.  The 
weather  continued  fine,  and  we  began  again  to  fall  in  with 
sails.  They  were  all  neutral,  however.  We  spoke  a  Spanish 
schooner,  among  the  rest,  and  gave  her  the  longitude.  As 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      575 

soon  as  we  had  well  cleared  the  passage,  we  banked  fires,  and 
lowering  the  propeller,  put  the  ship  under  sail.  On  Sunday, 
February  1st,  we  had  our  first  muster  since  leaving  Jamaica. 
We  had  been  out  now  a  week,  and  in  that  time  I  had  gotten  my 
crew  straightened  up  again.  The  rum  had  been  pretty  well 
worked  out  of  them ;  most  of  the  black  rings  around  the  eyes 
had  disappeared,  and  beards  had  been  trimmed,  and  heads 
combed.  The  court-martial  which  had  been  trying  the  few  cul 
prits,  that  had  been  retained  for  trial,  had  gotten  through  its 
labors,  and  been  dissolved,  and  Jack,  as  he  answered  to  his 
name,  and  walked  around  the  capstan,  was  "himself  again,"  in 
all  the  glory  of  white  "ducks,"  polished  shoes,  straw  hats,  and 
streaming  ribbons.  No  more  than  two  or  three  desertions  had 
occurred,  out  of  the  whole  crew,  and  this  was  very  gratifying. 
The  next  day,  we  had  an  alarm  of  fire  on  board.  It  was  near 
twelve  o'clock.  I  happened  to  be  standing  on  the  horse-block, 
at  the  time,  observing  the  sun  for  latitude,  when  suddenly  I 
heard  a  confusion  of  voices  below,  and  simultaneously  the  offi 
cer  of  the  deck,  with  evident  alarm  depicted  in  his  countenance, 
came  running  to  me,  and  said,  "The  ship  is  on  fire,  sir!"  This 
is  an  alarm  that  always  startles  the  seaman.  The  "fire-bell 
in  the  night"  is  sufficiently  alarming  to  the  landsman,  but  the 
cry  of  fire  at  sea  imports  a  matter  of  life  and  death  —  espe 
cially  in  a  ship  of  war,  whose  boats  are  always  insufficient  to 
carry  off  her  crew,  and  whose  magazine  and  shell-rooms  are 
filled  with  powder,  and  the  loaded  missiles  of  death.  The  fire- 
bell  on  board  a  ship  of  war,  whose  crew  is  always  organized 
as  a  fire  company,  points  out  the  duty  of  every  officer  and  man 
in  such  an  emergency.  The  first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  "  beat  to 
quarters,"  and  accordingly  I  gave  this  order  to  the  officer ;  but 
before  the  drummer  could  brace  his  drum  for  the  operation,  it 
was  announced  that  all  danger  had  disappeared.  When  we 
had  a  little  leisure  to  look  into  the  facts,  it  appeared,  that  the 
alarm  had  arisen  from  the  carelessness  of  the  "  captain  of  the 
hold,"  who,  in  violation  of  the  orders  of  the  ship,  had  taken  a 
naked  light  below  with  him,  into  the  spirit-room,  to  pump  off 
the  grog  by.  The  candle  had  ignited  some  of  the  escaping 
gas,  but  the  flame  was  suppressed  almost  immediately.  The 
captain  of  the  hold,  who  is  a  petty  officer,  paid  the  penalty 
37 


576  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  his  disobedience,  by  being  dismissed  from  his  office ;  and  in 
half  an  hour,  the  thing  was  forgotten. 

Since  leaving  the  Mona  Passage,  we  had  been  steering  about 
N.  N.  W.,  or  as  near  north  as  the  trade-wind  would  permit  us. 
We  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  meet  with  the  usual 
calms,  as  we  came  up  with  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  but  the 
north-east  trade,  instead  of  dying  away,  as  we  had  expected, 
hauled  to  the  south-east,  and  shot  us  across  the  calm-belt,  with 
a  fine  breeze  all  the  way.  We  carried  this  wind  to  the  twenty- 
seventh  parallel,  when  we  took,  with  scarcely  any  intermis 
sion,  a  fresh  north-wester.  This  does  not  often  happen  in  the 
experience  of  the  navigator,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  when  he 
has  before  been  crossing  the  calm-belts  with  us. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  we  made  our  first  capture  since 
leaving  St.  Domingo.  It  was  the  schooner  Palmetto,  bound 
from  New  York  to  St.  John's,  in  the  island  of  Porto  Eico. 
We  gave  chase  to  her,  soon  after  breakfast,  and  came  up  with 
her  about  half-past  one  P.  M.  It  was  a  fair  trial  of  heels,  with 
a  fine  breeze  and  a  smooth  sea ;  both  vessels  being  on  a  wind ; 
and  it  was  beautiful  to  see  how  the  Alabama  performed  her 
task,  working  up  into  the  wind's  eye,  and  overhauling  her 
enemy,  with  the  ease  of  a  trained  courser  coming  up  with  a 
saddle-nag.  There  was  no  attempt  to  cover  the  cargo  of  the 
Palmetto.  The  enemy  merchants  seemed  to  have  come  to  the 
conclusion,  that  it  was  no  longer  of  any  use  to  prepare  bogus 
certificates,  and  that  they  might  as  well  let  their  cargoes  run 
the  chances  of  war,  without  them.  Upon  examination  of  the 
papers  of  the  schooner,  it  appeared  that  the  cargo  was  shipped 
by  the  Spanish  house  of  Harques  &  Maseras,  domiciled,  and 
doing  business  in  New  York,  to  Vincent  Brothers,  in  San 
Juan,  Porto  Kico,  on  joint  account ;  the  shippers  owning  one 
third,  and  the  consignee  two  thirds.  The  case  came,  therefore, 
under  the  rule  applied  in  a  former  case,  viz.,  that  when  part 
ners  reside,  some  in  a  belligerent,  and  some  in  a  neutral  coun 
try,  the  property  of  all  of  them,  which  has  any  connection 
with  the  house  in  the  belligerent  country,  is  liable  to  confisca 
tion.  (3  Phillimore,  605,  and  1  Robinson,  1,  14,  19.  Also,  The 
Susa,  ib.  255.)  Getting  on  board  from  the  Palmetto,  such  arti 
cles  of  provisions  —  and  she  was  chiefly  provision-laden — as 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        577 

we  needed,  we  applied  the  torch  to  her  about  sunset,  and  filled 
away,  and  made  sail. 

The  next  afternoon  we  sighted  a  sail  on  our  weather-bow, 
close  hauled,  like  ourselves,  and  continued  to  gain  upon  her, 
until  night  shut  her  out  from  view,  when  we  discontinued  the 
chase.  We  were  satisfied  from  her  appearance,  that  she  was 
neutral,  or  we  should,  probably,  have  expended  a  little  steam 
upon  her.  At  night  the  weather  set  in  thick,  and  the  wind 
blew  so  fresh  from  the  north-east,  that  we  took  a  single  reef 
in  the  topsails.  This  bad  weather  continued  for  the  next  two 
or  three  days,  reducing  us,  a  part  of  the  time,  to  close  reefs. 
The  reader  is  probably  aware,  that  a  ship  bound  from  the  West 
Indies  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  is  compelled  to  run  up  into  the 
"  variables,"  and  make  sufficient  easting,  to  enable  her  to 
weather  Cape  St.  Koque.  This  is  what  the  Alabama  is  now 
doing — working  her  way  to  the  eastward,  on  the  parallel  of 
about  30°.  We  observed  on  the  20th  of  February,  in  lati 
tude  28°  32' ;  the  longitude  being  45°  05'. 

The  next  day,  the  weather  being  very  fine,  with  the  wind 
light  from  the  southward  and  eastward,  a  sail  was  descried 
from  aloft,  and  soon  afterward  another,  and  another,  until 
four  were  seen.  We  gave  chase  to  the  first  sail  announced ; 
standing  to  the  eastward,  in  pursuit  of  her,  for  an  hour  or 
two,  but  she  being  a  long  distance  ahead,  and  to  windward, 
and  the  chase  being  likely,  in  consequence,  to  be  long, 
and  to  draw  us  away  from  the  other  three  sail,  besides,  we 
abandoned  it,  and  gave  chase  to  two  of  the  latter.  These 
were  fine,  tall  ships,  under  a  cloud  of  canvas,  steering,  one 
to  the  eastward,  and  the  other  to  the  westward.  Being  quite 
sure  that  they  were  Americans,  and  the  wind  falling  light,  we 
got  up  steam  for  the  chase.  Coming  up  with  the  eastward- 
bound  ship,  we  hove  her  to,  but  not  until  we  had  thrown  a 
couple  of  shot  at  her,  in  succession  —  the  latter  whizzing  over 
the  masters  head  on  the  quarter-deck.  She  was  evidently 
endeavoring  to  draw  us  after  her,  as  far  to  the  eastward  as 
possible,  to  give  her  consort,  with  whom  she  had  spoken,  and 
who  was  running,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  to  the  westward,  an 
opportunity  to  escape.  Throwing  a  boat's  crew  hastily  on 
board  of  her,  and  directing  the  prize-master  to  follow  us,  we 


578  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

now  wheeled  in  pursuit  of  the  other  fugitive.  The  latter 
was,  by  this  time,  fifteen  miles  distant  —  being  hull  down  — 
and  was  running  before  the  wind  with  studding  sails,  "alow 
and  aloft."  Fortunately  for  the  Alabama,  as  before  remarked, 
the  wind  was  light,  or  the  chase  might  have  put  darkness  be 
tween  us,  before  we  came  up  with  her.  As  it  was,  it  was  three 
p.  M.  before  we  overhauled  her,  and  we  had  run  our  other  prize 
nearly  out  of  sight.  She  was  less  obstinate  than  her  consort, 
and  shortened  sail,  and  hove  to,  at  the  first  gun,  hoisting  the 
United  States  colors  at  her  peak.  She  proved  to  be  the  bark 
Olive  Jane,  of  New  York,  from  Bordeaux,  bound  to  New 
York,  with  an  assorted  cargo  of  French  wines,  and  brandies, 
canned  meats,  fruits,  and  other  delicacies.  There  was  no  at 
tempt  to  cover  the  cargo.  There  were  a  great  many  shippers. 
Some  few  of  these  had  consigned  their  goods  to  their  own 
order,  but  most  of  the  consignments  were  to  New  York  houses. 
It  is  possible  that  some  of  the  consignments,  "  to  order,"  really 
belonged  to  French  owners,  but  if  so,  I  was  relieved  from  the 
necessity  of  making  the  investigation,  by  the  carelessness  of  the 
owners  themselves,  who  had  taken  no  pains  to  protect  their 
property,  by  proper  documentary  evidence  of  its  neutral  char 
acter.  In  the  absence  of  sworn  proof,  as  before  remarked,  the 
rule  of  law  is  imperative,  that  all  property  found  on  board  of  an 
enemy's  ship,  is  presumed  to  belong  to  the  enemy.  I  acted  upon 
this  presumption,  and  set  fire  to  the  Olive  Jane.  What  a  splendid 
libation  was  here  to  old  Neptune !  I  did  not  permit  so  much 
as  a  bottle  of  brandy,  or  a  basket  of  champagne  to  be  brought 
on  board  the  Alabama,  though,  I  doubt  not,  the  throats 
of  some  of  my  vagabonds,  who  had  so  recently  cooled  off) 
from  the  big  frolic  they  had  had  in  Jamaica,  were  as  dry 
as  powder-horns.  There  were  the  richest  of  olives,  and  pates 
de  fois  gras,  going  to  tickle  the  palates  of  the  New  York  shod- 
dyites,  and  other  nouveau-riche  plebeians,  destroyed  in  that  ter 
rible  conflagration.  I  should  have  permitted  Bartelli,  and  the 
other  stewards  to  have  a  short  run  among  these  delicacies,  but 
for  the  wine  and  the  brandy.  A  Fouche  could  not  have  pre 
vented  the  boats'  crews  from  smuggling  some  of  it  on  board, 
and  then  I  might  have  had  another  Martinique  grog-watering 
on  my  hands. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       579 

Amid  the  crackling  of  flames,  the  bursting  of  brandy  casks, 
the  shrivelling  of  sails,  as  they  were  touched  by  the  fire,  and 
the  tumbling  of  the  lighter  spars  of  the  Olive  Jane  from  aloft, 
we  turned  our  head  to  the  eastward  again,  and  rejoined  our 
first  prize,  coming  up  with  her  just  as  the  shades  of  evening 
were  closing  in.  I  had  now  a  little  leisure  to  look  into  her 
character.  She,  like  the  Olive  Jane,  had  shown  me  the  "  old 
flag,"  and  that,  of  course,  had  set  at  rest  all  doubts  as  to  the 
nationality  of  the  ship.  There  was  as  little  doubt,  as  soon  ap 
peared,  about  the  cargo.  The  ship  was  the  Golden  Eagle,  and 
I  had  overhauled  her  near  the  termination  of  a  long  voyage. 
She  had  sailed  from  San  Francisco,  in  ballast,  for  Rowland's 
Island,  in  the  Pacific;  a  guano  island  of  which  some  adven 
turous  Yankees  had  taken  possession.  There  she  had  taken 
in  a  cargo  of  guano,  for  Cork  and  a  market ;  the  guano  being 
owned  by,  and  consigned  to  the  order  of  the  American  Guano 
Company.  This  ship  had  buffeted  the  gales  of  the  frozen 
latitudes  of  Cape  Horn,  threaded  her  pathway  among  its  ice 
bergs,  been  parched  with  the  heats  of  the  tropic,  and  drenched 
with  the  rains  of  the  equator,  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  her  enemy, 
only  a  few  hundred  miles  from  her  port.  But  such  is  the  for 
tune  of  war.  It  seemed  a  pity,  too,  to  destroy  so  large  a  cargo 
of  a  fertilizer,  that  would  else  have  made  fields  stagger  under 
a  wealth  of  grain.  But  those  fields  would  be  the  fields  of  the 
enemy ;  or  if  it  did  not  fertilize  his  fields,  its  sale  would  pour 
a  stream  of  gold  into  his  coffers ;  and  it  was  my  business  upon 
the  high  seas,  to  cut  off,  or  dry  up  this  stream  of  gold.  The 
torch  followed  the  examination  of  the  papers.  The  reader 
may,  perhaps,  by  this  time  have  remarked,  how  fond  the 
Yankees  had  become  of  the  qualifying  adjective,  "golden," 
as  a  prefix  to  the  names  of  their  ships.  I  had  burned  the 
Golden  Rocket,  the  Golden  Rule,  and  the  Golden  Eagle. 

We  were  now  in  latitude  30°,  and  longitude  40°,  and  if  the 
curious  reader  will  refer  to  a  map,  or  chart  of  the  North  At 
lantic  Ocean,  he  will  see  that  we  are  on  the  charmed  "crossing," 
leading  to  the  coast  of  Brazil.  By  "crossing"  is  meant  the 
point  at  which  the  ship's  course  crosses  a  given  parallel  of 
latitude.  We  must  not,  for  instance,  cross  the  thirtieth  paral 
lel,  going  southward,  until  we  have  reached  a  certain  meridian 


580  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

—  say  that  of  40°  W.  If  we  do,  the  north-east  trade-wind  will 
pinch  us,  and  perhaps  prevent  us  from  weathering  Cape  St. 
Eoque. 

And  when  we  reach  the  equator,  there  is  another  crossing 
recommended  to  the  mariner,  as  being  most  appropriate  to  his 
purpose.  Thus  it  is,  that  the  roads  upon  the  sea  have  been 
blazed  out,  as  it  were  —  the  blazes  not  being  exactly  cut  upon 
the  forest-trees,  but  upon  parallels  and  meridians.  The  chief 
blazer  of  these  roads,  is  an  American,  of  whom  all  Americans 
should  be  proud  —  Captain  Maury,  before  mentioned  in  these 
pages.  He  has  so  effectually  performed  his  task,  in  his  "  Wind 
and  Current  Charts,"  that  there  is  little  left  to  be  desired. 
The  most  unscientific  and  practical  navigator,  may,  by  the  aid 
of  these  charts,  find  the  road  he  is  in  quest  of.  Maury  has 
been,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  benefactor  of  the  very  men 
who  became  most  abusive  of  him,  when  they  found  that  he, 
like  other  Southern  statesmen — for  he  is  a  statesman  as  well  as 
sailor — was  obliged  to  preserve  his  self-respect,  by  spitting 
upon  the  "  old  flag."  He  has  saved  every  Yankee  ship,  by' 
shortening  her  route,  on  every  distant  voyage  she  makes, 
thousands  of  dollars.  The  greedy  ship-owners  pocket  the  dol 
lars,  and  abuse  the  philosopher.* 

*  "  Now  let  us  make  a  calculation  of  the  annual  saving  to  the  commerce  of  the 
United  States,  effected  by  these  charts,  and  sailing  directions.  According  to  Mr. 
Maury,  the  average  freight  from  the  United  States  to  Rio  Janeiro,  is  17.7  cents 
per  ton,  per  day  ;  to  Australia,  20  cents;  to  California,  20  cents.  The  mean  of 
this  is  a  little  over  19  cents  per  ton,  per  day ;  but  to  be  within  the  mark,  we  will 
take  it  at  15  cents,  and  include  all  the  ports  of  South  America,  China,  and  the 
East  Indies.  The  '  Sailing  Directions' have  shortened  the  passage  to  Cali 
fornia,  thirty  days ;  to  Australia,  twenty  days ;  and  to  Rio  Janeiro,  ten  days. 
The  mean  of  this  is  twenty,  but  we  will  take  it  at  fifteen,  and  also  include 
the  above-named  ports  of  South  America,  China,  and  the  East  Indies.  We 
estimate  the  tonnage  of  the  United  States,  engaged  in  trade  with  these  places, 
at  1,000,000  tons  per  annum.  With  these  data,  we  see  that  there  has  been 
effected,  a  saving  for  each  one  of  those  tons,  of  15  cents  per  day,  for  a  period 
of  fifteen  days,  which  will  give  an  aggregate  of  $2,250,000  saved  per  annum. 
This  is  on  the  outward  voyage  alone,  and  the  tonnage  trading  with  all  other 
parts  of  the  world  is  also  left  out  of  the  calculation.  Take  these  into  con 
sideration,  and  also  the  fact  that  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  foreign  tonnage, 
trading  between  those  places  and  the  United  States,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  annual  sum  saved  will  swell  to  an  enormous  amount." — Hunt's  Merchants' 
Magazine,  May,  1854. 


CHAPTEE   XLII. 

THE  "CROSSING"  OF  THE  THIRTIETH  PARALLEL  —  THE 

TOLL-GATE  UPON  THE  SEA HOW  THE  TRAVELLERS 

PASS    ALONG    THE    HIGHWAY CAPTURE     OF     THE 

WASHINGTON ;  THE  JOHN  A.  PARKS  ;  THE  BATHIAH 
THAYER  ;  THE  PUNJAUB  ;  THE  MORNING  STAR ;  THE 
KINGFISHER;  THE  CHARLES  HILL;  AND  THE  NORA  — 

CROSSES   THE   EQUATOR CAPTURE    OF    THE    LOUISA 

HATCH ARRIVAL  AT  FERNANDO  DE  NORONHA. 

REACHING  the  blazed  road,  of  which  I  spoke  in  the  last 
chapter,  I  shortened  sail,  at  the  crossing  mentioned,  that 
I  might  waylay  such  of  the  passengers  as  chanced  to  be  ene 
mies.  There  were  a  great  many  ships  passing,  both  ways,  on 
this  road,  some  going  to  the  Pacific,  or  the  Far  East,  and 
others  returning  from  those  distant  points;  but  they  were 
nearly  all  neutral.  The  American  ships,  having,  by  this  time, 
become  thoroughly  alarmed,  especially  since  they  learned  that 
neither  English  sealing-wax,  nor  Admiral  Milne  could  save 
them,  had  dodged  the  highways,  as  skulkers  and  thieves  are 
wont  to  do,  and  taken  to  the  open  fields  and  by-ways  for 
safety.  On  the  day  after  the  capture  of  the  Olive  Jane  and 
Golden  Eagle,  the  weather  being  cloudy  and  rainy,  and  the 
wind  light,  four  more  sail  were  seen  —  all  European  bound. 
At  eight  A.  M.  we  showed  the  United  States  colors  to  one  of 
them,  which  proved  to  be  a  French  bark.  It  now  became 
calm,  and  we  were  compelled  to  get  up  steam,  to  overhaul  the 
rest.  They  lay  long  distances  apart,  and  we  were  several 
hours  in  passing  from  one  to  the  other.  They  were  all  Eng 
lishmen,  with  various  histories  and  destinations,  one  of  them  — 
a  fine  frigate-built  ship — being  a  Melbourne  and  Liverpool 

581 


582  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

packet.  We  received  a  paper  from  her,  printed  at  the  anti 
podes,  but  there  was  not  much  in  it,  besides  the  proceedings 
of  the  Australian  Parliament,  news  from  the  gold-diggings, 
and  the  price  of  wool;  in  neither  of  which  subjects  were  we 
much  interested. 

On  the  next  day  but  a  solitary  passenger  came  over  the 
road.  It  was  late  at  night  when  she  made  her  appearance — 
there  being  a  bright  moon  and  a  brisk  breeze.  We  made  sail 
in  chase,  and  the  chase,  taking  the  alarm,  gave  us  a  very  pretty 
run  for  a  few  hours.  We  overhauled  her,  however,  at  length, 
and  fired  the  usual  blank  cartridge,  to  heave  her  to.  She  was 
an  hermaphrodite  brig,  and  might  be,  for  aught  we  could  see,  in 
the  uncertain  light,  American.  The  gun  had  no  effect.  We 
waited  a  few  minutes  for  a  response,  but  none  coming,  we  fired 
again  —  sending  a  shot  whizzing,  this  time,  over  the  little  craft. 
Still  no  response.  We  were  now  only  a  few  hundred  yards 
distant.  What  could  the  fellow  mean  ?  All  was  as  silent  on 
board  the  chase  as  death,  and  not  a  tack  or  sheet  had  been 
started.  We  ran  now  almost  on  board  of  her,  and  hailing  her, 
commanded  her  to  heave  to.  Great  confusion  followed.  We 
could  hear  voices  speaking  in  a  foreign  tongue,  and  presently 
a  disorderly  array  of  sails  whipping  and  flapping  in  the  wind, 
and  of  yards  swinging  to  and  fro,  presented  itself.  At  last  the 
little  craft  managed  to  come  to  the  wind,  and  make  a  halt. 
She  proved  to  be  a  Portuguese  brig,  and  the  crew  had  been  so 
alarmed,  at  being  chased  and  fired  at,  by  night,  as  to  lose  all 
presence  of  mind,  and  become  incapable  of  any  action  what 
ever,  until  they  were  somewhat  reassured,  by  the  near  pres 
ence  of  our  ship  and  the  sound  of  our  voices.  She  was  bound 
from  Pernambuco  to  Lisbon,  with  a  cargo  of  hides  and  sugar. 
It  was,  indeed,  something  like  a  ghost-chase,  to  see  the  Ala 
bama  coming,  in  the  dead  of  night  after  the  little  craft,  with 
her  seven-league  boots  on,  and  those  awful  trysails  of  hers 
spread  out  in  the  moonlight  like  so  many  winding-sheets. 

On  the  day  after  this  adventure,  a  Dutch  bark  and  an  Eng 
lish  brig  came  along;  and  on  the  same  night,  we  boarded  the 
English  four-master,  the  Sarah  Sands,  from  the  East  Indies  for 
Falmouth.  At  daylight,  the  next  morning,  the  look-out  at  the 
mast-head  began  to  cry  sails,  until  he  reported  as  many  as 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        583 

seven  in  sight  at  one  time.  They  were  all  European  bound, 
and  were  jogging  along,  in  company,  following  Maury's  blazes, 
like  so  many  passengers  on  a  highway.  The  Alabama  stood 
like  a  toll-gate  before  them,  and  though  we  could  not  take  toll 
of  them,  as  they  were  all  neutral,  we  made  each  traveller  show 
us  his  passport,  as  he  came  up.  One  obstinate  fellow — a 
Hamburger  —  refused  to  show  us  his  colors,  until  he  was  com 
manded  to  do  so  by  a  gun.  I  made  it  a  practice  to  punish 
these  unmannerly  fellows,  for  their  want  of  civility.  On  the 
present  occasion,  the  Hamburger  was  detained  a  considerable 
time,  whilst  I  exercised,  at  my  leisure,  my  belligerent  right  of 
viseing  his  papers.  When  his  travelling  companions  were 
some  miles  ahead  of  him,  I  told  the  surly  fellow  to  pick  up 
his  hat  and  be  off. 

On  the  next  day,  being  still  in  latitude  80°,  and  longitude 
40°,  or  at  the  "  crossing,"  an  English  and  an  American  ship 
came  along.  The  Englishman  saluted  us  civilly  as  he  passed. 
He  was  from  the  East  Indies,  laden  with  silks  and  wines.  But 
the  American,  seeing  that  we  were  under  short  sail — though 
the  weather  was  fine  —  resting  by  the  wayside,  as  it  were,  and 
remembering  that  there  was  a  little  unpleasantness  between 
the  North  and  South,  fought  rather  shy  of  us,  and  endeavored 
to  get  out  of  the  way  of  possible  harm.  She  was  a  fine,  large 
ship,  and  the  moment  she  showed  an  intention  not  to  pass 
through  the  toll-gate,  we  made  sail  in  pursuit.  She  had  heels, 
but  they  were  not  quite  as  clean  as  the  Alabama's,  and  we 
came  up  with  her,  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  hours;  she 
having  approached  pretty  close,  before  she  smelt  the  rat.  She 
was  obstinate,  and  compelled  me  to  wet  the  people  on  her 
poop,  by  the  spray  of  a  shot,  before  she  would  acknowledge 
that  she  was  beaten.  The  shower-bath  made  a  stir  among  the 
bystanders ;  there  was  a  running  hither  and  thither,  a  letting 
go  of  sheets  and  halliards,  and  pretty  soon  the  main-yard 
swung  aback,  and  the  stars  and  stripes  were  seen  ascending 
to  the  stranger's  peak.  When  the  boarding-officer  brought  the 
master  of  the  captured  ship  on  board,  with  his  papers,  she 
proved  to  be  the  ship  Washington,  of  New  York,  from  the 
Chincha  Islands,  bound  to  Antwerp,  with  a  cargo  of  guano, 
laden  oo  account  of  the  Peruvian  government,  and  consigned 


584  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

to  its  agent  at  Antwerp,  for  sale.  Being  "unable  to  destroy 
the  ship,  because  of  the  neutral  ownership  of  her  cargo,  I  re 
leased  her  on  ransom-bond,  sent  my  prisoners  on  board  of  her 
to  be  landed,  and  permitted  her  to  depart.  This  capture  was 
made  on  the  27th  of  February.  On  the  28th  we  overhauled 
two  English  ships,  from  the  East  Indies,  homeward  bound, 
and  a  French  ship,  from  Batavia,  for  Nantes.  The  weather 
continued  very  fine,  and  we  had  had  a  "uniformly  high  barom 
eter,  ever  since  we  had  reached  the  "  crossing." 

The  morning  of  the  1st  of  March  dawned  charmingly,  with 
a  very  light  breeze.  The  night  had  been  rather  dark,  and  we 
had  been  lying-to  under  topsails.  In  the  darkness  of  the 
night,  an  enemy's  ship  had  approached  us  unawares.  She  had 
been  following  the  blazes,  without  seeing  the  toll-gate,  and 
the  revelations  made  by  the  morning's  light,  must  have  startled 
her ;  for  she  found  herself  within  half  a  mile  of  an  exceed 
ingly  saucy-looking  gunboat,  lying  in  wait  for  somebody,  or 
something.  It  was  nearly  calm,  and  she  could  not  help  her 
self  if  she  would.  On  the  other  hand,  the  gunboat  was  de 
lighted  to  see  a  tall  ship,  whose  masts  tapered  like  a  lady's  fin 
gers,  arrayed  in  the  whitest  of  petticoats — to  carry  out  our 
figure  —  and  which,  from  the  course  she  was  steering,  was 
evidently  just  out  from  Yankee-land,  with  that  mail  on  board, 
which  we  had  been  anxiously  looking  for,  for  several  days 
past.  We  were  in  the  midst  of  the  scrubbing  and  cleaning  of 
the  morning  watch,  and  to  effect  the  capture,  it  was  not  even 
necessary  to  lay  aside  a  holy-stone,  or  a  scrubbing-brush.  A 
gun  and  a  Confederate  flag,  were  all  that  was  required  to  bring 
the  tall  ship  to  a  halt,  and  remove  her  doubts,  if  she  had  had 
any.  She  was  the  John  A.  Parks,  of  Hallowell,  Maine. 

The  cargo  of  the  Parks  consisted  of  white  pine  lumber 
which  she  had  taken  on  board  at  New  York,  and  she  was 
bound  to  Montevideo,  or  Buenos  Ayres,  as  the  consignee 
might  elect.  There  was  an  affidavit  found  among  her  papers, 
made  by  one  Snyder,  before  a  Mr.  Edwards  Pierrepont,  who 
appears  to  have  been  acting  as  British  Consul,  claiming  that 
the  cargo  was  shipped  on  account  of  a  London  house.  The 
real  facts  of  the  case,  however,  as  gathered  from  the  correspon 
dence,  and  the  testimony  of  the  master,  were,  that  one  David- 


DUKING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      585 

son,  a  lumber  dealer  in  New  York  had  chartered  the  ship,  and 
shipped  the  lumber,  in  the  usual  course  of  his  business,  to  the 
parties  in  Montevideo ;  that  he  had  paid  most  of  the  freight, 
in  advance,  and  insured  himself  against  the  war  risk,  both 
upon  the  cargo  and  the  freight.  The  manner  in  which  this 
case  was  "put  up,"  in  the  papers,  was  an  improvement  upon 
some  others  I  had  examined.  The  New  York  merchants  were 
evidently  becoming  expert  in  the  preparation  of  bogus  certifi 
cates.  It  was  no  longer  merely  stated  that  the  property  be 
longed  to  "neutral  owners,"  but  the  owners  themselves  were 
named.  In  short,  the  certificate  found  on  board  the  Parks 
was  in  due  form,  but  unfortunately  for  the  parties  who  con 
trived  the  clever  little  plot,  the  master  forgot  to  throw  over 
board  his  letter-bag,  and  among  the  letters  found  in  that  bag; 
was  one  written  by  Davidson,  giving  instructions  to  the  con 
signees,  in  which  the  following  expressions  occur:  "The  cargo 
of  the  John  A.  Parks,  I  shall  have  certified  to,  by  the  British 
Consul,  as  the  property  of  British  subjects.  You  will  find  it 
a  very  good  cargo,  and  should  command  the  highest  prices." 
By  the  time  that  I  had  finished  the  examination  of  the  case, 
Bartelli  announced  breakfast,  and  I  invited  my  Hallowell 
friend  to  take  a  cup  of  coffee  with  me,  telling  him,  at  the  same 
time,  that  I  should  burn  his  ship.  As  well  as  I  recollect,  he 
declined  the  coffee,  but  I  am  quite  certain  that  the  ship  was 
burned.  The  carpenter  of  the  Alabama  was  thrown  into  ecsta 
sies  by  this  capture.  All  the  other  departments  of  the  ship 
had  been  kept  well  supplied,  except  his  own.  The  paymaster, 
who  was  also  commissary,  the  boatswain,  the  sailmaker,  had 
all  been  "plundering"  the  enemy  quite  extensively,  but  no 
"boards"  had  come  along,  until  now,  for  the  poor  carpenter. 
Here  they  were  at  last,  however,  and  if  I  had  not  put  some 
restraint  upon  my  zealous  officer  of  the  adze  and  chisel,  I  be 
lieve  he  would  have  converted  the  Alabama  into  a  lumberman. 
We  received  from  the  Parks,  sure  enough,  the  mail  we  had 
been  waiting  for.  There  must  have  been  a  barrel-full,  and  more 
of  newspapers  and  periodicals,  going  to  the  Mcntevideans  and 
Buenos  Ayreans  —  many  of  them  in  the  best  of  Spanish,  and 
all  explaining  the  "great  moral  ideas,"  on  which  the  Southern 
people  were  being  robbed  of  their  property,  and  having  their 


586  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

throats  cut.  We  gleaned  one  gratifying  piece  of  intelligence; 
however,  from  these  papers.  "The  Pirate  Florida"  had  put  to 
sea  from  Mobile,  to  assist  the  "British  Pirate,"  in  plundering, 
and  burning  the  "innocent  merchant-ships  of  the  United  States, 
pursuing  their  peaceful  commerce,"  as  Mr.  Charles  Francis 
Adams,  so  often,  and  so  naively  expressed  it  to  Earl  Kussell. 
Whilst  the  Parks  was  still  burning,  an  English  bark  passed 
through  the  toll-gate,  the  captain  of  which  was  prevailed  upon, 
to  take  the  master  of  the  burning  ship,  his  wife,  and  two 
nephews,  to  London.  We  were  glad,  on  the  poor  lady's  ac 
count,  that  she  was  so  soon  relieved  from  the  discomforts  of 
a  small  and  crowded  ship. 

The  next  traveller  that  came  along  was  the  Bethiah  Thayer, 
of  Kockland,  Maine,  last  from  the  Chincha  Islands,  with  a 
cargo  of  guano  for  the  Peruvian  Government.  The  cargo 
being  properly  documented,  I  put  the  ship  under  ransom-bond, 
and  permitted  her  to  pass.  It  was  Sunday ;  the  Bethiah  was 
dressed  in  a  new  suit  of  cotton  canvas,  and  looked  quite  de 
mure  and  saint-like,  while  her  papers  were  being  examined. 
I  have  no  doubt  if  I  had  questioned  her  master,  that  he  would 
have  been  found  to  have  voted  for  Breckinridge. 

I  now  resolved  to  fill  away,  stand  down  toward  the  equator, 
and  hold  myself  stationary,  for  a  few  days,  at  the  "  crossing  " 
of  that  famous  great  circle.  I  was  far  enough  to  the  eastward, 
to  make  a  free  wind  of  the  north-east  trade,  and  we  jogged  along 
under  topsails,  making  sail  only  when  it  became  necessary  to 
chase.  We  lost  our  fine  weather  almost  immediately  upon 
leaving  the  "  crossing,"  and  took  a  series  of  moderate  gales  — 
sometimes,  however,  reducing  us  to  close  reefs  —  which  lasted 
us  for  a  week  or  ten  days,  or  until  we  began  to  approach  the 
rains  and  calms  of  the  equator.  We  met  a  number  of  sails  on 
the  road,  and  now  and  then  chased  one,  but  they  all  proved  to 
be  neutral.  On  the  night  of  the  15th  of  March,  at  a  few  min 
utes  before  midnight,  the  weather  being  thick  and  murky, 
the  look-out  at  the  cat-head  suddenly  cried  "  sail  ho !  close 
aboard ;"  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  large  ship  passed  us  on  the 
opposite  tack,  within  speaking  distance.  We  hailed,  but  she 
passed  on  like  a  goblin  ship,  without  giving  us  any  reply. 
She  had  all  sails  set,  there  was  no  one  stirring  on  board  of  her, 


DURING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      587 

and  the  only  light  that  was  visible,  was  the  one  which  twinkled 
in  the  binnacle.  We  wore  ship  with  all  expedition,  shook  the 
reefs  out  of  the  topsails,  and  made  sail  in  pursuit.  It  took  us 
some  minutes  to  accomplish  this,  and  by  the  time  we  were 
well  under  way,  the  stranger  was  nearly  out  of  sight.  Both 
ships  were  on  a  wind,  however,  and  this,  as  the  reader  has 
seen,  was  the  Alabama's  best  point  of  sailing.  Our  night- 
glasses  soon  began  to  tell  the  usual  tale.  We  were  overhaul 
ing  the  chase ;  and  at  a  quarter  past  three,  or  a  little  before  dawn, 
we  were  near  enough  to  heave  her  to,  with  a  gun.  She  proved 
to  be  the  Punjaub,  of  Boston,  from  Calcutta  for  London.  Her 
cargo  consisted  chiefly  of  jute  and  linseed,  and  was  properly 
certificated  as  English  property.  The  goods  were,  besides,  of 
foreign  growth,  and  were  going  from  one  English  port  to 
another.  I  released  her  on  ransom-bond,  and  sent  on  board 
of  her  the  prisoners  from  the  last  ship  burned. 

Soon  after  daylight,  we  gave  chase  to  another  sail  in  the  E. 
S.  E.,  with  which  we  came  up  about  eight  A.  M.  She  was  an 
English  ship,  from  the  Mauritius,  for  Cork.  She  confirmed 
our  suspicion,  that  the  Yankee  ships  were  avoiding,  as  a  gen 
eral  rule,  the  beaten  tracks,  having  spoken  one  of  them  on  the 
"line,"  bound  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  which  had  travelled  as 
far  east  as  the  twenty-third  meridian;  or  about  four  hundred 
miles  out  of  her  way.  We  were  still  standing  to  the  south 
ward,  and  on  the  21st  of  March  we  were  very  near  the  sun, 
for  while  he  was  crossing  the  equator,  we  were  in  latitude 
2°  47'  N.;  our  longitude  being  26°  W.  On  that  day,  the 
weather  is  thus  recorded  in  my  journal:  "Cloudy,  with 
squalls  of  rain,  and  the  wind  shifting,  indicating  that  we  have 
lost  the  '  trades.'  It  is  pleasant  to  hear  the  thunder  roll,  for 
the  first  time  in  several  months,  sounding  like  the  voice  of  an 
old  friend ;  and  the  crew  seem  to  enjoy  a  ducking  from  the 
heavy  showers — rain  having  been  a  rare  visitor  of  late." 
And  on  the  next  day,  the  following  is  the  record :  "  Eains, 
and  calms  all  day ;  the  officers  and  crew  alike,  are  paddling 
about  the  deck  in  bare  feet,  and  enjoying  the  pelting  of  the 
rain,  like  young  ducks.  Three  neutrals,  in  company,  bound 
like  ourselves,  across  the  '  line.'  They  look,  at  a  distance, 
with  their  drooping  sails  flapping  idly  in  the  calm,  as  discon 
solate  as  wet  barn-yard  fowls  at  home,  on  a  rainy  day." 


588  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

On  the  23d  of  March,  the  weather  being  still  as  described, 
and  very  little  change  having  taken  place  in  our  position,  we 
made  two  more  captures ;  the  first,  the  Morning  Star  of  Boston, 
from  Calcutta  for  London,  and  the  second  the  whaling  schooner 
Kingfisher,  of  Fairhaven,  Massachusetts.  The  cargo  of  the 
Morning  Star  being  in  the  same  category  as  that  of  the  Punjaul, 
we  released  her  also,  on  ransom-bond.  The  Kingfisher  we 
burned.  This  adventurous  little  whaler  had  a  crew  of  twenty- 
three  persons,  all  of  whom  were  Portuguese,  except  the  master, 
and  mate,  and  one  or  two  boat-steerers.  We  set  fire  to  her 
just  at  nightfall,  and  the  conflagration  presented  a  weird-like 
spectacle  on  the  "line,"  amid  the  rumbling  of  thunder,  the 
shifting,  but  ever  black  scenery,  of  the  nimbi,  or  rain  clouds, 
and  the  pouring  and  dashing  of  torrents  of  rain.  Sometimes 
the  flames  would  cower  beneath  a  drenching  shower,  as 
though  they  had  been  subdued,  but  in  a  moment  afterward, 
they  would  shoot  up,  mast-head  high,  as  brightly  and  raven 
ously  as  before.  The  oil  in  her  hold  kept  her  burning  on  the 
surface  of  the  still  sea,  until  a  late  hour  at  night. 

On  the  next  day,  we  boarded,  as  usual,  a  number  of  neutral 
ships,  of  different  nationalities,  some  going  south,  and  some 
going  north.  We  were  at  the  "crossing"  of  the  equator, 
"blazed"  by  Maury,  and  with  the  main  topsail  at  the  mast, 
were  reviewing,  as  it  were,  the  commerce  of  the  world.  We 
were  never  out  of  sight  of  ships.  They  were  passing,  by 
ones,  and  twos,  and  threes,  in  constant  succession,  wreathed  in 
rain  and  mist,  and  presenting  frequently  the  idea  of  a  funeral 
procession.  The  honest  traders  were  all  there,  except  the 
most  honest  of  them  all  —  the  Yankees  —  and  they  were  a  little 
afraid  of  the  police.  Still  we  managed  to  catch  a  rogue  now 
and  then. 

On  the  second  day  after  burning  the  Kingfisher,  we  made 
two  more  captures.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  we  de 
scried  two  large  ships  approaching  us,  in  company.  They 
came  along  lovingly,  arm-in-arm,  as  it  were,  as  though  in  the 
light  airs  and  calms  that  were  prevailing,  they  had  been 
having  a  friendly  chat,  or  one  of  the  masters  had  been  dining 
on  board  of  the  other.  They  were  evidently  American  ships, 
and  had  most  likely  been  having  a  cosy  talk  about  the  war. 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      589 

The  "sainted"  Abraham's  Emancipation  Proclamation  was  the 
favorite  topic  of  the  day,  as  we  had  learned  from  the  mail- 
bags  of  the  Parks,  and  perchance  they  had  been  discussing  that; 
or  perhaps  the  skippers  were  congratulating  themselves  upon 
having  escaped  the  Alabama;  they  probably  supposing  her 
to  be  at  the  other  toll-gate  still.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  subject  of  their  discourse,  they  evidently  pricked  up  their 
ears,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  Alabama,  stripped  like  a  gentle* 
man  who  was  taking  it  coolly,  with  nothing  but  her  topsails 
set,  and  lying  across  their  path.  They  separated  gradually ; 
and  quietly,  and  by  stealth,  a  few  more  studding-sails  were 
sent  up  aloft. 

It  was  time  now  for  the  Alabama  to  move.  Her  main  yard  was 
swung  to  the  full,  sailors  might  have  been  seen  running  up  aloft, 
like  so  many  squirrels,  who  thought  they  saw  "nuts"  ahead,  and 
pretty  soon,  upon  a  given  signal  the  top-gallant  sails  and  royals 
might  have  been  seen  fluttering  in  the  breeze,  for  a  moment, 
and  then  extending  themselves  to  their  respective  yard-arms. 
A  whistle  or  two  from  the  boatswain  and  his  mates,  and  the 
trysail  sheets  are  drawn  aft,  and  the  Alabama  has  on  those 
seven-league  boots  which  the  reader  has  seen  her  draw  on  so 
often  before.  A  stride  or  two,  and  the  thing  is  done.  First, 
the  Charles  Hill,  of  Boston,  shortens  sail,  and  runs  up  the  "  old 
flag,"  and  then  the  Nora,  of  the  same  pious  city,  follows  her  ex 
ample.  They  were  both  laden  with  salt,  and  both  from  Liver 
pool.  The  Hill  was  bound  to  Montevideo,  or  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  there  was  no  attempt  to  cover  her  cargo.  The  Nora  was 
bound  to  Calcutta,  under  a  charter-party  with  one  "W.  N.  de 
Mattos.  In  the  bill  of  lading,  the  cargo  was  consigned  to 
order,  and  on  the  back  of  the  instrument  was  the  following 
indorsement :  "  I  hereby  certify,  that  the  salt  shipped  on  board 
the  Nora,  is  the  property  of  W.  1ST.  de  Mattos,  of  London,  and 
that  the  said  W.  N.  de  Mattos  is  a  British  subject,  and  was  so 
at  the  time  of  the  shipment."  This  certificate  was  signed  by 
one  H.  E.  Folk,  and  at  the  bottom  of  the  certificate  were  the 
words,  "R.  G.  Gardner,  Mayor"-  — presumed  to  mean  the  Mayor 
of  Liverpool. 

Here  was  a  more  awkward  attempt  to  cover  a  cargo  than  any 
of  my  Yankee  friends  of  New  York  or  Boston  had  ever  made. 


5».N0  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

There  was  very  little  doubt  that  the  salt  was  English-owned, 
but  the  certificate,  I  have  recited,  did  not  amount  even  to  an 
ex  parte  affidavit,  it  not  being  sworn  to.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
I  was  bound  to  presume  the  property  to  be  enemy,  it  being 
found,  unprotected  by  any  legal  evidence,  in  an  enemy's  ship. 
The  Hill  and  the  Nora  were,  therefore,  both  consigned  to  the 
flames,  after  we  had  gotten  on  board  from  them  such  articles 
as  we  stood  in  need  of.  We  received  from  the  two  ships  be 
tween  thirty  and  forty  tons  of  coal,  or  about  two  days'  steaming. 
It  took  us  nearly  all  the  following  day  to  transport  it  in  our 
small  boats,  and  we  did  not  set  fire  to.  the  ships  until  five  in 
the  afternoon.  We  received,  also,  half  a  dozen  recruits  from 
them.  I  had  now  quite  as  many  men  as  I  wanted. 

Among  the  papers  of  the  Hill  was  found  the  following  brief 
letter  of  instructions  from  her  owner  to  her  master.  It  is 
dated  from  the  good  city  of  Boston,  and  was  written  while  the 
ship  was  lying  at  that  other  good  city,  Philadelphia.  It  is  ad 
dressed  to  Captain  F.  Percival,  and  goes  on  to  say :  — 

"  DEAR  SIR  :  —  I  have  received  your  several  letters  from  Philadel 
phia.  As  a  rebel  privateer  has  burned  several  American  ships,  it 
may  be  as  well  if  you  can  have  your  bills  of  lading  indorsed  as 
English  property,  and  have  your  cargo  certified  to  by  the  British 
Consul." 

Such  nice  little. missives  as  these,  written  from  one  city  of 
"grand  moral  ideas,"  to  another  city,  whose  ideas  were  no  less 
grand  or  moral,  quietly  instructing  ship-masters  to  commit 
perjury,  were  of  great  assistance  to  me,  when,  in  the  classical 
words  of  the  New  York  "  Commercial  Advertiser,"  I  had  a 
"  Yankee  hash  "  to  deal  with. 

On  the  29th  of  March  we  crossed  the  equator.  The  event 
is  thus  recorded  in  my  journal:  "Crossed  the  equator  at  five 
p.  M.  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  rain-squall,  with  lowering,  black 
clouds,  and  the  wind  from  the  south-west.  We  were  in  chase 
of  a  sail  at  the  time,  but  lost  her  in  the  gloom.  It  rained  all 
night,  with  light  airs  and  calms.  We  have  experienced  a  south 
easterly  current,  setting  at  the  rate  of  a  knot  and  a  half  the 
hour,  for  the  last  twenty-four-hours."  We  made  our  crossing 
a  little  farther  to  the  eastward  than  usual — 26° — on  purpose 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       591 

to  counteract  the  Yankee  dodge  spoken  of  a  little  while  back. 
We  now  encountered  a  variety  of  currents,  some  setting  to 
the  south-east  as  just  mentioned,  others  to  the  east,  others  to 
the  south,  until  finally  we  fell  in  with  the  great  equatorial  cur 
rent  setting  to  the  westward. 

The  study  of  the  phenomena  of  the  currents,  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  that  can  engage  the  attention  of  the  marine 
philosopher.  We  have  already  had  occasion  to  explain  the 
circulation,  of  the  atmosphere  —  how  the  wind  "cometh  and 
goeth,"  not  at  random,  but  in  obedience  to  certain  well-defined 
natural  laws.  The  circulation  of  the  sea  is  no  less  regular  than 
that  of  the  atmosphere,  and  has  equally  important  offices  to 
perform.  If  the  sea  were  a  stagnant  mass  of  waters,  some  por 
tions  of  the  earth  which  now  enjoy  temperate  climates,  and 
teem  with  millions  of  population  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  abun 
dant  fauna  and  flora,  would  be  almost  uninhabitable  because 
of  the  extreme  cold.  Some  portions  of  the  sea  would  dry  up, 
and  become  beds  of  salt,  and  others  again  would,  from  the 
superabundance  of  precipitation,  become  fresh,  or  nearly  so. 
In  short,  there  would  be  a  general  disturbance  of  the  harmo 
nies  of  creation.  To  obviate  this,  and  to  put  the  sea  in  motion, 
various  agencies  have  been  set  at  work  by  the  great  Architect; 
chief  among  which  is  the  unequal  distribution  of  heat  over 
the  earth's  surface.  We  have  already  called  the  sun  the  Father 
of  the  Winds ;  he  is  equally  the  father  of  the  currents.  The 
warm  water  of  the  equator  is  constantly  flowing  off  to  the 
poles,  and  the  cold  water  of  the  poles  flowing  back,  as  under 
currents,  to  the  equator.  This  flow  is  not  directly  north,  or 
directly  south,  but  by  a  variety  of  tortuous  channels.  The  dif 
ferent  depths  of  the  ocean,  the  obstructions  of  islands,  and  con 
tinents,  clouds  and  sunshine,  and  a  great  many  other  agencies, 
combine  to  give  this  tortuosity  and  seeming  irregularity  to  the 
currents. 

Let  us  take  an  example.  The  Alabama  has  just  experienced 
a  south-east  current  in  a  locality  where  the  current  sets,  as  a 
general  rule,  to  the  westward.  How  are  we  to  account  for 
this?  It  may  be  due  to  a  variety  of  causes,  all  working 
in  harmony,  however,  with  the  general  design.  In  the  first 
place,  it  may  be  a  counter-current  going  to  fill  the  place  left 


592  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

vacant  by  some  other  current;  for,  as  a  matter  of  course,  when 
a  given  quantity  of  water  flows  away  from  a  place,  the  same 
quantity  must  flow  back  to  it.  Or  it  may  be  a  principal,  and 
not  an  accessory  current,  set  in  motion,  say  by  heat.  Let  us 
see  how  easily  this  may  be  accomplished.  Suppose  a  dense 
canopy  of  clouds  to  overshadow  some  considerable  space  of 
the  sea,  for  a  day,  or  it  may  be,  for  a  few  hours  only.  Whilst 
the  rays  of  the  sun  are  shut  out  from  this  space,  they  are  pour 
ing  down  their  heat  with  tropical  fervor,  say  to  the  south  of 
this  cloud-bank.  Under  the  cloud-bank  the  water  is  cooling, 
beyond  the  bank  it  is  being  heated  Under  the  bank  evapora 
tion  has  ceased  almost  altogether,  beyond  the  bank  it  is  going 
on  at  the  rate  of  about  an  inch  in  twenty-four  hours.  Here 
are  powerful  agencies  at  work,  changing  both  the  temperature, 
and  specific  gravity  of  the  waters. 

Waters  to  be  at  rest  must  have  the  same  temperature  and 
specific  gravity.  These  waters  therefore  cannot  remain  at  rest, 
and  a  current  is  the  consequence.  To-morrow,  perhaps,  the 
process  will  be  reversed,  the  cloud  and  the  sunshine  changing 
places,  and  the  current  flowing  in  a  contrary  direction.  These 
are  local  disturbances  of  the  system  of  oceanic  circulation  — 
little  venous  derangements,  as  it  were,  the  great  arterial  system 
not  being  materially  affected  by  them. 

There  are  other  exceedingly  beautiful  agencies  at  work,  on  a 
smaller  scale,  to  disturb  the  oceanic  equilibrium,  and  set  the 
waters  in  motion.  It  has  puzzled  philosophers  to  account  for 
the  saltness  of  the  sea.  Whatever  may  be  its  cause,  it  plays 
a  very  important  part  in  giving  vitality  to  its  circulation.  If 
sea-water  were  fresh,  evaporation  would  not  produce  any 
change  in  its  specific  gravity.  One  element  of  motion,  there 
fore,  would  be  wanted.  But  being  salt,  and  the  salts  not  being 
taken  up  by  the  thirsty  air,  in  the  process  of  evaporation,  every 
rain-drop  that  is  withdrawn  from  it,  helps  to  put  the  currents 
in  motion. 

But  these  are  surface  operations  ;  let  us  dive  beneath  the  sur 
face,  and  witness  some  of  the  wonders  that  are  going  on  in  the 
depths  below.  We  have  before  shown  the  reader,  the  coralline 
insect,  that  wonderful  little  stone-mason  of  the  sea,  which,  in 
the  hands  of  Providence,  is  the  architect  of  islands  and  conti 
nents.  The  sea-water  is  the  quarry  from  which  this  little 


DURING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      593 

toiler  extracts  his  tiny  blocks  of  masonry.  If  the  water  were 
fresh,  it  would  not  hold  the  materials  in  solution,  which  he 
needs  for  his  work.  But  being  salt,  it  has  just  the  materials 
which  he  needs. 

But  how  does  he  affect  the  currents?  the  reader  will  ask. 
As  follows :  Every  particle  of  solid  matter  that  he  extracts 
from  the  sea-water  —  and  he  must  have  limestone  to  build  those 
islands  and  continents  of  which  he  is  the  architect  —  alters  its 
specific  gravity.  The  little  globule  of  water,  from  which  he 
has  just  taken  the  block  of  stone  that  would  be  scarcely  vis 
ible  under  a  powerful  microscope,  has  become  lighter  than  the 
surrounding  globules,  and  ascends  to  the  surface.  In  obe 
dience  to  the  law  which  we  have  mentioned,  that  as  much 
water  must  flow  back  to  a  place,  as  flows  away  from  it,  a 
globule  of  water  from  the  surface  now  descends  to  take  the 
place  of  that  which  has  arisen;  descends  to  the  little  stone 
mason,  that  he  may  rob  it,  in  turn,  of  the  block  of  stone  that 
it  contains.  The  globules  of  water  thus  become  the  hod-car 
riers  for  these  little  stone-masons,  working  away,  in  countless 
myriads,  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

But  what  becomes  of  this  lighter  globule  of  water,  which 
has  arisen  to  the  surface,  because  it  has  been  deprived  of  its 
solid  matter?  It  must  flow  away  somewhere  in  search  of  the 
salts  it  has  lost,  for  if  it  remain  stationary,  in  course  of  time, 
the  sea  in  its  neighborhood  will  all  be  deprived  of  its  salts, 
and  there  will  be  no  more  globules  to  descend  to  the  little  stone 
mason.  But  when  the  globule  starts  to  flow  off,  a  current  is 
established. 

The  reader  may  recollect  that  when  we  were  at  the  Azores, 
breaking  up  that  Yankee  whaling  station,  we  spoke  of  the 
currents,  in  connection  with  the  whales,  and  other  fishes ;  how, 
like  "reapers  and  gleaners,"  they  bore  to  them  the  food  which 
was  prepared  for  them  in  other  latitudes.  The  reader  sees, 
now,  how  the  currents  build  the  coral  bank.  Every  sea-shell, 
as  it  secretes  the  solid  matter  for  its  edifice,  helps  on  the  move 
ment  set  on  foot  by  the  coral  insect. 

On  the  3d  of  April,  we  observed  in  latitude  2°  11'  S.; 
our  longitude  being  26°  02'.  The  weather  was  still  thick  and 
rainy,  and  we  had  fitful  gusts  of  wind,  and  calms  by  turns. 


594  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

During  the  morning  watch,  the  dense  clouds  lifted  for  a  while, 
and  showed  us  a  fine,  tall  ship,  steering,  like  ourselves,  to 
the  southward.  We  immediately  made  sail  in  chase.  The 
wind  was  blowing  quite  fresh  from  the  south-west,  at  the  time, 
and  we  gained  very  rapidly  upon  the  stranger.  At  twelve 
o'clock  the  wind  died  away,  and  the  heavy  rains  being  renewed, 
she  was  entirely  shut  out  from  view.  We  continued  the  chase 
all  clay ;  now  being  sure  of  her,  and  now  being  baffled  by  the 
ever-shifting  clouds,  and  changing  wind  and  weather.  At 
length,  at  five  P.  M.,  it  being  no  longer  safe  to  trust  to  contin 
gencies,  as  night  would  set  in,  in  another  hour,  I  sent  a  whale- 
boat  to  board,  and  halt  her,  although  she  was  still  two  miles 
distant.  The  boarding  was  successfully  accomplished,  and 
just  before  dark,  we  could  see  the  stranger's  head  turned  in 
our  direction.  We  knew  from  this  circumstance  that  she  was 
a  prize,  and  hoisting  a  light,  as  night  set  in,  to  guide  the  board 
ing-officer,  in  an  hour  or  two  more  she  was  alongside  of  us. 

The  prize  proved  to  be  the  Louisa  Hatch,  of  Eockland,  Maine, 
from  Cardiff,  with  a  cargo  of  the  best  Welsh  coal,  for  Point-de- 
Galle,  in  the  island  of  Ceylon.  The  bill  of  lading  required  the 
cargo  to  be  delivered  to  the  "  Messageries  Imperiales,"  steam 
ship  company,  and  there  was  a  certificate  on  the  back  of  the 
bill  of  lading  to  the  effect  that  the  coal  belonged  to  that  com 
pany,  but  the  certificate  was  not  sworn  to  by  the  subscriber. 
This  was  tantamount  to  no  evidence  at  all,  and  I  condemned 
both  ship  and  cargo  as  prize  of  war.  Here  was  quite  a  wind 
fall —  a  thousand  tons  of  coal,  near  the  coast  of  Brazil,  where 
it  was  worth  $17  per  ton.  But  what  was  I  to  do  with  the 
prize  ?  It  would  be  an  interminable  job  to  attempt  to  supply 
myself  from  her,  by  means  of  my  boats,  and  hauling  the  two 
ships  alongside  of  each  other,  at  sea,  was  not  to  be  thought  of. 
I  was  bound  to  the  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha,  that  being 
the  second  rendezvous  which  I  had  assigned  to  my  old  Scotch 
collier,  the  Agrippina,  and  I  resolved  to  take  the  Hatch  in,  with 
me,  to  abide  contingencies.  If  the  Agrippina  should  arrive  in 
due  time,  I  could  burn  the  Hatch ;  if  not,  the  Hatch  would 
supply  her  place. 

This  being  determined  upon,  I  sent  a  prize  crew  on  board 
the  captured  ship,  and  directed  the  prize-master  to  keep  com 
pany  with  me.  We  overhauled  an  English  bark,  the  next 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.       595 

day,  bound  from  Lisbon  to  Kio  Janeiro,  from  which  we  re 
ceived  some  late  Portuguese  newspapers,  of  no  particular  in 
terest  ;  and  on  the  day  afterward,  we  chased  what  we  took  cer 
tainly  to  be  a  Yankee  whaling  schooner,  but  which  we  found, 
upon  coming  up  with  her,  to  be  a  Portuguese.  The  schooner 
was  a  capital  imitation  of  the  "down  East"  fore-and-after,  but 
upon  being  boarded,  she  not  only  proved  to  be  foreign  built,  but 
her  master  and  crew  were  all  Portuguese,  nearly  as  black  as 
negroes,  with  a  regular  set  of  Portuguese  papers.  What  added 
considerably  to  the  cheat  -was,  that  the  little  craft  had  heels, 
and  I  was  some  two  or  three  hours  in  coming  up  with  her. 

The  weather  was  so  thick  for  the  next  two  or  three  days, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  keep  the  prize  very  close  to  me,  to 
prevent  losing  sight  of  her.  At  night  I  showed  her  a  light 
from  my  peak,  and  we  jogged  along  within  speaking  distance 
of  each  other.  Having  had  no  observation  for  fixing  the  posi 
tion  of  my  ship,  during  the  prevalence  of  this  thick  weather, 
and  the  direction  and  velocity  of  the  currents  being  somewhat 
uncertain,  I  was  quite  anxious  lest  I  should  drift  past  the 
island  I  was  in  quest  of,  and  fall  upon  some  of  the  foul  ground 
lying  between  it  and  the  coast  of  Brazil.  On  the  9th  of  April, 
the  sun  showed  himself  for  an  hour  or  two,  near  noon,  and  I 
got  latitude  and  longitude,  and  found  that  we  were  in  the 
great  equatorial  current,  as  I  had  supposed,  setting  us  about 
S.  W.  by  W.  at  the  rate  of  a  knot  and  a  half  per  hour.  I  now 
got  up  steam,  and  taking  the  prize  in  tow,  for  it  was  nearly 
calm,  with  but  a  few  cats'-paws  playing  upon  the  water,  made 
the  best  of  my  way  toward  Fernando  de  Noronha. 

At  daylight,  the  next  morning,  we  made  the  famous  peak, 
some  forty  miles  distant,  and  at  half-past  two  P.  M.  we  came  to 
anchor  in  thirteen  fathoms  water.  The  prize,  having  been 
cast  off  as  we  ran  in,  anchored  near  us.  The  Agrippina  had 
not  arrived ;  nor  did  I  ever  see  her  afterward.  Captain  Bul 
lock  had  duly  dispatched  her,  but  the  worthless  old  Scotch 
master  made  it  a  point  not  to  find  me,  and  having  sold  his 
coal  in  some  port  or  other,  I  have  forgotten  where,  returned  to 
England  with  a  cock-and-a-bull  story,  to  account  for  his  failure. 
The  fact  is,  the  old  fellow  had  become  alarmed  lest  he  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Yankees.  It  was  fortunate  that  I 
had  not  burned  the  Louisa  Hatch. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

FEENANDO    DE    NOEONHA ITS   FAMOUS    PEAK IS   A 

PENAL  SETTLEMENT  OF  BEAZIL A  VISIT   FEOM  THE 

GOVEENOE'S  AMBASSADOES  —  A  VISIT  TO  THE  GOV- 
EENOE  IN  EETUEN THE  AEISTOCEACY  OF  THE  ISL 
AND CAPTUEE  OF  THE  LAFAYETTE  AND  THE  KATE 

COEY  — -  BUENING  OF  THE  TWO  LAST  SHIPS,  WITH  THE 

LOUISA  HATCH PEISONEES   SENT   TO    PEENAMBUCO 


FERNANDO  DE  NORONHA  lies  not  a  great  way  from 
Cape  St.  Roque  in  Brazil.  It  forms  the  western  end  of  a 
chain  of  volcanic  islands  and  deep-sea  soundings  that  extend 
some  distance  along  the  equator.  Earthquakes  have  been  fre 
quently  experienced  by  ships  when  passing  along  this  chain, 
and  the  charts  point  out  a  number  of  supposed  dangers  here 
about.  Many  of  these  dangers  have  no  real  existence,  but  still 
the  prudent  mariner  gives  them  a  wide  berth,  when  sailing 
past  the  localities  assigned  them.  The  island  of  Fernando  de 
Noronha  is  evidently  of  volcanic  origin.  Its  whole  appear 
ance  indicates  that  it  was  thrown  from  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
by  nature,  when  in  one  of  her  most  fearful  paroxysms.  Its 
abrupt  and  rugged  sides  of  solid  rock,  rent  and  torn,  and 
blackened  by  the  torrents,  rise  almost  perpendicularly  from 
the  waters  to  the  height  of  several  hundred  feet. 

The  famous  peak  before  spoken  of,  and  which  the  mariner 
at  sea  descries  long  before  the  body  of  the  island  becomes  vis 
ible,  is  a  queer  freak  of  nature.  It  looks  as  though  the  giants 
had  been  playing  at  church-steeples,  and  had  upraised  this 
immense  shaft  of  granite  to  mark  one  of  nature's  cathedrals. 
The  illusion  is  almost  perfect.  "When  "land  ho  1"  is  first  cried 
by  the  look-out  at  the  mast-head,  and  the  glass  is  applied  in 

596 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  597 

the  given  direction,  the  observer  is  startled  at  the  resemblance. 
Nor  is  his  surprise  diminished,  as  his  ship  approaches  nearer, 
and  the  body  of  the  island  begins  to  make  its  appearance 
above  the  water;  for  there  is  the  roof  of  the  massive  cathedral, 
to  which  the  steeple  belongs !  The  peak  is  a  mass  of  solid 
granite,  shot  by  the  earthquake  through  the  solid  crust  of 
the  mountain,  and  is  almost  symmetrical  enough  to  have  been 
shaped  bv  human  hands.  We  lay  nearly  two  weeks  at  Fer 
nando  de  Noronha,  and  I  was  never  tired  of  gazing  upon  this 
wonderful  evidence  of  the  power  of  volcanic  forces. 

The  winds,  the  rains,  and  the  sunshine  have,  in  the  course 
of  ages,  disintegrated  enough  of  the  surface  of  this  rocky 
island,  to  form  a  rich  soil,  which  is  covered  with  a  profusion 
of  tropical  vegetation,  including  forest-trees  of  considerable 
size ;  and  a  number  of  small  farms,  with  neat  farm-houses,  add 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene.  Fruits  and  vegetables, 
the  Indian  corn,  and  the  sugar-cane,  flourish  in  great  perfec 
tion,  and  a  few  ponies  and  horned  cattle  have  been  introduced 
from  the  main  land.  Swine,  goats,  and  domestic  fowls  abound. 
Fernando  de  Noronha  stands  as  a  great  sign-board,  as  it  were, 
on  the  principal  commercial  thoroughfare  of  the  world.  Al 
most  all  the  ships  that  cross  the  line,  from  Europe  and  Amer 
ica,  to  the  East  Indies  and  Pacific  Ocean,  and  vice  versa,  sight 
it,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  a  new  departure  from  it.  The 
dwellers  on  its  lonely  hills  look  out  upon  a  constant  stream 
of  commerce,  but  they  are  like  prisoners  looking  out  from 
their  prison-windows  upon  a  scene  of  which  they  are  not  a 
part.  A  ship  rarely  ever  touches  at  the  island.  There  is 
nothing  to  invite  communication.  It  is  too  insignificant  for 
traffic,  and  has  no  good  harbor  where  a  ship  could  repair 
damages  or  refit.  It  is,  besides,  a  penal  colony  of  Brazil,  to 
which  it  belongs.  It  is  under  the  government  of  an  officer  of 
the  Brazilian  Army,  who  has  a  battalion  of  troops  under  him, 
and  hither  are  sent  from  Kio  Janeiro,  and  the  other  cities  of 
the  empire,  all  the  noted  criminals  who  are  condemned  to  long 
terms  of  imprisonment.  Very  few  of  the  prisoners  are  kept 
in  close  confinement.  The  island  itself  is  prison  enough,  and 
there  are  no  possible  means  of  escape  from  it.  The  prisoners 
are,  therefore,  permitted  to  run  at  large,  and  mitigate  the  hor- 


598  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

rors  of  their  lot  by  manual  labor  on  the  farms,  or  engage  in 
the  mechanic  arts. 

Our  arrival  was  announced  in  due  form  to  the  Governor, 
and  the  paymaster  had,  besides,  at  my  suggestion,  addressed 
him  a  letter  on  the  subject  of  supplies.  In  the  meantime,  we 
hauled  the  Louisa  Hatch  alongside,  and  commenced  coaling. 
The  next  morning  a  couple  of  gentlemen  visited  me,  on  the 
part  of  the  Governor,  to  arrange  personally  with  the  paymas 
ter,  the  matter  of  supplies,  and  to  welcome  me  to  the  island. 
No  objection  was  made  to  our  bringing  in  the  Hatch,  or  to  our 
receiving  coal  from  her.  The  state  of  my  diplomatic  relations 
with  the  Governor  was  thus  so  satisfactory,  that  I  invited  his 
ambassadors  into  the  cabin,  and  summoned  Bartelli  to  provide 
champagne.  A  popping  of  corks,  and  a  mutual  clinking  of 
glasses  ensued,  and  when  we  had  resumed  conversation  and 
lighted  cigars,  one  of  the  gentlemen  diplomats  informed  me,  in 
the  most  easy  and  san  souciant  manner  possible,  that  he  was 
one  of  the  convicts  of  the  island !  He  had  been  sentenced  for 
six  years,  he  said,  but  had  nearly  served  his  term  out.  He  was 
a  German,  and  spoke  very  good  English.  Several  of  my  offi 
cers  were  present,  and  there  was,  of  course,  a  casting  of  glances 
from  one  to  the  other.  But  Bartelli,  who  was  still  standing  a 
few  paces  in  the  rear,  with  a  fresh  bottle  of  uncorked  cham 
pagne  in  his  hand,  seemed  to  be  most  shocked.  My  faithful 
steward  felt  the  honors  and  dignity  of  my  station  much  more 
than  I  did  myself,  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  smile  of 
derision  and  contempt,  with  which  he  wheeled  round,  and 
replaced  the  uncorked  bottle  in  the  champagne  basket. 

The  next  day,  accompanied  by  my  paymaster  —  by  the  way, 
I  have  forgotten  to  mention  that  I  had  appointed  Dr.  Gait,  my 
esteemed  surgeon,  paymaster,  at  the  time  I  made  a  present  of 
my  former  paymaster  to  Mr.  Adams,  as  related ;  and  that  I 
had  promoted  Dr.  Llewellyn  to  be  surgeon  —  I  made  a  visit 
to  the  Governor  at  his  palace.  He  had  kindly  sent  horses  for 
us  to  the  beach,  and  we  had  a  pleasant  ride  of  about  a  mile, 
before  we  reached  his  headquarters.  It  was  about  eleven  A. 
M.,  when  we  alighted,  and  were  escorted  by  an  aide-de-camp  to 
his  presence.  The  Governor  was  a  thin,  spare  man,  rather 
under  the  medium  height,  and  of  sprightly  manners  and  con- 


DUKING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      599 

versation.  His  complexion,  like  that  of  most  Brazilians,  was 
about  that  of  a  side  of  tanned  sole-leather.  His  rank  was  that 
of  a  major  in  the  Brazilian  Army  He  received  us  very  cor 
dially.  We  found  him  at  breakfast  with  his  family  and  some 
guests,  and  he  insisted  that  we  should  be  seated  at  the  break 
fast-table,  and  partake  of  a  second  breakfast,  though  we  en 
deavored  to  decline.  The  meal  was  quite  substantial,  consist 
ing  of  a  variety  of  roast  meats,  as  well  as  fruits  and  vegetables. 

As  soon  as  I  could  find  a  little  time  to  look  around  me,  I 
discovered  that  her  ladyship,  the  governess,  was  a  very  sprightly 
and  not  uncomely  mulatto,  and  that  her  two  little  children,  wh6 
were  brought  to  me  with  all  due  ceremony,  to  be  praised,  and 
have  their  heads  patted,  had  rather  kinky,  or,  perhaps,  I  should 
say  curly,  hair.  But  I  was  a  man  of  the  world,  and  was  not 
at  all  dismayed  by  this  discovery ;  especially  when  I  observed 
that  my  vis-a-vis  —  one  of  the  guests  —  was  a  beautiful  blonde, 
of  sweet  seventeen,  with  a  complexion  like  a  lily,  tinted  with 
the  least  bit  of  rose,  and  with  eyes  so  melting  and  lovely,  that 
they  looked  as  though  they  might  have  belonged  to  one  of  the 
houris,  of  whom  that  old  reprobate  Mahomet  used  to  dream. 
To  set  off  her  charms  still  further,  she  was  arrayed  in  a  robe 
of  the  purest  white,  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  in  her  flaxen 
hair.  She  was  a  German,  and  was  seated  next  to  her  father,  a 
man  of  about  sixty,  who,  as  the  Governor  afterward  informed 
me,  was  one  of  his  chief  criminals. 

The  Governor  seeing  me  start  a  little  as  he  gave  me  this  in 
formation,  made  haste  to  explain,  that  his  guest  was  not  of  the 
canaille,  or  common  class  of  rogues,  but  a  gentleman,  who,  in 
a  moment  of  weakness,  had  signed  another  gentleman's  name 
to  a  check  for  a  considerable  amount,  which  he  had  bgen  clever 
enough  to  have  cashed.  "  He  is  only  a  forger,  then !  "  said  I 
to  the  Governor.  "That  is  all,"  replied  he;  "he  is  a  very 
clever  old  gentleman,  and,  as  you  see,  he  has  a  very  pretty 
daughter."  There  was  certainly  no  gainsaying  the  latter  propo 
sition.  The  chaplain  of  the  penal  colony — which  numbered 
about  one  thousand  convicts,  the  entire  population  of  the 
island  being  about  two  thousand  —  a  portly  and  dignified 
priest,  was  also  at  the  breakfast-table,  and  my  paymaster  and 
myself  spent  a  very  pleasant  half-hour  around  this  social  board, 


600  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

at  which  were  represented  so  many  of  the  types  of  mankind, 
and  so  different  moral  elements. 

From  the  breakfast-table,  we  retired  to  a  withdrawing-room, 
which  was  pretty  well  filled  when  we  entered,  showing  that  his 
Excellency  had  done  me  the  honor  to  get  some  guests  together 
to  greet  me.  The  paymaster  and  myself  were  personally  pre 
sented  to  most  of  these  distinguished  gentlemen  —  some  mili 
tary  men,  some  civilians.  Among  others,  was  present  the  am 
bassador  of  the  day  previous,  who  had  given  such  a  shock  to  Bar- 
telli's  nerves,  as  to  render  him  incapable  of  doing  that  which  he 
loved  above  all  other  things  to  do  —  draw  a  champagne  cork  for 
the  Captain's  guests,  whom  he  regarded,  after  a  certain  fashion, 
as  his  own.  The  Governor  had  evidently  been  select  in  his 
society,  for  most  of  these  gentlemen  were  not  only  well  dressed, 
but  well-mannered,  and  some  of  them  were  even  distinguished 
in  appearance.  They  were  mostly  homicides  and  forgers,  and 
seemed  rather  to  pride  themselves  upon  the  distinction  which 
they  had  attained  in  their  professions.  There  was  one  young 
fellow  present,  upon  whom  all  seemed  to  look  with  admiration. 
He  was  a  dashing  young  German,  who  had  evidently  driven  fast 
horses,  and  kept  the  best  of  company.  He  wore  an  elaborately 
embroidered  shirt-bosom,  on  which  glittered  a  diamond  brooch 
of  great  brilliancy,  and  there  were  chains  hung  about  his  neck, 
and  signet  and  other  rings  on  his  fingers.*  This  fellow  was  such 
a  master  of  the  pen,  that  he  could  cheat  any  man  out  of  his  signa 
ture,  after  having  seen  him  write  but  once.  To  give  us  an  ex 
ample  of  his  skill,  he  sketched,  whilst  we  were  talking  to  him, 
the  Alabama,  and  her  surroundings,  as  they  appeared  from  the 
window  of  the  saloon  in  which  we  were  sitting,  so  perfectly, 
with  pen.  and  ink,  as  to  create  a  murmur  of  applause  among 
the  bystanders.  This  charming  young  gentleman  had  "  done  " 
the  Bank  of  Eio  Janeiro  out  of  a  very  large  sum,  which 
was  the  cause  of  his  being  the  guest  of  the  Governor. 

Wine  and  cigars  were  brought  in,  and  as  we  chatted,  and 
smoked  with  these  fellows,  the  paymaster,  and  I  were  highly 
amused  —  amused  at  our  own  situation,  and  by  the  variety  of 
characters  by  whom  we  were  surrounded.  The  leve'e  being  at 
an  end,  the  Governor  ordered  horses,  and,  accompanied  by  an 
orderly,  we  rode  over  his  dominions.  It  was  in  the  midst  of 
th'3  rainy  season,  and  the  island  was  almost  constantly  wreathed 


DURING    THE     WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      601 

in  mists  and  rain,  but  as  these  rains  continue  for  months,  no 
one  thinks  of  housing  himself  on  account  of  them. 

We  passed  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  Peak,  and  were 
more  struck  than  ever,  with  the  grandeur  of  its  proportions 
and  the  symmetry  of  its  form.  The  island  is  broken  and  pic 
turesque,  as  all  volcanic  countries  are,  and  in  the  midst  of  the 
rains,  it  was  one  mass  of  rank  vegetation,  it  being  as  much  as 
the  farmers  could  do  to  keep  a  few  patches  of  cultivation  free 
from  the  encroaching  weeds  and  jungle.  We  had  not  been 
in  the  saddle  more  than  twenty  minutes,  when  a  heavily  laden, 
vaporous  cloud  swept  over  us,  and  drenched  us  to  the  skin. 
But  I  found  that  this  was  not  to  interfere,  in  the  least,  with  our 
ride.  Its  only  effect  was,  to  induce  the  Governor  to  call  a  tem 
porary  halt,  at  a  Manioc  factory,  in  which  he  was  interested, 
and  whistle  up  a  boy,  who  brought  each  of  us  a  very  small 
glass  filled  with  the  villanous  aguadiente  of  the  country.  The 
Governor  tossed  his  off  at  a  single  gulp,  and  not  to  be  dis 
courteous,  we  made  wry  faces,  and  disposed  of  as  much  of  ours 
as  we  could. 

We  passed  through  tangled  forests,  the  trees  of  which  were 
all  new  to  us,  and  through  dells  and  ravines,  in  which  the  liv 
ing,  and  the  decaying  vegetation  seemed  to  be  struggling  for 
the  mastery,  and  emerged  in  a  beautiful  cocoanut  plantation, 
on  the  south  end  of  the  island,  which  lay  only  a  few  feet  above 
the  sea-level.  I  was  now  at  the  end  of  the  Governor's  domin 
ions —  an  hour's  ride  had  brought  me  from  the  sea,  on  one 
side  of  them,  to  the  sea,  on  the  other,  and  there  was  nothing 
more  to  be  seen.  Other  showers  coming  on,  we  entered  a  tiny 
country  house  of  the  Governor's,  and  had  some  grapes,  figs, 
and  melons  brought  in  to  us  by  the  major  domo.  The  green 
cocoanut  was  brought  to  us  among  other  delicacies,  to  be  eaten 
with  spoons.  We  were  quite  amused  at  the  manner  in  which 
these  nuts  were  gathered.  The  major  domo  called  a  boy,  and 
tying  his  legs  together,  just  above  the  ankles,  so  that  the 
ankles  were  about  six  inches  apart,  set  him  down  at  the  foot 
of  a  tree.  These  trees,  as  the  reader  knows,  grow  to  a  great 
height,  are  perfectly  cylindrical,  and  have  not  an  excrescence 
of  any  kind  from  root  to  top ;  and  yet  the  boy,  by  the  aid  of 
the  bandage  described,  wriggled  himself  to  the  top  of  one  of 
the  tallest,  with  the  agility  of  a  squirrel. 


602  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

There  being  at  length  a  pause  in  the  rains,  the  sun  even 
peeping  through  an  occasional  rift  in  the  ragged  and  watery 
clouds,  we  remounted,  and  rode  back.  The  tiny  mountain 
paths  had,  many  of  them,  by  this  time  become  rills  and  tor 
rents,  and  our  horses  were  frequently  knee-deep  in  water. 
The  paymaster  and  I  pulled  on  board  at  five  P.  M.,  without 
having  suffered  any  inconvenience,  either  from  the  rains,  or 
the  Governor's  aguadiente;  nor  did  our  morals  suffer  materi 
ally  by  what  we  had  seen  and  heard  in  the  island  of  Fernando 
de  Noronha.  The  next  morning  the  Governor's  wife  sent  me 
a  fat  turkey  for  dinner,,  accompanied  by  the  most  charming  of 
bouquets.  This  was  evidently  my  reward  for  patting  the 
little  curly  heads  of  her  children.  My  diplomacy  from  this 
time  onward  was  all  right.  I  did  not  hear  a  word  from  the 
Governor,  or  any  one  in  authority,  about  neutral  rights,  or  the 
violation  of  neutral  jurisdictions.  Brazil  had,  I  knew,  followed 
the  lead  of  the  European  powers,  in  excluding  prizes  from  her 
ports,  and  I  had  fully  expected  to  receive  some  remonstrance 
against  my  bringing  in  the  Louisa  Hatch,  but  Madame  was  too 
strong  for  the  Governor,  and,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  I  received 
fat  turkeys,  and  bouquets,  instead  of  remonstrances.  The 
anchorage  being  nothing  but  an  open  roadstead,  we  soon  found 
it  too  rough  to  permit  a  ship  to  lie  alongside  of  us,  and  so 
were  obliged  to  haul  the  Hatch  off  to  her  anchors,  and  continue 
our  coaling  with  boats.  This  was  rather  a  tedious  process, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  15th  of  April,  or  five  days  after  our 
arrival,  that  we  were  coaled. 

We  had  not  once  thought  of  a  prize,  since  we  came  in.  Our 
whole  attention  had  been  given  to  coaling  ship,  and  refitting 
for  another  cruise,  refreshing  the  crew,  and  attending  to  the 
ladies  at  the  Government  House.  But  the  ubiquitous  Yankee 
would  turn  up  in  spite  of  us.  Just  as  we  had  gotten  our  last 
boat-load  of  coal  on  board,  two  ships  appeared  off'  the  harbor, 
and  were  seen  to  heave  to,  and  lower  boats.  We  soon  made 
them  out  to  be  whalers,  and  knew  them  to  be  American, 
though  they  had  not  as  yet  hoisted  any  colors.  The  boats 
pulled  in  apace,  and  soon  entered  the  harbor.  They  contained 
the  masters  of  the  two  whalers,  who  had  come  in  to  barter  a 
little  whale  oil  for  supplies.  The  Alabama  waf  lying,  without 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    603 

any  colors  hoisted,  as  was  her  wont  while  she  remained  at  this 
island,  and,  of  course,  the  Louisa  Hatch,  her  prize,  had  none 
set.  The  boats  pulled  in  quite  unsuspiciously,  and  observing 
that  the  Hatch  was  an  American -built  ship,  went  alongside  of 
her.  The  prize-master,  who  was  taking  it  easily,  in  his  shirt 
sleeves,  and  so  had  no  uniform  on  which  could  betray  him, 
went  to  the  gangway  and  threw  them  a  rope.  The  two  masters 
declined  to  come  on  board,  as  they  were  in  a  hurry,  they  said, 
but  remained  some  time  in  conversation — the  prize-master, 
who  was  an  Englishman,  endeavoring  to  play  Yankee,  the 
best  he  could.  He  repeatedly  invited  them  to  come  on  board, 
but  they  declined.  They  wanted  to  know  what  steamer  "  that 
was,"  pointing  to  the  Alabama.  They  were  told  that  it  was  a 
Brazilian  packet-steamer,  come  over  to  the  colony  to  bring 
some  convicts.  "  What  are  you  doing  here,"  they  now  inquired. 
"  We  sprang  a  pretty  bad  leak,  in  a  late  gale,  and  have  come 
in  to  see  if  we  can  repair  damages."  Presently  there  was  a 
simultaneous  start,  on  the  part  of  both  the  boat's  crews,  and 
the  words  "starn,  all!"  being  bawled,  rather  than  spoken, 
both  boats  backed  out,  in  "double  quick,"  and  put  off,  with 
the  most  vigorous  strokes  of  their  oars,  for  the  shore,  like  men 
who  were  pulling  for  their  lives.  The  prize-master,  a  little 
astonished  at  this  sudden  movement,  looked  around  him  to 
see  what  could  have  caused  it.  The  cause  was  soon  apparent. 
A  small  Confederate  flag  —  a  boat's  ensign  —  had  been  thrown 
by  the  coxswain  of  one  of  the  boats  on  the  spanker-boom  to 
dry,  and  while  the  conversation  was  going  on,  a  puff  of  wind 
had  blown  out  the  folds,  and  disclosed  the  little  tell-tale  to  the 
gaze  of  the  astonished  whalers.  It  was  not  precisely  a  Gor 
gon's  head ;  they  did  not  turn  to  stone,  but  perhaps  there  was 
some  of  the  tallest  pulling  done,  that  day,  at  Fernando  de 
Noronha,  that  was  ever  done  by  a  Yankee  boat's  crew. 

In  the  meantime,  the  "Brazilian  packet-steamer"  having 
gotten  up  steam,  was  moving  quietly  out  of  the  harbor,  to  look 
after  the  ships  outside.  They  were  still  lying  to,  and  fortu 
nately  for  me,  they  were  four  or  five  miles  off;  outside  of  the 
charmed  marine  league.  There  was  an  outlying  shoal  or  two, 
in  the  direction  in  which  they  were,  and  this  was  the  reason, 
probably,  why  they  had  not  ventured  nearer.  It  did  not  take 


604  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

us  long  to  come  up  with  them.  We  fired  the  usual  gun  as  we 
approached,  and  as  there  was  no  occasion  for  ruse,  we  showed 
them  oar  own  flag.  They  saw  in  a  moment  that  tteir  fate  was 
sealed,  and  did  not  attempt  to  stir,  but  hoisted  the  United 
States  colors,  and  patiently  waited  to  be  taken  possession  of. 
The  first  we  came  up  with,  was  the  bark  Lafayette,  of  Ne^ 
Bedford.  There  were  no  papers  to  be  examined — the  mate,  in 
the  absence  of  the  captain,  having  thrown  them  overboard,  as 
we  approached  —  and  we  gave  her  a  short  shrift.  She  was 
burning  brightly,  in  less  than  an  hour.  We  now  ranged  up 
alongside  of  the  other,  which  proved  to  be  the  hermaphrodite 
brig,  Kate  Cory,  of  Westport.  Instead  of  burning  the  Cory,  I 
took  her  in  tow,  and  stood  back  to  the  anchorage  with  her,  it 
being  mv  intention  to  convert  her  into  a  cartel,  and  dispatch 
her  to  the  United  States,  with  my  prisoners,  who  were  now 
quite  as  numerous  as  my  crew,  there  being  110  of  them.  By 
seven  P.  M.,  we  had  again  anchored  in  our  old  berth ;  the  burn 
ing  ship  outside  lighting  us  into  the  roadstead,  and  throwing  a 
bright  glare  over  much  of  the  island.  A  number  of  ships  that 
passed  Fernando  de  Noronha  that  night,  must  have  been  aston 
ished  at  this  illumination  of  the  lonely  mile-post.  The  sea  was 
smooth,  and  the  ship  was  still  burning,  the  next  morning, 
though  by  this  time  she  had  drifted  so  far,  that  there  was  no 
thing  visible  except  a  column  of  smoke.  I  afterward  changed 
my  determination  of  converting  the  Cory  into  a  cartel.  A 
small  Brazilian  schooner  having  come  into  the  anchorage, 
offered  to  take  all  my  prisoners  to  Pernambuco,  if  I  would 
provision  them,  and  give  her,  besides,  a  few  barrels  of  pork 
and  flour  for  her  trouble.  This  I  at  once  consented  to  do,  and 
the  Governor  having  no  objection,  the  arrangement  was  forth 
with  made.  I  was  thus  enabled  to  burn  the  Cory,  and  to  put 
the  enemy,  to  the  expense  of  sending  his  released  prisoners  to 
the  United  States.  I  burned  the  Louisa  Hatch  along  with  the 
Cory,  having  no  farther  use  for  her;  taking  the  pains  to  send 
them  both  beyond  the  marine  league,  that  I  might  pay  due 
respect  to  the  jurisdiction  of  Brazil. 

And  now  we  were  ready  for  sea  again,  though  I  remained 
a  few  days  longer  at  my  anchors,  hoping  that  the  Agrippina 
might  arrive.  She  was  past  due,  but  I  had  not  yet  given  up 
all  hope  of  her. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      605 

"We  were  now  getting  well  along  into  the  latter  part  of 
April,  and  a  great  change  was  taking  place  in  the  weather.  It 
had  been  raining,  as  the  reader  has  observed,  ever  since  we 
reached  the  vicinity  of  the  equator.  The  rains  were  now  becom 
ing  less  frequent,  from  day  to  day,  and  we  had  the  showers  agree 
ably  alternated  with  sunshine.  The  rainy  season  was  passing 
away,  and  the  dry  season  was  about  to  set  in.  I  watched  this 
phenomenon  with  great  interest  —  all  the  more  narrowly,  be 
cause  I  had  nothing  to  do,  but  look  out  for  the  weather,  and 
the  Agrippina  ;  except,  indeed,  to  attend  to  the  refreshment,  and 
recreation  of  my  crew,  and  send  Bartelli  on  shore,  occasionally, 
with  messages  to  the  ladies  at  the  Government  House.  The 
reader,  who  has  now  been  a  passenger  with  us  for  some  time, 
has  watched  the  trade-winds,  as  he  has  crossed  the  tropics,  and 
has  fanned  himself  and  panted  for  breath,  when  we  have  been 
working  our  tedious  way  through  the  calm-be] ts.  He  has 
seen  how  this  system  of  trade-winds  and  calm-belts  wanders 
up  and  down  the  earth,  from  north  to  south,  and  south  to  north, 
drawn  hither  and  thither  by  the  sun.  But  we  have  had  no 
conversation,  as  yet,  about  the  Equatorial  Cloud  Ring.  He 
has  been,  for  the  last  three  weeks,  under  this  very  Cloud  Ring, 
but  has  probably  failed  to  remark  it.  He  has  only  seen  that 
the  flood-gates  of  the  heavens  have  been  raised,  and  witnessed 
the  descending  torrents,  and  the  roll  of  the  thunder,  and  the 
play  of  the  lightning,  without  stopping  to  ask  himself  the 
reason. 

Let  us  pause  a  moment,  and  look  into  this  beautiful  phe 
nomenon  of  the  Equatorial  Cloud  Ring,  before  we  flit  away  to 
other  seas,  and  are  absorbed  by  new  phenomena.  The  north 
east  and  south-east  trade-winds,  meeting  near  the  equator, 
produce  the  Cloud  Ring.  Let  us  suppose  the  Alabama  back 
at  the  crossing  of  the  30th  parallel,  where,  as  the  reader  will 
recollect,  we  established  the  toll-gate.  She  had,  whilst  there, 
a  high  barometer.  Starting  thence  on  her  way  to  the  equator, 
as  soon  as  she  enters  the  north-east  trade,  she  finds  that  her 
barometer  settles  a  little  —  perhaps  a  tenth  of  an  inch  on  an 
average.  The  reader  has  seen,  that  we  had,  whilst  passing 
through  this  region,  a  series  of  half  gales,  and  bad  weather ; 
but  this  was  an  exceptional  state  of  the  atmospheric  phe- 


606  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

nomena.  The  normal  condition  of  the  weather  is  that  of  a 
clear  sky,  with  passing  trade-clouds,  white  and  fleecy,  and 
with  moderate  breezes.  If  the  reader  has  watched  his  barome 
ter  narrowly,  he  has  observed  a  very  remarkable  phenomenon, 
which  is  not  known  to  prevail  outside  of  the  trade- wind  belts  — 
an  atmospheric  tide.  The  atmosphere  ebbs  and  flows  as  regu 
larly  as  the  sea.  This  atmospheric  tide  is  due,  no  doubt,  to 
the  same  cause  that  produces  the  aqueous  tides  —  the  attrac 
tion  of  the  moon.  It  occurs  twice  in  twenty-four  hours,  just 
like  the  aqueous  tides,  and  there  is  no  other  cause  to  which 
we  can  attribute  it. 

The  needle  has  a  like  semi-diurnal — indeed,  hourly  varia 
tion —  showing  the  normal,  electrical  condition  of  the  atmos 
phere.  The  atmospherical,  tidal  wave,  as  it  ebbs  and  flows, 
seems  to  carry  the  needle  backward  and  forward  with  it. 
The  average  barometer  being  but  a  very  little  under  thirty, 
there  is  an  agreeable  elasticity  in  the  atmosphere,  and  officers, 
and  crew  are  generally  in  fine  spirits.  The  sailors  enjoy  their 
evening  dances,  and  story-tellings,  and  when  the  night-watches 
are  set,  sleep  with  impunity  about  the  decks  —  guarded,  how 
ever,  by  those  woollen  garments,  of  which  I  spoke,  when  de 
scribing  our  routine  life.  But  observe,  now,  what  a  change 
will  take  place,  as  we  approach  the  equator.  We  are  ap 
proaching  not  only  the  calm-belt,  which  has  been  before  de 
scribed,  but  the  Cloud  King,  for  the  latter  is  the  concomitant 
of  the  former.  The  winds  die  away,  the  muttering  of  thunder 
is  heard,  and  a  pall  of  black  clouds,  along  which  dart  frequent 
streaks  of  lightning,  is  seen  hanging  on  the  verge  of  the 
horizon,  ahead  of  the  ship.  As  she  advances,  fanned  along 
by  puffs  of  wind  from  various  quarters,  she  loses  sight  of  the 
sun  altogether,  and  enters  beneath  the  belt  of  clouds,  where 
she  is  at  once  deluged  with  rain.  She  is  at  once  in  the  equa 
torial  calm-belt,  and  under  the  Equatorial  Cloud  King. 

The  north-east  and  south-east  trade-winds,  as  they  came 
sweeping  along,  charged  to  saturation  with  the  vapors  which 
they  have  licked  up  from  a  torrid  sea,  have  ascended  as  they 
met,  and  when  they  have  reached  the  proper  dew-point,  or 
point  of  the  wet-bulb  of  the  thermometer,  precipitation  has 
commenced.  The  barometer  falls  another  tenth  of  an  inch,  or 


DUEING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        607 

so,  all  elasticity  departs  from  the  atmosphere,  and  officers  and 
crew  lose  their  cheerfulness.  They  feel  all  the  lassitude 
and  weariness  of  men  in  a  perpetual  vapor-bath.  The  sailor 
no  longer  mounts  the  ratlines,  as  if  he  had  cork  in  his  heels, 
but  climbs  up  sluggishly  and  slothfully,  devoid  of  his  usual 
pride  to  be  foremost.  In  other  words,  though  not  absolutely 
sick,  he  is  "under  the  weather."  The  rays  of  the  sun  being 
perpetually  excluded,  the  thermometer  stands  lower  under  the 
Cloud  King,  than  on  either  side  of  it.  At  least  this  is  the 
normal  condition.  Sometimes,  however,  the  most  oppressive 
heats  occur.  They  are  local,  and  of  short  duration.  These 
local  heats  are  occasioned  as  follows:  When  a  cooler  stratum 
of  the  upper  air  sweeps  down  nearer  the  earth  than  usual, 
bringing  with  it  the  dew-point,  condensation  takes  place  so 
near  the  surface,  that  the  rain-drops  have  not  time  to  cool,  at 
the  same  time  that  an  immense  quantity  of  latent  heat  has 
been  liberated  in  the  act  of  condensation.  At  other  times, 
when  the  dew-point  is  far  removed  from  the  earth,  the  latent 
heat  is  not  only  thrown  off  at  a  greater  distance  from  us,  but 
the  rain-drops  cool  in  their  descent,  and  greatly  reduce  the 
temperature. 

The  Cloud  King  is  being  perpetually  formed,  and  is  perpetu 
ally  passing  away.  Fresh  volumes  of  air.  charged  as  described, 
are  constantly  rushing  in  from  the  north  and  from  the  south, 
and  as  constantly  ascending,  parting  with  a  portion  of  their 
water,  and  continuing  their  journey  to  the  poles,  in  obedience 
to  the  laws  providing  for  the  equal  distribution  of  rain  to  the 
two  hemispheres,  before  explained.  The  Cloud  King  encircles 
the  entire  earth,  and  if  it  could  be  viewed  by  an  eye  at  a  dis 
tance  from  our  planet,  would  appear  like  a  well -defined  black 
mark  drawn  around  an  artificial  globe.  Its  width  is  consider 
able,  being  from  three  to  six  degrees. 

It  remains  to  speak  of  the  offices  which  this  remarkable  ring 
performs.  It  is  an  important  cog-wheel  in  the  great  atmos 
pherical  machine,  for  the  distribution  of  water  over  the  earth; 
but,  besides  its  functions  in  the  general  system,  it  has  local 
duties  to  perform.  These  are  the  hovering  by  turns  over  cer 
tain  portions  of  the  earth,  giving  them  an  alternation  of  rain 
and  sunshine.  In  short,  it  causes  the  rainy,  and  dry  seasons, 
39 


608  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

in  certain  parallels,  north  and  south,  within  the  limits  assigned 
to  it.  The  ancients  were  of  the  opinion  that  the  equatorial 
regions  of  the  earth  were  a  continuous,  burning  desert,  devoid 
of  vegetation,  and  of  course  uninhabitable ;  and  perhaps  this 
opinion  would  not  be  very  far  wrong,  but  for  the  arrangement 
of  which  I  arn  about  to  speak.  The  Cloud  King  is  a  part  of  the 
system  of  calm-belts,  and  trade-winds.  It  overhangs  the  equa 
torial  calm-belt,  as  has  been  stated,  and  it  travels  north  and 
south  with  it.  It  travels  over  as  much  as  twenty  degrees  of 
latitude — from  about  5°  S.  to  15°  N.,  carrying,  as  before  re 
marked,  rain  to  the  regions  over  which  it  hovers,  and  letting 
in  the  sunshine  upon  those  regions  it  has  left.  If  the  reader 
will  inspect  a  map,  he  will  find  that  it  extends  as  far  into  our 
hemisphere,  as  the  island  of  Martinique,  in  the  West  Indies. 
Fernando  de  Noronha,  where  we  are  now  lying  in  the  Alabama, 
is  near  its  southern  limit,  being  in  the  latitude  of  about  4°  S. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      609 

The  reader  has  seen  that  the  rainy  season  was  still  prevailing, 
when  we  arrived  at  this  island,  on  the  10th  of  April;  and  that 
it  had  begun  to  pass  away,  while  we  still  lay  there — the  rain 
and  the  sunshine  playing  at  "April  showers."  The  preceding 
diagram  will  explain  how  the  Cloud  Ring  travels:  — 

Figure  1  represents  the  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha  still 
under  the  Cloud  Ring.  It  is  early  in  April,  and  only  about 
three  weeks  have  elapsed  since  the  sun  crossed  the  equator  on 
his  way  back  to  the  northern  hemisphere.  When  he  was  in  the 
southern  hemisphere,  he  had  drawn  the  ring  so  far  south,  as  to 
cover  the  island.  His  rays  had  been  shut  out  from  it,  and  it 
was  constantly  raining.  The  little  island  would  have  been 
drowned  out,  if  this  state  of  things  had  continued ;  but  it  was 
not  so  ordered  by  the  great  Architect. 

Suppose  now  a  month  to  elapse.  It  is  early  in  May,  and 
behold !  the  sun  has  travelled  sufficiently  far  north,  to  draw 
the  Cloud  Ring  from  over  the  island,  arid  leave  it  in  sunshine, 
as  represented  in  figure  2.  Thus  the  island  is  neither  parched 
by  perpetual  heat,  nor  drowned  by  perpetual  rains,  but  its 
climate  is  delightfully  tempered  by  an  alternation  of  each,  and 
it  has  become  a  fit  abode  for  men  and  animals. 

As  we  have  seen  in  a  former  chapter,  a  benign  Providence 
has  set  the  trade-winds  in  motion,  that  they  might  become  the 
water-carriers  of  the  earth,  ordering  them,  for  this  purpose,  to 
cross  the  equator,  each  into  the  hemisphere  of  the  other.  We 
now  see  that  he  has  woven,  with  those  same  winds,  a  shield, 
impenetrable  to  the  sun's  rays,  which  he  holds  in  his  hand,  as 
it  were,  first  over  one  parched  region  of  the  earth,  and  then 
over  another — the  shield  dropping  "fatness"  all  the  while! 


CHAPTEK    XLIY. 

THE  ALABAMA  LEAVES  FERNANDO  DE  NORONHA  FOE  A 
CRUISE  ON  THE  COAST  OF  BRAZIL  -  ENTERS  THE 
GREAT  HIGHWAY  AND  BEGINS  TO  OVERHAUL  THE 
TRAVELLERS  -  CAPTURE  OF  THE  WHALER  NYE  ;  OF 
THE  DORCAS  PRINCE;  OF  THE  UNION  JACK;  OF  THE 
SEA  LARK  -  A  REVEREND  CONSUL  TAKEN  PRISONER 
-  ALABAMA  GOES  INTO  BAHIA  -  WHAT  OCCURRED 
THERE  -  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  GEORGIA  -  ALABAMA  PRO 
CEEDS  TO  SEA  AGAIN  -  CAPTURES  THE  FOLLOWING 
SHIPS!  THE  GILDERSLIEVE  ;  THE  JUSTINA  ;  THE  JA- 
BEZ  SNOW;  THE  AMAZONIAN,  AND  THE  TALISMAN. 


22d  of  April  having  arrived,  we  gave  up  all  further 
hopes  of  the  Agrippina,  and  went  to  sea.  As  we  passed 
out  of  the  roadstead,  we  cut  adrift  the  four  whale-boats  which 
we  had  brought  in  from  the  captured  whalers,  rather  than 
destroy  them.  They  would  be  valuable,  to  the  islanders,  who 
had  treated  us  kindly,  and  it  was  am  using-  to  see  the  struggle 
which  took  place  for  the  possession  of  them.  The  good  people 
seemed  to  have  some  anticipation  of  what  was  to  take  place, 
and  all  the  boatmen  of  the  island  had  assembled  to  contest  the 
prizes,  in  every  description  of  craft  that  would  float,  from  the 
dug-out  to  the  tidy  cutter.  The  boatmen  stripped  themselves 
like  athletes  for  the  fray,  and  as  whale-boat  after  boat  was  cut 
adrift,  there  was  a  pulling  and  splashing,  a  paddling  and  a 
screaming  that  defy  all  description  ;  the  victors  waving  their 
hats,  and  shouting  their  victory  and  their  good-bye  to  us,  in 
the  same  breath. 

We  steamed  due  east  from  the  island  some  forty  miles,  when 
we  let  our  steam  go  down,  raised  the  propeller,  and  put  the 

610 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  611 

ship  under  sail.  The  Alabama,  with  full  coal-bunkers  and  a 
refreshed  crew,  was  again  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy's  commerce 
I  had  at  last  accomplished  my  cherished  design  —  which  had 
been  frustrated  in  the  Sumter — of  a  cruise  on  the  coast  of 
Brazil.  In  my  stanch  and  fleet  little  ship,  I  was  in  a  condi 
tion  to  defy  both  Winds  and  currents.  On  the  day  after  leav 
ing  Fernando  de  Noronha,  I  observed  in  latitude  5°  45'  S., 
and  had  thus  run  entirely  from  under  the  Cloud  King.  We 
were  met  by  a  bright  sky,  and  the  first  gentle  breathings  of 
the  south-east  trade.  This  change  in  the  weather  had  an  elec 
tric  effect  upon  my  people.  Cheerfulness  returned  to  their 
countenances,  and  elasticity  to  their  step.  It  took  us  some 
time  to  dry  and  ventilate  the  ship,  the  rigging  being  filled,  for 
a  day  or  two,  with  wet  pea-jackets  and  mattresses,  and  the 
decks  strewed  with  mouldy  boots  and  shoes. 

Before  we  had  been  twenty-four  hours  at  sea,  the  usual  bugle- 
note  was  sounded  from  the  mast-head,  and  the  Alabama  had 
pricked  up  her  ears  in  chase.  It  was  another  unfortunate 
whaler.  The  fates  seemed  to  have  a  grudge  against  these  New 
England  fishermen,  and  would  persist  in  throwing  them  in  my 
way,  although  I  was  not  on  a  whaling-ground.  This  was  the 
sixteenth  I  had  captured  —  a  greater  number  than  had  been 
captured  from  the  English  by  Commodore  David  Porter,  in 
his  famous  cruise  in  the  Pacific,  in  the  frigate  Essex,  during 
the  war  of  1812.  The  prize  proved  to  be  the  bark  Nye,  of 
New  Bedford.  This  bluff  old  whaler  was  returning  home 
from  a  cruise  of  thirty-one  months  in  the  far-off  Pacific,  dur 
ing  which  her  crew  had  become  almost  as  much  Sandwich 
Islanders,  as  Americans  in  appearance,  with  their  garments  so 
saturated  with  oil  that  they  would  have  been  quite  valuable 
to  the  soap-boiler.  She  had  sent  "  home  "  one  or  two  cargoes 
of  oil,  and  had  now  on  board  425  barrels  more.  It  seemed 
a  pity  to  break  in  upon  the  menage  of  these  old  salts,  who  had 
weathered  so  many  gales,  and  chased  the  whale  through  so 
many  latitudes,  but  there  was  no  alternative.  The  New  Eng 
land  wolf  was  still  howling  for  Southern  blood,  and  the  least 
return  we  could  make  for  the  howl,  was  to  spill  a  little  "  ile" 
Everything  about  the  Nye  being  greased  to  saturation,  she 
made  a  splendid  conflagration. 


612  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  next  day  the  wind  freshened,  and  we  might  now  be  said 
to  be  in  the  well-pronounced  south-east  trades.  Indeed,  it  blew 
so  fresh  at  nightfall,  that  we  took  the  single  reefs  in  the  top 
sails.  We  were  jogging  along  leisurely  on  the  great  Brazilian 
highway,  waiting  for  the  passengers,  rather  than  hunting  them 
up.  Presently  another  came  along — a  fine,  taunt  ship,  that 
represented  the  boxes  and  bales  of  merchandise,  rather  than 
harpoons  and  whale-oil.  We  gave  chase  under  the  enemy's 
colors,  but  the  chase  was  coy  and  shy,  and  refused  to  show 
colors  in  return,  until  she  was  commanded  to  do  so  by  a  gun. 
The  stars  and  stripes,  which  now  fluttered  to  the  breeze,  suffi 
ciently  explained  her  reluctance.  Upon  being  boarded  she 
proved  to  be  the  Dorcas  Prince,  of  New  York,  bound  for 
Shanghai.  Her  cargo  consisted  chiefly  of  coal.  She  had  been 
fourty-four  days  out,  an  unusually  long  passage,  and  what  was 
quite  wonderful  for  an  American  ship,  she  had  no  documents 
on  board  from  the  college,  either  of  the  political  or  religious 
propaganda,  and  only  three  or  four  old  newspapers.  When 
we  learned  she  was  from  New  York,  we  had  been  in  hopes  of 
capturing  a  mail.  We  burned  her  as  soon  as  we  could  trans 
fer  her  crew,  there  being  no  claim  of  neutral  cargo  found 
among  her  papers.  Her  master  had  his  wife  on  board,  which 
resulted,  as  usual,  in  sending  one  of  my  young  lieutenants  into 
the  "  country." 

Eeducing  sail  again,  we  jogged  along  as  before,  but  for  the 
next  few  days  we  overhauled  nothing  but  neutrals.  A  St. 
John's,  New  Brunswick,  ship,  brought  us  the  mail  we  had  ex 
pected  to  receive  by  the  Dorcas  Prince,  but  it  contained  noth 
ing  of  interest.  On  the  3d  of  May,  the  weather  being  fine, 
though  interrupted  occasionally  by  a  rain-squall,  we  gave 
chase,  about  eleven  A.  M.,  to  a  clipper-ship,  with  square  yards, 
white  canvas,  and  long  rnast-heads  —  and  the  reader  must  be 
enough  of  an  expert,  by  this  time,  to  know  what  these  mean. 
In  an  hour  and  a  half  of  fine  sailing,  we  came  near  enough  to 
the  chase,  to  make  her  show  the  Federal  colors,  and  heave  to. 
She  proved  to  be  the  Union  Jack,  of  Boston,  bound  for  Shang 
hai.  Whilst  we  had  been  pursuing  the  Union  Jack,  another 
"suspicious"  sail  hpve  in  sight,  and  as  soon  as  we  could  throw 
a  prize-crew  on  board  of  the  former,  we  started  off  in  pursuit 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       613 

of  the  latter.  This  second  sail  proved  also  to  be  a  prize,  being 
the  Sea  Lark,  of  New  York,  bound  for  San  Francisco.  Here 
were  two  prizes,  in  as  many  hours. 

There  was  no  attempt  to  cover  the  cargo  of  the  Sea  Lark, 
and  the  only  attempt  that  was  made  in  the  case  of  the  Union 
Jack,  was  made  by  one  Allen  Hay,  who  was  anxious  to  save 
five  cases  of  crackers,  and  ten  barrels  of  butter  from  capture. 
In  this  case,  a  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lillie,  made  oath  before  the 
British  Consul  in  New  York,  that  the  said  articles  were  shipped 
"for  and  on  account  of  subjects  of  her  Britannic  Majesty." 
The  reader  has  seen  me  burn  several  other  ships,  with  similar 
certificates,  the  reasons  for  which  burnings  were  assigned  at 
the  time.  I  will  not  stop,  therefore,  to  discuss  this.  In  due 
time  both  ships  were  consigned  to  the  flames.  I  was  sorry  to 
find  three  more  women,  and  two  small  children  on  board  of 
the  Union  Jack.  That  ship  was,  in  fact,  about  to  expatriate 
herself  for  several  years,  after  the  fashion  of  many  of  the  Yan 
kee  ships  in  the  Chinese  coasting-trade,  and  the  master  was 
taking  his  family  out  to  domicile  it  somewhere  in  China. 
There  were  several  male  passengers  also  on  board  this  ship, 
among  them  an  ex-New-England  parson,  the  Eev.  Franklin 
Wright,  who  was  going  out  as  Consul  to  Foo  Chow.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Wright  had  been  editor  of  a  religious  paper  for  some 
years,  in  one  of  the  New  England  villages,  and  probably  owed 
his  promotion  to  the  good  services  he  had  rendered  in  hurry 
ing  on  the  war.  He  had  Puritan  written  all  over  his  lugu 
brious  countenance,  and  looked  so  solemn,  that  one  wondered 
how  he  came  to  exchange  the  clergyman's  garb  for  the  garb 
of  Belial.  But  so  it  was ;  Franklin  was  actually  going  out  to 
India,  in  quest  of  the  dollars.  We  deprived  him  of  his  Con 
sular  seal  and  commission,  though  we  did  not  molest  his  pri 
vate  papers,  and  of  sundry  very  pretty  Consular  flags,  that  had 
been  carefully  prepared  for  him  by  Mr.  Seward,  fils,  at  the 
State  Department,  in  Washington.  I  am  pained  to  see,  by  that 
"little  bill"  of  Mr.  Seward,  pere,  against  the  British  Govern 
ment,  for  "depredations  of  the  Alabama"  before  referred  to, 
that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright  puts  his  damages  down  at  $10,015. 
I  had  no  idea  that  a  New  England  parson  carried  so  much 
plunder  about  with  him. 


614  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

We  received  large  mails  from  these  two  last  ships,  and  had 
our  "moral  ideas"  considerably  expanded,  for  the  next  few 
days,  by  the  perusal  of  Yankee  newspapers.  We  found  among 
other  interesting  items,  a  vivid  synopsis  of  the  war  news,  in  a 
speech  of  Governor  Wright,  of  Indiana,  who,  if  I  mistake  not, 
had  been  chargd  to  Berlin,  where  he  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
holding  conventicles  and  prayer-meetings.  The  Governor  is 
addressing  a  meeting  of  the  "truly  loil"  at  Philadelphia,  and 
among  other  things,  said : — 

"  The  stars  and  stripes  now  wave  over  half  the  slave  grounds. 
I  believe  in  less  than  thirty  days  we  will  open  the  Mississippi  and 
take  Charleston.  [Loud  applause.]  Leave  Virginia  alone,  that 
can't  sprout  a  black-eyed  pea.  [Laughter.]  Scripture  teaches  us 
that  no  people  can  live  long  where  there  is  no  grass.  The  question 
then  is  only,  whether  they  can  live  thirty  or  sixty  days." 

Thus,  amid  the  laughter  and  jeers  of  an  unwashed  rabble,  did 
an  ex-Governor,  and  ex-U.  S.  Minister,  gloat  over  the  prospect 
of  starving  an  entire  people,  women  and  children  included. 
Did  we  need  other  incitement  on  board  the  Alabama,  to  apply 
a  well-lighted  torch  to  the  enemy's  ships  ? 

There  were  copious  extracts  from  the  English  papers  found 
in  this  mail,  and  I  trust  the  reader  will  excuse  me,  while  I 
give  a  portion  of  a  speech  made  to  his  constituents,  by  a  mem 
ber  of  the  British  Parliament,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the 
cabinet.  The  speaker  is  Mr.  Milner  Gibson,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade.  A  great  war,  which  covered  a  continent 
with  the  fire  and  smoke  of  battle,  was  raging  between  a  people, 
who  were  the  near  kinsmen  of  the  speaker.  Battles  were 
being  fought  daily,  that  dwarfed  all  the  battles  that  had  gone 
before  them.  Feats  of  brilliant  courage  were  being  performed, 
on  both  sides,  that  should  have  made  the  blood  of  the  speaker 
course  more  rapidly  through  his  veins,  and  stir  to  their  depths 
the  feelings  of  humanity  and  brotherhood.  Under  such  cir 
cumstances,  what  think  you,  reader,  was  the  subject  of  Mr. 
Gibson's  discourse  ?  It  was  bacon  and  eggs !  Listen :  — 

''Now,"  continues  Mr.  Gibson,  "these  large  importations  of 
foreign  wheat  and  flour,  and  other  provisions,  into  this  country, 
must,  to  some  extent,  have  tended  to  mitigate  the  distress,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        615 

have  enabled  many  to  provide  for  the  wants  of  others  out  of  their 
own  surplus  means.  But  supposing  that  the  Government  of  this 
country  had  been  induced,  as  they  were  urged  frequently,  to  involve 
themselves  in  interference  in  the  affairs  of  the  United  States ;  sup 
posing,  by  some  rash  and  precipitate  recognition  of  those  who  are 
conducting  hostilities  against  the  United  States — called  the  Con 
federate  States  of  America — we  had  brought  ourselves  into  col 
lision  with  the  United  States,  where  would  have  been  this  flour, 
and  ham,  and  bacon,  and  eggs  ?  I  suppose,  if  we  had  been  com 
pelled  to  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States,  by  any  unfortu 
nate  policy,  blockading  would  have  been  resorted  to,  and  we  should 
have  been  obliged  to  establish  a  blockade  of  the  coast  of  America, 
for  the  very  purpose  of  keeping  out  of  this  country  all  this  wheat, 
flour,  and  eggs  which  have  gone  to  mitigate  the  distress  of  the 
cotton  industry  in  the  present  alarming  state  of  affairs.  We  have 
from  the  commencement  carried  out  the  doctrine  of  non-interven 
tion.  We  have  endeavored  to  preserve  a  strict  neutrality  between 
the  two  contending  parties.  It  was  impossible  to  avoid  recognizing 
the  belligerent  rights  of  the  South  at  the  outset  of  the  contest, 
because  it  was  a  contest  of  such  magnitude,  and  the  insurgents,  as 
they  were  called,  were  so  numerous  and  so  powerful,  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  recognize  them  in  any  other  capacity  but 
as  persons  entitled  to  bear  arms ;  and  if  we  had  not  done  so,  and 
if  their  armed  vessels  found  on  the  seas  were  treated  as  pirates,  it 
must  be  obvious  to  every  one  that  this  would  have  been  an  unpar 
alleled  course  of  action.  We  were  compelled  to  recognize  the  bel 
ligerent  rights  of  the  South,  but  there  has  been  no  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  to  favor  either  the  one  side  or  the  other. 
My  earnest  desire  is  to  preserve  strict  neutrality ;  and,  whatever 
may  be  my  individual  feelings  —  for  we  must  have  our  sympathies 
on  the  one  side  or  the  other — whatever  may  be  my  feelings  as  a 
member  of  Parliament  and  the  executive  administration,  I  believe 
it  to  be  for  the  interest  of  England  that  this  neutrality  should  be 
observed." 

Poor  old  John  Bull !  What  a  descent  have  we  here,  from 
the  Plantagenets  to  Mr.  Milner  Gibson  ?  From  Coeur  de  Leon, 
"  striking  for  the  right/'  to  Mr.  Milner  Gibson,  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  advising  his  countrymen  to  smother  all  their  more 
noble  and  generous  impulses,  that  they  might  continue  to  fry 
cheap  bacon  and  eggs' 

We  had  been  working  our  way,  for  the  last  few  days, 
toward  Bahia,  in  Brazil,  and  being  now  pretty  well  crowded 
with  prisoners,  having  no  less  than  the  crews  of  four  captured 
ships  on  board,  I  resolved  to  run  in  and  land  them.  We 
anchored  about  five  P.  M.,  on  the  llth  of  May.  Bahia  is  the 


616  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

second  city,  in  size  and  commercial  importance,  in  the  Bra 
zilian  empire.  We  found  a  large  number  of  ships  at  anchor 
in  the  harbor,  but  no  Yankees  among  them.  The  only  man- 
of-war  present  was  a  Portuguese.  We  were  struck  with  the 
spaciousness  of  the  bay,  and  the  beauty  of  the  city  as  we  ap 
proached.  The  latter  crowns  a  crescent-shaped  'eminence,  and 
its  white  houses  peep  cosily  from  beneath  forest-trees,  of  the 
richest  and  greenest  foliage.  The  business  part  of  the  city 
lies  at  the  foot  of  the  crescent,  near  the  water's  edge.  It,  too, 
looks  picturesque,  with  its  quays,  and  shipping,  and  tugs,  and 
wherries.  But,  as  is  the  case  with  most  Portuguese  towns  — 
for  the  Brazilians  are  only  a  better  class  of  Portuguese — the 
illusion  of  beauty  is  dispelled,  as  soon  as  you  enter  its  narrow 
and  crooked  streets,  and  get  sight  of  its  swarthy  population, 
the  chief  features  of  which  are  sombreros  and  garlic.  We  were 
boarded  by  the  health-officer  just  at  dark,  and  admitted  to 
pratique. 

The  next  morning,  the  weather  set  in  gloomy  and  rainy. 
The  requisite  permission  having  been  obtained,  we  landed  our 
prisoners,  there  being  upward  of  a  hundred  of  them.  Parson 
Wright  here  took  the  back  track,  I  believe.  Whether,  after 
stating  his  grievances  at  the  State  Department  in  Washington, 
he  renewed  his  commission,  and  proceeded,  in  some  more  for 
tunate  Yankee  ship  to  Foo  Chow,  or  went  back  to  his  religious 
paper,  and  his  exhortations  against  the  Southern  heathen,  I 
have  never  learned.  The  reverend  gentleman  forgot  his  Chris 
tian  charity,  and  did  not  come  to  say  "good-bye,"  when  he 
landed,  though  we  had  treated  him  with  all  due  consideration. 

I  had  now  another  little  diplomatic  matter  on  my  hands.  I 
had  scarcely  risen  from  the  breakfast-table,  on  the  morning 
after  my  arrival,  when  an  aide-de-camp  of  the  Governor,  or 
rather  President  of  the  Department,  came  off  to  see  me  on  offi 
cial  business.  He  brought  on  board  with  him  a  copy  of  the 
"Diario  de  Bahia,"  a  newspaper  very  respectable  for  its  size  and 
typography,  containing  an  article,  which  I  was  requested  to 
read,  and  answer  in  writing.  This  I  promised  to  do,  and  the 
messenger  departed.  I  found,  upon  glancing  over  the  article, 
which  filled  a  couple  of  columns,  that  it  was  a  Yankee  pro 
duction  done  into  very  good  Portuguese  —  the  joint  work, 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      617 

probably,  of  the  Yankee  Consul  at  Pernambuco,  where  the 
article  had  originated  —  for  it  had  been  copied  into  the  Bahia 
paper  —  and  the  President  of  that  province.  It  was  written  after 
the  style  of  a  proclamation,  was  signed  by  the  President,  and 
strangely  enough  addressed  to  myself — supposed  to  be  still  at 
Fernando  de  Noronha,  with  the  Alabama.  After  charging  me 
with  sundry  violations  of  the  neutrality  of  Brazil,  it  ordered 
rne  to  depart  the  island,  within  twenty-four  hours. 

Instead  of  sending  a  ship  of  war,  to  examine  into  the  facts, 
and  enforce  his  order,  if  necessary,  the  President  had  been 
satisfied  to  send  this  paper  bullet  after  me.  It  reminded  me 
very  much  of  the  "stink-pots,"  which  the  Chinese  are  in  the 
habit  of  throwing  at  their  enemies,  and  I  could  not  restrain  a 
smile,  as  I  called  upon  Bartelli  to  produce  my  writing  materials. 
The  aide-de-camp  who  had  brought  me  the  paper,  had  brought 
off  a  message,  along  with  it,  from  the  President,  to  the  effect 
that  he  desired  I  would  hold  no  communication  with  the  shore, 
until  I  had  answered  the  article ;  which  was  tantamount  to  in 
forming  me,  that  he  was  somewhat  in  doubt  whether  he  would 
permit  me  to  communicate  at  all  or  not.  I  really  wanted  noth 
ing —  though  I  afterward  took  in  a  few  boat-loads  of  coal, 
merely  to  show  the  President  that  I  was  disposed  to  be  civil  — 
and  this  consideration,  along  with  the  fact,  that  I  had  the 
heaviest  guns  in  the  harbor,  induced  rne  to  be  rather  careless, 
I  am  afraid,  in  the  choice  of  phraseology,  as  I  penned  my  de 
spatch.  I  simply  charged  that  the  whole  proclamation  was  a 
budget  of  lies,  and  claimed  that  I  had  been  insulted  by  the 
Government  of  Brazil,  by  the  lies  having  been  put  into  an 
official  shape  by  it,  without  first  communicating  with  me. 

The  Brazilians  are  a  very  polite  people,  and  my  reply  was 
"perfectly  satisfactory."  Jack  went  on  shore,  and  had  his 
frolic,  and  the  Alabama  remained  a  week  in  the  port,  enjoying 
the  hospitalities  of  the  numerous  English,  and  other  foreign 
residents.  Among  other  entertainments,  we  had  a  splendid 
ball  given  us  by  Mr.  Ogilvie,  a  British  merchant,  at  which 
much  of  the  foreign  and  native  beauty  was  present.  Mr.  Ogil- 
vie's  tasteful  residence  overlooked  the  bay  from  the  top  of  the 
crescent  I  have  described ;  his  grounds,  redolent  of  the  per 
fumes  of  tropical  flowers,  were  brilliantly  illuminated,  and  a 


618  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

fine  band  of  music  charmed  not  only  the  revellers,  but  the  nu 
merous  ships  in  the  Bay.  Several  Brazilian  dignitaries  and 
foreign  Consuls  were  present.  I  took  all  my  young  gentlemen 
on  shore  with  me,  who  could  be  spared  from  the  ship,  and  they 
did  their  "devoirs"  as  only  gallant  knights  can,  and  carried  on 
board  with  them,  in  the  "wee  sma'"  hours  of  the  morning, 
several  tiny  kid  gloves  and  scarfs,  as  mementos  to  accompany 
them  on  their  cruises  —  every  villain  of  them  swearing  to  re 
turn  at  some  future  day.  So  it  is  always  with  the  sailor.  As 
before  remarked,  his  very  life  is  a  poem,  and  his  heart  is  capa 
cious  enough  to  take  in  the  whole  sex. 

On  the  morning  after  this  brilliant  entertainment,  an  officer 
came  below  to  inform  me  that  a  strange  steamer  of  war  had 
entered  during  the  night,  which,  as  yet,  had  shown  no  colors. 
I  directed  our  own  colors  to  be  shown  to  the  stranger  —  for 
the  regular  hour  of  hoisting  them  had  not  yet  arrived  —  and 
the  reader  may  judge  of  our  delight,  when  we  saw  the  Confed 
erate  States  flag^  thrown  to  the  breeze  in  reply,  by  the  new 
comer.  It  was  the  Georgia,  Commander  Lewis  F.  Maury,  on 
a  cruise,  like  ourselves,  against  the  enemy's  commerce.  She 
had  come  in  to  meet  her  coal-ship,  the  Castor,  which  had  been 
ordered  to  rendezvous  here.  We  had  now  other  troubles  with 
the  authorities.  The  President,  seeing  another  Confederate 
steamer  arrive,  became  nervous,  lest?  he  should  be  compro 
mised  in  some  way,  and  be  called  to  account  by  the  Emperor. 
The  little  gad-fly  of  a  Yankee  Consul  was,  besides,  constantly 
buzzing  around  him.  He  declined  to  permit  the  Georgia  to 
receive  coal  from  her  transport,  though  he  was  forced  to  admit 
that  the  transport  had  the  right  to  land  it,  and  that,  when 
landed,  the  Georgia  might  receive  it  on  board,  like  any  other 
coal.  Still  it  must  be  landed.  The  gad-fly  had  buzzed  in  his 
ear,  that  there  was  a  "  cat  in  the  meal  tub ;"  the  Castor  having, 
as  he  alleged,  some  guns  and  ammunition  covered  up  in  her 
coal !  His  Excellency  then  wanted  to  see  my  commission  — 
the  gad-fly  having  buzzed  "  pirate  !  pirate  ! "  To  add  to  the 
complication,  news  now  came  in  that  the  Florida  also  had  ar 
rived  at  Pernambuco!  Diablo!  what  was  to  be  done?  An 
aide-de-camp  now  came  off  with  a  letter  from  his  Excellency, 
telling  me,  that  I  had  already  tarried  too  long  in  the  port  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       619 

Bahia,  and  that  lie  desired  me  to  be  off.  I  wrote  him  word 
that  I  was  not  ready,  and  sent  another  batch  of  liberty  men 
on  shore.  Presently  another  missive  came.  His  Excellency 
had  learned  from  the  gad-fly,  that  I  had  enlisted  one  of  my 
late  prisoners,  after  setting  him  on  shore,  which,  as  he  said, 
was  a  grave  breach  of  the  laws  of  nations.  I  replied  that  I  had 
not  only  not  enlisted  one  of  my  late  prisoners,  after  setting  him 
on  shore,  but  that,  my  crew  being  full,  I  had  refused  to  enlist  a 
good  many  of  my  late  prisoners,  who  had  applied  to  me  before 
being  set  on  shore,  which  was  the  literal  fact.  I  mention  these 
occurrences  to  show  what  a  troublesome  little  insect  I  found 
the  gad-fly  in  Brazil. 

We  had  a  few  days  of  very  pleasant  intercourse  with  the 
Georgia.  Maury  had  been  my  shipmate  in  the  old  service, 
and  two  of  my  old  Sumter  lieutenants,  Chapman  and  Evans, 
were  serving  on  board  of  her.  In  company  with  her  officers, 
we  made  a  railroad  excursion  into  the  interior,  upon  the  invi 
tation  of  the  English  company  which  owned  the  road.  A 
splendid  collation  was  prepared  in  one  of  the  cars,  decorated 
and  furnished  for  the  occasion,  and  a  variety  of  choice  wines 
broke  down  the  barrier  between  strangers,  and  drew  men  of 
the  same  blood  closer  together. 

At  length,  when  I  was  entirely  ready  for  sea,  I  delighted 
the  President  one  evening,  by  sending  him  word  that  I  should 
go  to  sea  the  next  morning.  The  Georgia  was  nearly  through 
coaling,  and  would  follow  me  in  a  day  or  two.  The  poor 
President  of  the  province  of  Bahia!  The  Yankees  treated 
him,  afterward,  as  they  do  everybody  else  with  whom  they 
have  to  do.  They  first  endeavored  to  use  him,  and  then  kicked 
him.  The  Florida  coming  into  Bahia,  a  few  months  after 
ward,  as  related  in  a  former  page,  a  Federal  ship  of  war  vio 
lated  the  neutrality  of  the  port,  by  seizing  her,  and  carrying 
her  off;  and  the  Yankee  nation,  rather  than  make  the  amends 
which  all  the  world  decided  it  was  bound  to  make,  by  deliver 
ing  back  the  captured  ship  to  Brazil,  ordered  her  to  be  sunk 
by  accident  in  Hampton  Roads!  The  " trick"  was  eminently 
Yankee,  and  I  presume  could  not  possibly  have  been  practised 
in  any  other  civilized  nation  of  the  earth. 

Whilst  the  Alabama  is  heaving  up  her  anchor,  I  deem  it 


620  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

proper  to  say  a  word  or  two,  about  emigration  to  Brazil ;  a 
subject  which  has  been  a  good  deal  canvassed  by  our  people. 
Brazil  is  an  immense  Empire,  and  has  almost  all  the  known 
climates  and  soils  of  the  world.  Nature  has  bestowed  upon 
her  her  choicest  gifts,  and  there  is  perhaps  no  more  delightful 
country  to  reside  in  than  Brazil.  But  men  live  for  society, 
as  wrell  as  for  climate  and  soil.  The  effete  Portuguese  race 
has  been  ingrafted  upon  a  stupid,  stolid,  Indian  stock,  in  that 
country.  The  freed  negro  is,  besides,  the  equal  of  the  white 
man,  and  as  there  seems  to  be  no  repugnance,  on  the  part  of 
the  white  race  —  so  called  —  to  mix  with  the  black  race,  and 
with  the  Indian,  amalgamation  will  go  on  in  that  country, 
until  a  mongrel  set  of  curs  will  cover  the  whole  land.  This 
might  be  a  suitable  field  enough  for  the  New  England  school- 
ma'am,  and  carpet-bagger,  but  no  Southern  gentleman  should 
think  of  mixing  his  blood  or  casting  his  lot  with  such  a  race 
of  people. 

Sail  ho !  was  shouted  from  the  mast-head  of  the  Alabama, 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  25th  of  May,  a  few  days  after  she  had 
pat  to  sea  from  Bahia.  We  had  regained  the  track  of  com 
merce,  and  were  again  looking  out  for  our  friends.  We  im 
mediately  gave  chase,  and  had  scarcely  gotten  the  canvas  on 
the  ship,  before  the  look-out  announced  a  second  sail,  in  the 
same  direction.  The  wind  was  fresh,  there  was  a  heavy  sea 
on,  and  the  Alabama  darted  forward,  making  her  eleven,  and 
twelve  knots.  As  we  began  to  raise  the  fugitives  above  the 
horizon  from  the  deck,  it  was  plain  to  see,  that  they  were  both 
American.  We  overhauled  them  rapidly,  making  them  show 
their  colors,  and  heaving  them  to,  with  the  accustomed  guns. 
By  the  time  we  had  gotten  up  with  them,  the  sun  had  set,  and 
it.  was  blowing  half  a  gale  of  wind.  Our  boats  had  a  rough 
job  before  them,  but  they  undertook  it  with  a  will.  The  first 
ship  boarded  was  the  Gilderslieve,  and  the  second,  the  Justina. 
The  former  was  a  New  York  ship,  last  from  London,  with  a 
cargo  of  coal,  purporting  to  be  shipped  for  the  service  of  the 
"Peninsular,  and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company,"  but 
there  was  no  certificate  of  neutral  ownership  on  board.  Ship 
and  cargo  were  therefore  condemned.  The  Justina  was  a  Bal 
timore  ship,  with  some  neutral  property,  not  amounting  to  a 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      621 

full  cargo,  on  board.  I  converted  her  into  a  cartel,  and  throw 
ing  the  prisoners  from  the  Q-ilderslieve  on  board  of  her,  re 
leased  her  on  ransom-bond.  I  then  burned  the  Gilderslieve. 
The  sea  was  so  rough,  and  the  boating  so  difficult,  that  it  was 
eleven  P.  M.  before  the  torch  could  be  applied  to  the  doomed 
ship.  We  lay  to  during  the  remainder  of  the  night,  under 
reefed  topsails. 

The  next  day  the  weather  moderated  somewhat,  though  the 
wind  still  continued  fresh  from  about  S.  S.  E.  At  about 
half-past  eight  P.  M.,  the  night  being  quite  light,  we  gave 
chase  to  an  exceedingly  rakish-looking  ship,  whose  canvas 
showed  white  under  the  rays  of  the  moon,  and  which  was  car 
rying  a  press  of  sail.  We,  too,  crowded  sail,  and  for  a  long 
time  it  was  doubtful  which  ship  was  the  faster.  The  Alabama 
seemed  to  have  found  her  match  at  last.  Our  pride  was 
aroused,  and  we  put  our  best  foot  foremost.  We  saw  all  the 
sheets  snugly  home,  the  sails  well  hoisted,  and  properly 
trimmed,  and  put  the  most  skilful  seamen  at  the  wheel.  Little 
by  little  we  began  to  crawl  upon  the  chase,  but  hour  after 
hour  passed,  and  still  we  were  almost  as  far  astern  as  ever. 
Midnight  came,  and  the  watch  was  relieved,  and  still  the  fugi 
tive  was  beyond  our  grasp.  Four  A.  M.  arrived,  and  the  old 
watch  came  back  on  deck  again,  only  to  wonder  that  the  chase 
still  continued.  At  last  the  day  dawned  and  still  the  ship, 
with  the  square  yards,  and  white  canvas,  was  four  or  five 
miles  ahead  of  us.  We  had  been  all  night  in  chase  of  a  single 
ship  —  a  thing  which  had  never  happened  to  us  before.  When 
daylight  appeared,  I  went  below,  and  turned  in,  handing  the 
chase  over  to  the  first  lieutenant.  At  half-past  seven — my 
usual  time  for  rising — I  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  pretty 
soon  afterward  an  officer  came  below  to  say,  that  the  chase 
proved  to  be  a  Dutchman  !  I  must  have  looked  a  little  sour  at 
the  breakfast- table,  that  morning,  as  Bartelli  was  evidently  a 
little  nervous  and  fidgety. 

Forty-eight  hours  after  this  night-chase,  we  had  another, 
though  with  better  success,  as  a  prize  rewarded  me  for  my  loss 
of  rest.  The  chase  commenced  about  two  A.  M.,  and  it  was 
half-past  seven  A.  M.,  before  we  were  near  enough  to  heave  the 
fugitive  to,  with  a  gun.  She  proved  to  be  the  Jabez  Snow,  of 


622  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Buckport,  Maine,  last  from  Cardiff,  with  a  cargo  of  coal,  for 
Montevideo.  On  the  back  of  the  bill  of  lading  was  the  follow 
ing  certificate:  "We  certify  that  the  cargo  of  coals  per  Jabez 
Snow,  for  which  this  is  the  bill  of  lading,  is  the  bonafide  pro 
perty  of  Messrs.  Wilson,  Helt,  Lane  &  Co.,  and  that  the  same 
are  British  subjects,  and  merchants,  and  also  that  the  coals  are 
for  their  own  use."  This  certificate  was  signed  by  "John 
Powell  &  Sons,"  but  unfortunately  for  the  owners  of  the 
"coals"  was  not  sworn  to,  and  was  therefore  of  no  more  valid 
ity  as  evidence,  than  the  bill  of  lading  itself.  Having  gotten 
on  board  from  the  prize,  a  quantity  of  provisions,  and  cordage, 
of  both  of  which  we  were  in  need,  we  consigned  her  to  the 
flames.  We  found  on  board  this  ship,  from  the  sober  "State 
of  Maine,"  a  woman  who  passed  under  the  sobriquet  of  "cham 
ber-maid."  These  shameless  Yankee  skippers  make  a  common 
practice  of  converting  their  ships  into  brothels,  and  taking 
their  mistresses  to  sea  with  them.  For  decency's  sake,  I  was 
obliged  to  turn  the  junior  lieutenant  out  of  his  state-room  for 
her  accommodation. 

There  were  some  letters  found  on  board  the  Snow  not  in 
tended  for  our  eyes,  inasmuch  as  they  informed  us  of  the  dam 
age  we  were  doing  the  Yankee  commerce.  Here  is  one  of 
them  from  the  owner  to  the  master.  It  is  dated  Boston,  No 
vember  25th,  1862.  "We  hope  you  may  arrive  safely,  and  in 
good  season,  but  we  think  you  will  find  business  rather  flat  at 
Liverpool,  as  American  ships  especially*  are  under  a  cloud, 
owing  to  dangers  from  pirates,  more  politely  styled  privateers, 
which  our  kind  friends  in  England  are  so  willing  should  slip 
out  of  their  ports,  to  prey  on  our  commerce."  Our  torches 
always  grew  brighter  as  we  read  such  effusions  of  joint  stupid 
ity  and  malice. 

Here  is  another  wail  from  Buckport,  Maine,  under  date  of 
January  16th,  1863.  It  instructs  the  master  as  to  the  best 
mode  of  employing  his  ship.  "In  the  first  place,  it  will  not  do 
to  come  this  way  with  the  ship ;  as  New  York  business  for 
ships  is  flat  enough — a  large  fleet  in  that  port,  and  nothing  for 
them  to  do,  that  will  pay  expenses,  and  more  arriving  daily." 

And  another  from  the  same  place.  "I  hope  you  will  be  as 
prudent  and  economical  as  possible  in  managing  your  ship 


DURING     THE    WAR    BETWEEN    TzIE    STATES.      623 

matters,  as  your  owners  want  all  the  money  they  can  get  hold 
of,  to  aid  in  putting  down  this  terrible  rebellion  of  ours.  The 
progress  our  war  is  making,  I  shall  leave  for  you  to  gather 
from  the  papers,  for  it  makes  me  sick  to  think  of  it,  much 
more  to  talk  about  it."  No  doubt  —  the  ships  were  being  laid 
up,  and  no  freights  were  coming  in.  •  We  knew  very  well,  on 
board  the  Alabama,  the  use  to  which  all  the  "money  the  ship 
owners  could  get  hold  of"  was  being  put.  It  was  to  purchase 
"gold  bonds  "  at  half  price,  and  push  on  the  war.  Hence  our 
diligence  in  scouring  the  seas,  and  applying  the  torch.  When 
ever  we  heard  a  Yankee  howl  go  up  over  a  burned  ship,  we 
knew  that  there  were  fewer  dollars  left,  with  which  to  hire  the 
canaille  of  Europe  to  throttle  liberty  on  the  American  con 
tinent. 

We  captured  the  Jabez  Snow,  on  the  29th  of  May.     On  the 
2d  of  June,  being  in  latitude  15°  01',  and  longitude  34°  56'  at 
half-past  three  A.  M.,  or  just  before  daylight,  we  passed  a  large 
ship   on  the  opposite  tack.     We   were  under   topsails   only, 
standing  leisurely  across  the  great  highway.    We  immediately 
wore   ship,  and   gave   chase,  crowding  all  sail.     When    day 
dawned,  the  fugitive  was  some  six  or  seven  miles  ahead  of 
us,  and  as  the  chase  was  likely  to  be  long,  I  fired  a  gun,  and 
hoisted  the  Confederate  colors,  to  intimate  to  the  stranger,  that 
I  would  like  him  to  be  polite,  and  save  me  the  trouble  of 
catching  him,  by  heaving  to.     Pretty  soon,  I  fired  a  second 
gun  —  blank    cartridge  —  with    the    same    intent.      But    the 
stranger  had   faith  in   his   heels,  and  instead  of  heaving  to, 
threw  out  a  few  more  kites  to  the  balmy  morning  breeze. 
But  it  was  of  no  use.     Both  ships  were  on  a  wind,  and  the 
Alabama  could,  in  consequence,  use  her  monster  trysails.     My 
large   double   glasses — themselves  captured  from  a  Yankee 
ship,  the  captain  of  which  had  probably  bought  them  to  look 
out  for  the  "pirate"  —  soon  told  the  tale.     We  were  gaining, 
but  not  very  rapidly.     Still  anxious  to  save  time,  when  we 
had  approached  within  about  four  miles  of  the  stranger,  we 
cleared  away  our  pivot  rifle,  and  let  him  have  a  bolt.     We 
did  not  quite  reach  him,  but  these  rifle-bolts  make  such  an 
ugly  whizzing,  and  hissing,  and  humming  as  they  pass  along, 
that  their  commands  are  not  often  disobeyed.     The  stranger 
40 


624  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

clewed  up,  and  backed  his  main  yard,  and  hoisted  the  Federal 
colors.  We  were  alongside  of  him  about  half-past  eleven 
A.  JL — the  chase  having  lasted  eight  hours. 

The  prize  proved  to  be  the  bark  Amazonian  of  Boston,  from 
New  York,  with  an  assorted  cargo,  for  Montevideo.  There 
was  an  attempt  to  cover  two  of  the  consignments  of  this  ship, 
in  favor  of  French  citizens,  but  the  "  hash "  being  evidently 
Yankee,  the  certificates  were  disregarded.  The  prisoners,  and 
such  "plunder"  as  we  desired,  being  brought  on  board  the 
Alabama,  the  ship  was  consigned  to  the  flames.  The  follow 
ing  letter  from  a  merchant  in  New  York,  to  his  correspondent 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  was  found  among  a  very  large •  commercial 
and  literary  mail  —  the  literature  being  from  the  college  of  the 
Eepublican  Propaganda — on  board  the  Amazonian.  "When 
you  ship  in  American  vessels,  it  would  be  well  to  havo  the 
British  Consul's  certificate  of  English  property  attached  to 
bill  of  lading  and  invoice,  as  in  the  event  of  falling  in  with 
the  numerous  privateers,  it  would  save  both  cargo  and  vessel 
in  all  probability.  An  American  ship  recently  fallen  in  with, 
was  released  by  the  Alabama,  on  account  of  British  Consul's 
certificate,  showing  greater  part  of  cargo  to  be  English  prop 
erty.  If  you  ship  in  a  neutral  vessel,  we  save  five  per  cent,  war 
insurance," 

On  the  day  after  capturing  the  Amazonian,  we  boarded  an 
English  brig,  and  I  made  an  arrangement  with  the  master  to 
take  my  prisoners — forty-one  in  number — to  Kio  Janeiro, 
whither  he  was  bound.  The  consideration  was,  twice  as  many 
provisions  as  the  prisoners  could  consume,  and  a  chronometer. 
The  master  had  been  afraid  of  offending  Earl  Russell,  until 
the  chronometer  was  named  to  him,  when  his  scruples  were  at 
once  removed.  Virtuous  Briton !  thou  wert  near  akin  to  the 
Yankee. 

On  the  following  night,  a  little  before  daylight,  whilst  we 
were  lying  to,  with  the  main-topsail  to  the  mast,  a  large,  tall 
ship  suddenly  loomed  up  in  close  proximity  to  us,  and  as  sud 
denly  passed  away  into  the  gloom,  gliding  past  us  like  a  ghost. 
We  filled  away  and  made  chase  on  the  instant,  and  being  still 
within  gun-shot,  fired  a  blank  cartridge.  The  chase  at  once  hove 
to,  and  we  ranged  up,  just  as  day  was  breaking,  alongside  of 
the  Clipper-ship  Talisman,  from  New  York,  with  an  assorted 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.         625 

cargo,  for  Shanghai.  There  was  no  claim  of  neutral  cargo  among 
her  papers,  and  as  soon  as  we  could  remove  the  crew,  and  some 
necessary  articles,  we  consigned  her  also,  to  that  torch  which 
Yankee  malice  had  kept  burning  so  brightly  in  our  hands. 

The  rebellion  of  the  Taepings  was  still  going  on  in  China, 
and  we  found  a  nice  little  "  speculation  "  in  connection  with  it, 
embarked  on  board  the  Talisman.  The  speculators  had  put 
on  board  four  very  pretty  rifled  12-pounder  brass  guns,  and 
steam  boilers  and  machinery  for  a  gun-boat ;  the  design  being 
to  build,  and  equip  one  of  this  class  of  vessels  in  the  East, 
and  take  part  in  the  Chinese  war.  I  am  afraid  I  spoiled  a 
"  good  thing."  With  a  Yankee  Mandarin  on  board,  and  a  good 
supply  of  opium,  and  tracts,  what  a  smashing  business  this 
little  cruiser  might  have  done  ?  We  took  a  couple  of  these 
brass  pieces  on  board  the  Alabama,  and  in  due  time,  sent  them 
afloat  after  the  Yankee  commerce,  as  the  reader  will  see. 

The  next  vessel  that  we  overhauled  was  a  "  converted  "  ship 
—  that  is,  a  Yankee  turned  into  an  Englishman.  I  desired 
very  much  to  burn  her,  but  was  prevented  by  the  regularity 
of  her  papers  and  the  circumstances  surrounding  her.  She 
was  a  Maine-built  ship,  but  had  evidently  been  bonafide  trans 
ferred,  as  her  master  and  crew  were  all  Englishmen,  and  she 
was  then  on  a  voyage  from  London  to  Calcutta.  She  received 
on  board  from  us,  a  couple  of  the  passengers  —  an  Irishman 
and  his  wife  —  captured  on  board  of  the  Talisman,  who  were 
anxious  to  go  to  Calcutta.  For  the  next  two  or  three  days,  we 
had  a  series  of  blows,  amounting  almost  to  gales  of  wind. 
We  had  arrived  off  the  Abrolhos  Shoals  —  a  sort  of  Brazilian 
Cape  Hatteras,  for  bad  weather.  On  the  9th  and  10th  of  June, 
we  were  reduced  to  close  reefs ;  and,  which  was  remarkable, 
we  had  a  high  barometer  all  the  time.  We  had,  for  some  days, 
experienced  a  northerly  current.  The  whole  coast  of  Brazil 
is  coral -bound,  and  it  is,  for  this  reason,  very  dangerous.  The 
coral  shoals  rise  abruptly,  from  great  depths,  and  are  some 
times  found  in  very  small  patches,  with  deep  water  all  around 
them.  Many  of  these  patches  have  been  missed  by  the  sur 
veyor,  and  are  not  laid  down  on  any  charts,  in  consequence. 
Hence  it  behooves  the  prudent  mariner,  to  give  the  banks  that 
fringe  the  coasts  of  Brazil,  a  pretty  wide  berth. 


CHAPTEE    XLV. 

THE  ALABAMA  CONTINUES  HER  CRUISE  ON   THE    COAST    Of 

BRAZIL AMERICAN  SHIPS  UNDER  ENGLISH  COLORS 

THE  ENEMY'S  CARRYING-TRADE  IN  NEUTRAL  BOTTOMS 
—  THE  CAPTURE  OF  THE  CONRAD SHE  IS  COMMIS 
SIONED   AS   A   CONFEDERATE   STATES   CRUISER THE 

HIGHWAYS  OF  THE  SEA,  AND  THE  TACTICS  OF  THE  FED 
ERAL  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY THE  PHENOMENON 

OF  THE  WINDS  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  HEMISPHERE ARRI 
VAL  AT  SALDANHA  BAY,  ON  THE  COAST  OF  AFRICA. 

WE  captured  our  last  ship  off  the  Abrolhos,  as  related  in 
the  last  chapter.  We  have  since  worked  our  way  as 
far  south,  as  latitude  22°  38',  and  it  is  the  middle  of  June  — 
equivalent  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  to  the  middle  of  De 
cember,  in  the  northern.  Hence  the  blows,  and  other  bad 
weather  we  are  beginning  to  meet  with.  On  the  16th  of  June, 
we  overhauled  two  more  American  ships,  under  English  colors. 
One  of  these  was  the  Azzapadi  of  Port  Louis,  in  the  Mauritius. 
She  was  formerly  the  Joseph  Hale,  and  was  built  at  Portland, 
Maine.  Having  put  into  Port  Louis,  in  distress,  she  had  been 
sold  for  the  benefit  of  "  whom,  it  might  concern,"  and  pur 
chased  by  English  parties,  two  years  before.  The  other  was 
the  Queen  of  Beauty,  formerly  the  Challenger.  Under  her  new 
colors  and  nationality,  she  was  now  running  as  a  packet  be 
tween  London,  and  Melbourne  in  Australia.  These  were  both 
lona  fide  transfers,  and  were  evidence  of  the  straits  to  which. 
Yankee  commerce  was  being  put.  Many  more  ships  disap 
peared  from  under  the  "flaunting  lie  "  by  sale,  than  by  capture, 
their  owners  not  being  able  to  employ  them. 

The  day  after  we  overhauled  these  ships,  we  boarded  a  Bre 
men  bark,  from  Buenos  Ayres,  for  New  York,  with  hides  and  tal- 

626 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  627 

low,  on  Yankee  account.  The  correspondents  of  the  New  York 
merchants  were  taking  the  advice  of  the  latter,  and  shipping  in 
neutral  bottoms  to  avoid  paying  the  premium  on  the  war  risk. 
On  the  20th  of  June,  we  observed  in  latitude  25°  48',  and 
found  the  weather  so  cool,  as  to  compel  us  to  put  on  our  thick 
coats.  On  that  day  we  made  another  capture.  It  was  the  Conrad, 
of  Philadelphia,  from  Buenos  Ayres,  for  New  York,  with  part  of 
a  cargo  of  wool.  There  were  certificates  found  on  board 
claiming  the  property  as  British,  but  as  there  were  abundant 
circumstances  in  the  res  gestee,  pointing  to  American  ownership, 
I  disregarded  the  certificates,  and  condemned  both  ship  and 
cargo  as  good  prize.  The  Conrad  being  a  tidy  little  bark,  of 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  with  good  sailing  qualities, 
I  resolved  to  commission  her  as  a  cruiser.  Three  or  four  offi 
cers,  and  ten  or  a  dozen  men  would  be  a  sufficient  crew  for  her, 
and  this  small  number  I  could  spare  from  the  A  labama,  with 
out  putting  myself  to  material  inconvenience.  Never,  per 
haps,  was  a  ship  of  war  fitted  out  so  promptly  before.  The 
Conrad  was  a  commissioned  ship,  with  armament,  crew,  and 
provisions  on  board,  flying  her  pennant,  and  with  sailing  orders 
signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  before  sunset  on  the  day  of  her 
capture.  I  sent  Acting-Lieutenant  Low  on  board  to  command 
her,  and  gave  him  Midshipman  George  T.  Sinclair,  as  his  first 
lieutenant;  and  promoted  a  couple  of  active  and  intelligent 
young  seamen,  as  master's  mates,  to  serve  with  Mr.  Sinclair,  as 
watch  officers.  Her  armament  consisted  of  the  two  12-pounder 
brass  rifled  guns,  which  we  had  captured  from  the  Yankee 
mandarin,  who  was  going  out,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  on  board 
of  the  Talisman,  to  join  the  Taepings;  twenty  rifles,  and  half 
a  dozen  revolvers.  I  called  the  new  cruiser,  the  Tuscaloosa, 
after  the  pretty  little  town  of  that  name,  on  the  Black  Warrior 
Eiver  in  the  State  of  Alabama.  It  was  meet  that  a  child  of 
the  Alabama  should  be  named  after  one  of  the  towns  of  the 
State.  The  baptismal  ceremony  was  not  very  elaborate. 
When  all  was  ready  —  it  being  now  about  five  P.  M. —  at  a  con 
certed  signal,  the  Tuscaloosa  ran  up  the  Confederate  colors,  and 
the  crew  of  the  Alabama  leaped  into  the  rigging,  and  taking 
off  their  hats,  gave  three  hearty  cheers !  The  cheers  were 
answered  by  the  small  crew  of  the  newly  commissioned  ship, 


628  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  the  ceremony  was  over.  Captain  Low  had  now  only  to 
fill  away,  and  make  sail,  on  his  cruise.  Our  first  meeting  was 
to  be  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  My  bantling  was  thus  born 
upon  the  high  seas,  in  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  no  power 
could  gainsay  the  legitimacy  of  its  birth.  As  the  reader  will 
see,  England  was  afterward  compelled  to  acknowledge  it,  though 
an  ill-informed  cabinet  minister — the  Duke  of  Newcastle  —  at 
first  objected  to  it. 

On  the  same  evening  that  we  parted  with  the  Tuscaloosa,  we 
boarded  the  English  bark,  Mary  Kendall,  from  Cardiff  for 
Point  de  Galle,  but  which  having  met  with  heavy  weather, 
and  sprung  a  leak,  was  putting  back  to  Rio  Janeiro  for  re 
pairs.  At  the  request  of  her  master  I  sent  my  surgeon  on 
board  to  visit  a  seaman  who  had  been  badly  injured  by  a  fall, 
As  we  were  within  a  few  days'  sail  of  Rio,  I  prevailed  upon 
the  master  of  this  ship  to  receive  my  prisoners  on  board,  to 
be  landed.  There  were  thirty-one  of  them,  and  among  the 
rest,  a  woman  from  the  Conrad,  who  claimed  to  be  a  passenger. 

The  time  had  now  arrived  for  me  to  stretch  over  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  I  had  been  three  months  near  the  equa 
tor,  and  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  it  was  about  time  that  some 
of  Mr.  Welles'  ships  of  war,  in  pursuance  of  the  tactics  of  that 
slow  old  gentleman,  should  be  making  their  appearance  on  the 
coast  in  pursuit  of  me.  I  was  more  than  ever  astonished  at  the 
culpable  neglect  or  want  of  sagacity  of  the  head  of  the  Federal 
Navy  Department,  when  I  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and 
found  no  Federal  ship  of  war  there.  Ever  since  I  had  left  the 
island  of  Jamaica,  early  in  January,  I  had  been  working  my 
way,  gradually,  to  my  present  cruising  ground.  My  ship  had 
been  constantly  reported,  and  any  one  of  his  clerks  could  have 
plotted  my  track,  from  these  reports,  so  as  to  show  him,  past 
all  peradventure,  where  I  was  bound.  But  even  independently 
of  any  positive  evidence,  he  might  have  been  sure,  that  sooner 
or  later  I  would  make  my  way  to  that  great  thoroughfare. 

As  has  been  frequently  remarked  in  the  course  of  these 
pages,  the  sea  has  its  highways  and  byways,  as  well  as  the 
'and.  Every  seaman,  now,  knows  where  these  highways  are, 
and  when  he  is  about  to  make  a  voyage,  can  plot  his  track  in 
advance.  None  of  these  highways  are  better  defined,  or  per- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       629 

haps  so  well  defined;  as  the  great  public  road  that  leads  along 
the  coast  of  Brazil.  All  the  commerce  of  Europe  and  Amer 
ica,  bound  to  the  Far  East  or  the  Far  West,  takes  this  road.  The 
reader  has  seen  a  constant  stream  of  ships  passing  the  toll-gate 
we  established  at  the  crossing  of  the  thirtieth  parallel,  north, 
all  bound  in  this  direction.  And  he  has  seen  how  this  stream 
sweeps  along  by  the  island  of  Fernando  de  Noronha,  on  its 
way  to  the  great  highway  on  the  coast  of  Brazil.  The  road 
thus  far  is  wide — the  ships  having  a  large  discretion.  But 
when  the  road  has  crossed  the  equator,  and  struck  into  the 
region  of  the  south-east  trades,  its  limits  become  much  circum 
scribed.  It  is  as  much  as  a  ship  can  do  now,  to  stretch  by  the 
coast  of  Brazil  without  tacking.  The  south-east  trades  push 
her  so  close  down  upon  the  coast,  that  it  is  touch  and  go 
with  her.  The  road,  in  consequence,  becomes  very  narrow. 
The  more  narrow  the  road,  the  more  the  stream  of  ships  is 
condensed.  A  cruiser,  under  easy  sail,  stretching  backward 
and  forward  across  this  road,  must  necessarily  get  sight  of 
nearly  everything  that  passes.  If  Mr.  Welles  had  stationed  a 
heavier  and  faster  ship  than  the  Alabama  —  and  he  had  a 
number  of  both  heavier  and  faster  ships  —  at  the  crossing  of 
the  30th  parallel ;  another  at  or  near  the  equator,  a  little  to 
the  eastward  of  Fernando  de  Noronha,  and  a  third  off  Bahia, 
he  must  have  driven  me  off,  or  greatly  crippled  me  in  my 
movements.  A  few  more  ships  in  the  other  chief  highways, 
and  his  commerce  would  have  been  pretty  well  protected. 
But  the  old  gentleman  does  not  seem  once  to  have  thought  of 
so  simple  a  policy  as  stationing  a  ship  anywhere. 

The  reader  who  has  followed  the  Alabama  in  her  career 
thus  far,  has  seen  how  many  vital  points  he  left  unguarded. 
His  plan  seemed  to  be,  first  to  wait  until  he  heard  of  the  Ala 
bama  being  somewhere,  and  then  to  send  off  a  number  of 
cruisers,  post-haste,  in  pursuit  of  her,  as  though  he  expected 
her  to  stand  still,  and  wait  for  her  pursuers !  This  method  of 
his  left  the  game  entirely  in  my  own  hands.  My  safety  de 
pended  upon  a  simple  calculation  of  times  and  distances.  For 
instance,  when  I  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  I  would  take 
up  my  pencil,  and  make  some  such  an  estimate  as  this :  I  dis 
charged  my  prisoners  from  the  first  ship  captured,  on  such  a 


630  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

day.  It  will  take  these  prisoners  a  certain  number  of  days  to 
reach  a  given  port.  It  will  take  a  certain  other  number  of 
days,  for  the  news  of  the  capture  to  travel  thence  to  Washing 
ton.  And  it  will  take  a  certain  other  number  still,  for  a  ship 
of  war  of  the  enemy  to  reach  the  coast  of  Brazil.  Just  before 
this  aggregate  of  days  elapses,  I  haul  aft  my  trysail  sheets, 
and  stretch  over  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  I  find  no  enemy's 
ship  of  war  awaiting  me  here.  I  go  to  work  on  the  stream  of 
commerce  doubling  the  Cape.  And  by  the  time,  I  think,  that 
the  ships  which  have  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  in  pursuit 
of  rne,  have  heard  of  my  being  at  the  Cape,  and  started  in  fresh 
chase ;  I  quietly  stretch  back  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  go  to 
work  as  before.  Voila  tout !  The  reader  will  have  occasion 
to  remark,  by  the  time  we  get  through  with  our  cruises,  how 
well  this  system  worked  for  me  ;  as  he  will  have  observed,  that 
I  did  not  fall  in  with  a  single  enemy's  cruiser  at  sea,  at  any 
time  during  my  whole  career! 

We  had,  some  days  since,  crossed  the  tropic  of  Capricorn, 
and  entered  the  "variables"  of  the  southern  hemisphere;  and 
having  reached  the  forks  of  the  great  Brazilian  highway,  that 
is  to  say,  the  point  at  which  the  stream  of  commerce  separates 
into  two  principal  branches,  one  passing  around  Cape  Horn, 
and  the  other  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  we  had  taken 
the  left-hand  fork.  We  had  not  proceeded  far  on  this  road, 
however,  before  we  found  upon  examination  of  our  bread-room, 
that  the  weevil,  that  pestilent  little  destroyer  of  bread-stuffs  in 
southern  climates,  had  rendered  almost  our  entire  supply  of 
bread  useless !  It  was  impossible  to  proceed  on  a  voyage  of 
such  length,  as  that  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in  such  a 
dilemma,  and  I  put  back  for  Eio  Janeiro,  to  obtain  a  fresh  sup 
ply;  unless  I  could  capture  it  by  the  way.  We  were  now  in 
latitude  28°  01',  and  longitude  28°  29',  or  about  825  miles  from 
Rio;  some  little  distance  to  travel  to  a  baker's  shop.  We  were 
saved  this  journey,  however,  as  the  reader  will  presently  see, 
by  a  Yankee  ship  which  came  very  considerately  to  our  relief. 

For  the  next  few  days,  the  weather  was  boisterous  and  un 
pleasant —  wind  generally  from  the  north-west,  with  a  south 
easterly  current.  Ships  were  frequently  in  sight,  but  they  all 
proved  to  be  neutral.  On  the  30th  of  June,  the  weather 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      631 

moderated,  and  became  fine  for  a  few  days.  On  the  1st  of 
July,  after  overhauling  as  many  as  eleven  neutral  ships,  we 
gave  chase,  at  eleven  p.  M.,  to  a  twelfth  sail  looming  up  on  the 
horizon.  She  looked  American,  and  had  heels,  and  the  chase 
continued  all  night.  As  the  day  dawned,  a  fine,  tall  ship,  with 
taper  spars,  and  white  canvas,  was  only  a  few  miles  ahead  of 
us.  A  blank  cartridge  brought  the  United  States  colors  to  her 
peak,  but  still  she  kept  on.  She  was  as  yet  three  miles  distant, 
and  probably  had  some  hope  of  escape.  At  all  events,  her 
captain  had  pluck,  and  held  on  to  his  canvas  until  the  last 
moment.  It  was  not  until  we  had  approached  him  near 
enough  to  send  a  shot  whizzing  across  his  bow,  that  he  con 
sented  to  clew  up,  and  heave  to.  She  proved  to  be  the  Anna 
F.  Schmidt,  of  Maine,  from  Boston,  for  San  Francisco,  with  a 
valuable  cargo  of  assorted  merchandise ;  much  of  it  consisting 
of  ready-made  clothing,  hats,  boots,  and  shoes.  Here  was  a 
haul  for  the  paymaster!  But  unfortunately  for  Jack,  the  coats 
were  too  fine,  and  the  tails  too  long.  The  trousers  and  under 
garments  were  all  right,  however,  and  of  these  we  got  a  large 
supply  on  board.  The  Schmidt  had  on  board,  too,  the  very  arti 
cle  of  bread,  and  in  the  proper  quantity,  that  we  were  in  want 
of.  We  received  on  board  from  her  thirty  days'  supply,  put  up 
in  the  nicest  kind  of  air-tight  casks.  Crockery,  china-ware, 
glass,  lamps,  clocks,  sewing-machines,  patent  medicines,  clothes 
pins,  and  the  latest  invention  for  killing  bed-bugs,  completed 
her  cargo.  No  Englishman  or  Frenchman  could  possibly  own 
such  a  cargo,  and  there  was,  consequently,  no  attempt  among 
the  papers  to  protect  it.  It  took  us  nearly  the  entire  day  to 
do  the  requisite  amount  of  "robbing"  on  board  the  Schmidt, 
and  the  torch  was  not  applied  to  her  until  near  nightfall. 
We  then  wheeled  about,  and  took  the  fork  of  the  road  again, 
for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

Whilst  we  were  yet  busy  with  the  prize,  another  American 
ihip  passed  us,  but  she  proved,  upon  being  boarded,  to  have 
been  sold,  by  her  patriotic  Yankee  owners,  to  an  Englishman, 
and  was  now  profitably  engaged  in  assisting  the  other  ships  of 
John  Bull  in  taking  away  from  the  enemy  his  carrying-trade. 
I  examined  the  papers  and  surroundings  of  all  these  ships, 
with  great  care,  being  anxious,  if  possible,  to  find  a  peg  on 


632  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

which  1  might  hang  a  doubt  large  enough  to  enable  me  to  bun? 
them.  But,  thus  far,  all  the  transfers  had  been  bonafide.  In 
the  present  instance,  the  papers  were  evidently  genuine,  and 
there  was  a  Scotch  master  and  English  crew  on  board.  At 
about  nine  P.  M.,  on  the  same  evening,  the  Schmidt  being  in 
flames,  and  the  Alabama  in  the  act  of  making  sail  from  her, 
a  large,  taunt  ship,  with  exceedingly  square  yards,  passed  us 
at  rapid  speed,  under  a  cloud  of  canvas,  from  rail  to  truck, 
and  from  her  course  seemed  to  be  bound  either  to  Europe  or 
the  United  States.  She  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  burning 
ship,  but  flew  past  it  as  though  she  were  anxious  to  get  out  of 
harm's  way  as  soon  as  possible.  I  conceived  thence  the  idea, 
that  she  must  be  one  of  the  enemy's  large  clipper-ships,  from 
"  round  the  Horn,"  and  immediately  gave  chase,  adding,  in  my 
eagerness  to  seize  so  valuable  a  prize,  steam  to  sail.  It  was 
blowing  half  a  gale  of  wind,  but  the  phantom  ship,  for  such 
she  looked  by  moonlight,  was  carrying  her  royals  and  top-gal 
lant  studding-sails.  This  confirmed  my  suspicion,  for  surely, 
I  thought,  no  ship  would  risk  carrying  away  her  spars,  under 
such  a  press  of  sail,  unless  she  were  endeavoring  to  escape  from 
an  enemy.  By  the  time  we  were  well  under  way  in  pursuit, 
the  stranger  was  about  three  miles  ahead  of  us.  I  fired  a  gun 
to  command  him  to  halt.  In  a  moment  or  two,  to  my  astonish 
ment,  the  sound  of  a  gun  from  the  stranger  came  booming 
back  over  the  waters  in  response.  I  now  felt  quite  sure  that 
I  had  gotten  hold  of  a  New  York  and . California  clipper-ship. 
She  had  fired  a  gun  to  make  me  believe,  probably,  that  she 
was  a  ship  of  war,  and  thus  induce  me  to  desist  from  the  pur 
suit.  But  a  ship  of  war  would  not  carry  such  a  press  of  sail, 
or  appear  to  be  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  out  of  the  way — unless, 
indeed,  she  were  an  enemy's  ship  of  inferior  force  ;  and  the 
size  of  the  fugitive,  in  the  present  instance,  forbade  such  a  sup 
position.  So  I  sent  orders  below  to  the  engineer,  to  stir  up 
his  fires,  and  put  the  Alabama  at  the  top  of  her  speed.  My 
crew  had  all  become  so  much  excited  by  the  chase,  some  of  the 
sailors  thinking  we  had  scared  up  the  Flying  Dutchman,  who 
was  known  to  cruise  in  these  seas,  and  others  expecting  a  fight, 
that  the  watch  had  forgotten  to  go  below  to  their  hammocks. 
About  midnight  we  overhauled  the  stranger  near  enough  to 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     633 

speak  her.  She  loomed  up  terribly  large  as  we  approached. 
She  was  painted  black,  with  a  white  streak  around  her  waist, 
man-of-war  fashion,  and  we  could  count,  with  the  aid  of 
our  night-glasses,  five  guns  of  a  side  frowning  through  her 
ports.  "What  ship  is  that?  "  now  thundered  my  first  lieuten 
ant  through  his  trumpet.  "  This  is  her  Britannic  Majesty's 
ship,  Diomede ! "  came  back  in  reply  very  quietly.  "  What 
ship  is  that?  "  now  asked  the  Diomede.  "This  is  the  Confed 
erate  States  steamer  Alabama"  "I  suspected  as  much,"  said 
the  officer,  "  when  I  saw  you  making  sail,  by  the  light  of  the 
burning  ship."  A  little  friendly  chat  now  ensued,  when  we 
sheared  off,  and  permitted  her  Britannic  Majesty's  frigate  to 
proceed,  without  insisting  upon  an  examination  of  "  her  pa 
yers  ;"  and  the  sailors  slunk  below,  one  by  one,  to  their  ham 
mocks,  disappointed  that  they  had  neither  caught  the  Flying 
Dutchman,  a  California  clipper,  or  a  fight. 

The  next  day,  and  for  several  days,  the  weather  proved  fine. 
We  were  running  to  the  eastward  on  the  average  parallel  of 
about  30°,  with  the  wind  from  K  K  E.  to  the  K  W.  Satur 
day,  July  4:th,  1863,  is  thus  recorded  in  my  journal:  —  "This  is 
•  Independence  day '  in  the  '  old  concern ; '  a  holiday,  which  I 
feel  half  inclined  to  throw  overboard,  because  it  was  estab 
lished  in  such  bad  company,  and  because  we  have  to  fight  the 
battle  of  independence  over  again,  against  a  greater  tyranny 
than  before.  Still,  old  feelings  are  strong,  and  it  will  not  hurt 
Jack  to  give  him  an  extra  glass  of  grog." 

The  morning  of  the  6th  proved  cloudy  and  squally,  and  we 
had  some  showers  of  rain,  though  the  barometer  kept  steadily 
up.  At  thirty  minutes  past  midnight,  an  officer  came  below 
to  inform  me,  that  there  was  a  large  sail  in  sight,  not  a  great 
way  off.  I  sent  word  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  chase,  and 
repaired  on  deck  pretty  soon  myself.  In  about  three  hours, 
we  had  approached  the  chase  sufficiently  near,  to  heave  her  to, 
with  a  shot,  she  having  previously  disregarded  two  blank  car 
tridges.  She  proved  to  be  another  prize,  the  ship  Express,  of 
Boston,  from  Callao,  for  Antwerp,  with  a  cargo  of  guano  from 
the  Chincha  Islands.  This  cargo  probably  belonged  to  the 
Peruvian  Government,  for  the  guano  of  the  Chincha  Islands 
is  a  government  monopoly,  but  our  Peruvian  friends  had  been 


634  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

unfortunate  in  their  attempts  to  cover  it.  It  had  been  shipped 
by  Messrs.  Sescau,  Valdeavellano  &  Co.,  and  consigned  to  J. 
Sescau  &  Co.,  at  Antwerp.  On  the  back  of  the  bill  of  lading 
was  the  following  indorsement:  —  "Nous  soussigne,  Charge 
d' Affairs,  et  Consul  General  de  France,  a  Lima,  certifions  que 
la  chargernent  de  mille  soixante  deuze  tonneaux,  de  register,  de 
Huano,  specific  au  present  connaissement,  est  propriete  neutre. 
Fait  a  Lima,  le  27  Janvier,  1863."  This  certificate  was  no 
better  than  so  much  waste  paper,  for  two  reasons.  First,  it 
was  not  sworn  to,  and  secondly,  it  simply  averred  the  property 
to  be  neutral,  without  stating  who  the  owners  were.  I  was 
sorry  to  burn  so  much  property  belonging,  in  all  probability, 
to  Peru,  but  I  could  make  no  distinction  between  that  govern 
ment  and  an  individual.  I  had  the  right  to  burn  the  enemy's 
ship,  and  if  a  neutral  government  chose  to  put  its  property  on 
board  of  her,  it  was  its  duty  to  document  it  according  to  the 
laws  of  war,  or  abide  the  consequences  of  the  neglect.  The 
certificate  would  not  have  secured  individual  property,  and  I 
could  not  permit  it  to  screen  that  of  a  government,  which  was 
presumed  to  know  the  law  better  than  an  individual.  As  the 
case  stood,  I  was  bound  to  presume  that  the  property,  being  in 
an  enemy's  bottom,  was  enemy's.  The  torch  followed  this 
decision. 

The  Express  had  had  a  long  and  boisterous  passage  around 
Cape  Horn,  and  gave  signs  of  being  much  weather-beaten  — 
some  of  her  spars  and  sails  were  gone,  and  her  sides  were 
defaced  with  iron  rust.  The  master  had  his  wife  on  board,  a 
gentle  English  woman,  with  her  servant-maid,  or  rather  hum 
ble  companion,  and  it  seemed  quite  hard  that  these  two  females, 
after  having  braved  the  dangers  of  Cape  Horn,  should  be  car 
ried  off  to  brave  other  dangers  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

We  were  now  in  mid-winter,  July  loth,  when  the  storms 
run  riot  over  these  two  prominent  head-lands  of  our  globe. 
We  were  fast  changing  our  skies  as  we  proceeded  southward. 
Many  of  the  northern  constellations  had  been  buried  beneath 
the  horizon,  to  rise  no  more,  until  we  should  recross  the  equa 
tor,  and  other  new  and  brilliant  ones  had  risen  in  their  places. 
We  had  not  seen  the  familiar  "North  Star"  for  months.  The 
Southern  Cross  had  arisen  to  attract  our  gaze  to  the  opposite 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      635 

pole  instead.  The  mysterious  Magellan  clouds  hovered  over 
the  same  pole,  by  day,  and  caused  the  mariner  to  dream  of  far- 
off  worlds.  They  were  even  visible  on  very  bright  nights. 
The  reader  will  perhaps  remember  the  meteorological  phe 
nomena  which  we  met  with  in  the  Gulf  Stream  —  how  regu 
larly  the  winds  went  around  the  compass,  from  left  to  right, 
or  with  the  course  of  the  sun,  obeying  the  laws  of  storms. 
Similar  phenomena  are  occurring  to  us  now.  The  winds  are 
still  going  round  with  the  sun,  but  they  no  longer  go  from 
left  to  right,  but  from  right  to  left ;  for  this  is  now  the  motion 
of  the  sun.  Instead  of  watching  the  winds  haul  from  north 
east  to  east;  from  east  to  south-east;  from  south-east  to  south, 
as  we  were  wont  to  do  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  we  now 
watch  them  haul  from  north-east  to  north ;  from  north  to 
north-west ;  and  from  north-west  to  west.  And  when  we 
get  on  shore,  in  the  gardens,  and  vineyards,  at  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  we  shall  see  the  tendrils  of  the  vine,  and  the  creep 
ing  plants,  twining  around  their  respective  supports,  in  the 
opposite  direction,  from  left  to  right,  instead  of  from  right  to 
left,  as  the  reader  has  seen  them  do  in  the  writer's  garden  in 
Alabama. 

After  capturing  the  Express,  we  passed  into  one  of  the  by 
ways  of  the  sea.  The  fork  of  the  road  which  we  had  been 
hitherto  pursuing,  now  bore  off  to  the  south-east  —  the  India- 
bound  ships  running  well  to  the  southward  of  the  Cape.  We 
turned  out  of  the  road  to  the  left,  and  drew  in  nearer  to  the 
coast  of  Africa.  With  the  exception  of  an  occasional  African 
trader,  or  a  chance  whaler,  we  were  entirely  out  of  the  track 
of  commerce.  In  the  space  of  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles, 
we  sighted  but  a  single  ship. 

As  we  drew  down  toward  the  Cape,  that  singular  bird,  the 
Cape  pigeon  came  to  visit  us.  It  is  of  about  the  size  of  a 
small  sea-gul],  and  not  unlike  it  in  appearance.  Like  the  petrel, 
it  is  a  storm-bird,  and  seems  to  delight  in  the  commotion  of 
the  elements.  It  is  quite  'gentle,  wheeling  around  the  ship, 
and  uttering,  from  time  to  time,  its  cheerful  scream,  or  rather 
whistle.  A  peculiarity  of  this  bird  is,  that  it  is  entirely  un 
known  in  the  northern  hemisphere ;  from  which  it  would  ap 
pear,  that,  like  the  "right"  whale,  it  is  incapable  of  enduring 


636  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  tropical  heats.  It  would  probably  be  death  to  it,  to  at 
tempt  to  cross  the  equator. 

On  the  28th  of  July,  we  observed  in  latitude  33°  46',  and 
longitude  17°  31',  and  the  next  day,  at  about  nine  A.  M.,  we 
made  Daffen  Island,  with  its  remarkable  breaker,  lying  a  short 
distance  to  the  northward  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Instead 
of  running  into  Cape  Town,  I  deemed  it  more  prudent  to  go 
first  to  Saldanha  Bay,  and  reconnoitre.  There  might  be 
enemy's  ships  of  war  off  the  Cape,  and  if  so,  I  desired  to  get 
news  of  them,  before  they  should  hear  of  my  being  in  these 
seas.  As  we  were  running  in  for  the  bay,  we  overhauled  a 
small  coasting  schooner,  the  master  of  which  volunteered  to 
take  us  in  to  the  anchorage  ;  and  early  in  the  afternoon,  we 
came  to,  in  five  and  three  quarter  fathoms  of  water,  in  a  cosy 
little  nook  of  the  bay,  sheltered  from  all  winds.  There  was 
no  Yankee  man-of-war  at  the  Cape,  nor  had  there  been  any 
there  for  some  months !  Mr.  Welles  was  asleep,  the  coast  was 
all  clear,  and  I  could  renew  my  "depredations"  upon  the 
enemy's  commerce  whenever  I  pleased. 

There  is  no  finer  sheet  of  land-locked  water  in  the  world 
than  Saldanha  Bay.  Its  anchorage  is  bold,  and  clean,  and 
spacious  enough  to  accommodate  the  largest  fleets.  It  is  within 
a  few  hours'  sail  of  the  cape,  which  is  the  halfway  mile-post, 
as  it  were,  between  the  extreme  east,  and  the  extreme  west,  and 
yet  commerce,  with  a  strange  caprice,  has  established  its  relay- 
house  at  Cape  Town,  whose  anchorage  is  open  to  all  the  win 
ter  gales,  from  which  a  ship  is  in  constant  danger  of  being 
wrecked.  We  did  not  find  so  much  as  a  coaster  at  anchor,  in 
this  splendid  harbor.  The  country  around  was  wild  and  pic 
turesque  in  appearance ;  the  substratum  being  of  solid  rock, 
and  nature  having  played  some  strange  freaks,  when  chaos  was 
being  reduced  to  order.  Rocky  precipices  and  palisades  meet 
the  beholder  at  every  turn,  and  immense  boulders  of  granite 
iie  scattered  on  the  coast  and  over  the  hills,  as  if  giants  had 
been  amusing  themselves  at  a  game  of  marbles.  A  few  farm 
houses  are  in  sight  from  the  ship,  surrounded  by  patches  of 
cultivation,  but  all  the  rest  of  the  landscape  is  a  semi-bar 
ren  waste  of  straggling  rocks,  and  coarse  grass.  The  country 
improves,  however,  a  short  distance  back  from  the  coast,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      637 

the  grazing  becomes  fine.  Beef  cattle  are  numerous,  and  of 
fair  size,  and  the  sheep  flourishes  in  great  perfection — wool 
being  one  of  the  staple  products  of  the  colony.  The  cereals 
are  also  produced,  and,  as  every  one  knows,  the  Cape  has  long 
been  famous  for  its  delicate  wines. 

My  first  care  was  to  send  the  paymaster  on  shore,  to  con 
tract  for  supplying  the  crew  with  fresh  provisions,  during  our 
stay,  and  my  next  to  inform  the  Governor  at  the  Cape  of  my 
arrival.  As  I  turned  into  my  cot  that  night,  with  a  still  ship, 
in  a  land-locked  harbor,  with  no  strange  sails,  or  storms  to  dis 
turb  my  repose,  I  felt  like  a  weary  traveller,  who  had  laid 
down,  for  the  time,  a  heavy  burden.  The  morning  after  our 
arrival  —  the  30th  of  July  —  was  bright  and  beautiful,  and  I 
landed  early  to  get  sights  for  my  chronometers.  It  was  the 
first  time  I  had  ever  set  foot  on  the  continent  of  Africa,  and  I 
looked  forth,  from  the  eminence  on  which  I  stood,  upon  a  wild, 
desolate,  and  yet  picturesque  scene.  The  ocean  was  slumber 
ing  in  the  distance,  huge  rocky  precipices  were  around  me,  the 
newly  risen  sun  was  scattering  the  mists  from  the  hills,  and 
the  only  signs  of  life  save  the  Alabama  at  my  feet,  and  the  ox- 
team  of  a  boer  which  was  creeping  along  the  beach,  were  the 
screams  of  the  sea-fowl,  as  they  whirled  around  me,  and,  from 
time  to  time,  made  plunges  into  the  still  waters  in  quest  of 
their  prey.  A  profusion  of  wild  flowers  bloomed  in  little  par 
terres  among  the  rocks,  and  among  others,  I  plucked  the  gera 
nium,  in  several  varieties.  This  was  evidently  its  native  home. 

Keturning  on  board  at  the  usual  breakfast  hour,  I  found 
that  Bartelli  had  made  excellent  use  of  his  time.  There  was 
a  hut  or  two  on  the  beach,  to  which  a  market-boat  had  been 
sent  from  the  ship,  to  bring  off  the  fresh  beef  and  vegetables 
for  the  crew,  which  the  paymaster  had  contracted  for  on  the 
previous  evening.  Bartelli  had  accompanied  it,  and  the  result 
was  a  venison  steak,  cut  fresh  from  a  spring-bok  that  a  hunter 
had  just  brought  in,  simmering  in  his  chafing  dish.  There 
were  some  fine  pan-fish  on  the  table,  too ;  for  my  first  lieuten 
ant,  ever  mindful  of  the  comfort  of  his  people,  had  sent  a  party 
on  shore  with  the  seine,  which  had  had  fine  success,  and  re 
ported  the  bay  full  of  fish.  Jack,  after  having  been  nearly 
three  months  on  a  diet  of  salted  beef  and  pork,  was  once  more 


638  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

in  clover,  and  my  young  officers  were  greatly  excited  by  the 
reports  that  came  off  to  them  from  the  shore,  of  the  variety 
and  abundance  of  game,  in  the  neighborhood.  Besides  the 
curlew,  snipe,  and  plover,  that  were  to  be  found  on  the  beach 
and  in  the  salt  marshes  adjacent,  the  quail,  pheasant,  deer  in 
several  varieties,  and  even  the  ostrich,  the  lion,  and  the  tiger, 
awaited  them,  if  they  should  think  proper  to  go  a  little  dis 
tance  inland.  The  small  islands  in  the  bay  abounded  in  rab 
bits,  which  might  be  chased  and  knocked  on  the  head  with 
sticks.  Hunting-parties  were  soon  organized,  and  there  was  a 
great  cleaning  and  burnishing  of  fowling-pieces,  and  adjusting 
and  filling  of  powder-flasks  and  shot-pouches  going  on. 

But  all  was  not  to  be  pleasure ;  there  was  duty  to  be  thought 
of  as  well.  The  Alabama  required  considerable  overhauling 
after  her  late  cruise,  both  in  her  machinery,  and  hull,  and  rig 
ging.  Among  other  things,  it  was  quite  necessary  that  she 
should  be  re-caulked,  inside  and  out,  and  re-painted.  There 
were  working-parties  organized,  therefore,  as  well  as  hunting 
and  fishing-parties.  "We  soon  found,  too,  that  we  had  the 
duties  of  hospitality  to  attend  to.  The  fame  of  the  "  British 
Pirate"  had  preceded  her.  Every  ship  which  had  touched  at 
the  Cape,  had  had  more  or  less  to  say  of  the  Alabama.  Mr. 
Seward  and  Mr.  Adams,  Lord  Russell  and  the  "  London  Times" 
had  made  her  famous,  and  the  people  manifested  great  curiosity 
to  see  her.  We  were,  in  a  measure,  too,  among  our  own  kins 
men.  The  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  all  the  world  knows,  had 
been  a  Dutch  colony,  and  was  now  inhabited  by  a  mixed  popu 
lation  of  Dutch  and  English.  The  African  had  met  the  usual 
fate  of  the  savage,  when  he  comes  in  contact  with  civilized 
man.  He  had  been  thrust  aside,  and  was  only  to  be  seen  as  a 
straggler  and  stranger  in  his  native  land. 

From  far  and  near,  the  country-people  flocked  in  to  see  us, 
in  every  description  of  vehicle,  from  the  tidy  spring- wagon, 
with  its  pair  of  sleek  ponies,  to  the  ox-cart.  The  vehicles, 
containing  mostly  women  and  children,  were  preceded  or  fol 
lowed  by  men  on  horseback,  by  twos  and  threes,  and  some 
times  by  the  dozen.  The  men  brought  along  with  them  their 
shot-guns  and  rifles,  thus  converting  their  journey  into  a  hunt: 
ing-party,  as  well  as  one  of  curiosity.  Those  from  a  distance 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     639 

came  provided  with  tents  and  camp-equipage.  Almost  every 
one  had  some  present  of  game  or  curiosity  to  offer,  as  he  came 
on  board.  One  would  bring  me  a  wild-peacock  for  dinner, 
which  he  had  shot  on  the  wayside ;  another  a  brace  of  pheas 
ants;  others  ostrich-eggs  fresh  from  the  nest,  plumes  of  ostrich- 
feathers,  spikes  from  the  head  of  the  spring-bok  three  and  four 
feet  in  length,  &c.  We  showed  them  around  the  ship  —  the 
young  boers  lifting  our  hundred-pound  rifle-shot,  and  looking 
over  the  sights  of  our  guns,  and  the  young  women  looking  at 
the  moustaches  of  my  young  officers. 

The  Saldanha  settlement  is  almost  exclusively  Dutch,  not 
withstanding  it  has  been  fifty  years  and  more  in  possession  of 
the  English.  Dutch  is  the  language  universally  spoken;  all 
the  newspapers  are  published  in  that  melodious  tongue,  and 
the  "young  idea "  is  being  taught  to  "shoot"  in  it.  One 
young  man  among  our  visitors,  though  he  was  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  and  lived  within  twenty  miles  of  the  sea,  told 
me  he  had  never  been  on  board  of  a  ship  before.  He  became 
very  much  excited,  and  went  into  ecstasies  at  everything  he 
saw,  particularly  at  the  size  and  weight  of  the  guns,  which 
seemed  to  transcend  all  his  philosophy  —  the  largest  gun  which 
he  had  hitherto  seen,  being  his  own  rifle,  with  which  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  bringing  down  the  ostrich  or  the  tiger.  The 
climate  seemed  to  be  well  suited  to  these  descendants  of  the 
Hollanders.  The  men  were  athletic  and  well-proportioned, 
and  the  young  women  chubby,  and  blooming  with  the  blended 
tints  of  the  lily  and  the  rose — the  rose  rather  preponderating. 
The  beauty  of  these  lasses  —  and  some  of  them  were  quite 
pretty  —  was  due  entirely  to  mother  Nature,  as  their  large  and 
somewhat  rough  hands,  and  awkward  courtesies  showed  that 
they  were  rather  more  familiar  with  milking  the  cows  and 
churning  the  butter,  than  with  the  airs  and  graces  of  the  saloon. 

We  remained  a  week  in  Saldanha  Bay,  during  the  whole  of 
which,  we  had  exceedingly  fine  weather;  the  wind  generally  - 
prevailing  from  the  south-east,  and  the  sky  being  clear,  with 
now  and  then  a  film  of  gray  clouds.  This  was  quite  remark 
able  for  the  first  days  of  August  —  this  month  being  equiva 
lent,  at  the  "  stormy  Cape,"  to  the  month  of  February,  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  The  natives  told  us  that  so  gentle  a 


640  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

winter  jad  not  been  known  for  years  before.  The  temperature 
was  delightful.  Although  we  were  in  the  latitude  of  about 
34° —  say  the  equivalent  latitude  to  that  of  south-western  Vir 
ginia —  we  did  not  feel  th*e  want  of  fires.  Indeed,  the  grasses 
were  green,  and  vegetation  seemed  to  have  been  scarcely  sus 
pended.  The  graziers  had  no  need  to  feed  their  cattle. 

A  schooner  came  in  while  we  lay  here,  bringing  us  some 
letters  from  merchants  at  Cape  Town,  welcoming  us  to  the 
colony,  and  offering  to  supply  us  with  coal,  or  whatever  else  we 
might  need.  I  had  left  orders  both  at  Fernando  de  Noronha, 
and  Bahia,  for  the  Agrippina,  if  she  should  arrive  at  either  of 
those  places,  after  my  departure,  to  make  the  best  of  her  way 
to  Saldanha  Bay,  and  await  me  there.  She  should  have  pre 
ceded  me  several  weeks.  She  was  not  here  —  the  old  Scotch 
man,  as  before  remarked,  having  played  me  false. 

When  Kell  had  put  his  ship  in  order,  he  took  a  little  recrea 
tion  himself,  and  in  company  with  one  or  two  of  his  messmates 
went  off  into  the  interior,  on  an  ostrich  hunt.  Horses  and  dogs, 
and  hunters  awaited  them,  at  the  country-seat  of  the  gentleman 
who  had  invited  them  to  partake  of  this  peculiarly  African 
sport.  They  had  a  grand  hunt,  and  put  up  several  fine  birds, 
at  which  some  of  the  party  —  Kell  among  the  number,  got 
shots  —  but  they  did  not  bring  any  "  plumes  "  on  board ;  at 
least  of  their  own  capturing.  The  devilish  birds,  as  big  as 
horses,  and  running  twice  as  fast,  as  some  of  the  young  officers 
described  them,  refused  to  "heave  to,"  they  said,  though  they 
had  sent  sundry  whistlers  around  their  heads,  in  the  shape  of 
buck-shot. 

A  sad  accident  occurred  to  one  of  our  young  hunters  before 
we  left  the  bay.  One  afternoon,  just  at  sunset,  I  was  shocked 
to  receive  the  intelligence  that  one  of  the  cutters  had  returned 
alongside,  with  a  dead  officer  in  it.  Third  Assistant  Engineer 
Cummings  was  the  unfortunate  officer.  He  had  been  hunting 
with  a  party  of  his  messmates.  They  had  all  returned  with 
well-filled  game-bags  to  the  boat,  at  sunset,  and  Cummings  was 
in  the  act  of  stepping  into  her,  when  the  cock  of  his  gun  strik 
ing  against  the  gunwale,  a  whole  load  of  buck-shot  passed 
through  his  chest  in  the  region  of  the  heart,  and  he  fell  dead, 
in  an  instant,  upon  the  sands.  The  body  was  lifted  tenderly 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        641 

into  the  boat,  and  taken  on  board,  and  prepared  by  careful  and 
affectionate  hands  for  interment  on  the  morrow.  This  young 
gentleman  had  been  very  popular,  with  both  officers  and  crew, 
and  his  sudden  death  cast  a  gloom  over  the  ship.  All  amuse 
ments  were  suspended,  and  men  walked  about  with  softened 
foot-fall,  as  though  fearing  to  disturb  the  slumbers  of  the  dead. 
Arrangements  were  made  for  interring  him  in  the  grave-yard 
of  a  neighboring  farmer,  and  the  next  morning,  the  colors  of 
the  ship  were  half-masted,  and  all  the  boats  —  each  with  its 
colors  also  at  half-mast  —  formed  in  line,  and  as  many  of  the 
officers  and  crew  as  could  be  spared  from  duty,  followed  the 
deceased  to  his  last  resting-place.  There  were  six  boats  in  the 
procession,  and  as  they  pulled  in  for  the  shore,  with  the  well- 
known  funeral  stroke  and  drooping  flags,  the  spectacle  was  one 
to  sadden  the  heart.  A  young  life  had  been  suddenly  cut 
short  in  a  far  distant  land.  A  subscription  was  taken  up  to 
place  a  proper  tomb  over  his  remains,  and  the  curious  visitor 
to  Saldanha  Bay  may  read  on  a  simple,  but  enduring  marble 
slab,  this  mournful  little  episode  in  the  history  of  the  cruise  of 
the  Alabama. 


CHAPTEK  XLVI. 

THE   CONNECTING   THEEAD  OF  THE  HISTORY   OF  THE  WAE 

TAKEN  UP A  BKIEF  EEVIEW  OF  THE  EVENTS  OF  THE 

TWELVE   MONTHS    DUEING   WHICH   THE  ALABAMA   HAD 

BEEN     COMMISSIONED ALABAMA    AEEIVES    AT    CAPE 

TOWN CAPTUEE    OF    THE   SEA    BEIDE EXCITEMENT 

THEEEUPON COEEESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  THE  AMEE- 

ICAN  CONSUL  AND  THE   GOVEENOE   ON  THE   SUBJECT  OF 
THE  CAPTUEE. 

THE  Alabama  has  been  commissioned,  now,  one  year.  In 
accordance  with  my  plan  of  connecting  my  cruises  with  a 
thread  —  a  mere  thread  —  of  the  history  of  the  war,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  retrace  our  steps,  and  take  up  that  thread  at  the 
point  at  which  it  was  broken  —  August,  1862.  At  that  date,  as 
the  reader  will  recollect,  the  splendid  army  of  McClellan  had 
been  overwhelmed  with  defeat,  and  driven  in  disorder,  from 
before  Richmond,  and  the  fortunes  of  the  Confederacy  had 
greatly  brightened  in  consequence.  Lee  followed  up  this 
movement  with  the  invasion  of  Maryland ;  not  for  the  pur 
pose  of  fighting  battles,  but  to  free  the  people  of  that  Southern 
State  from  the  military  despotism  which  had  been  fastened 
upon  them  by  the  enemy,  and  enable  them,  if  they  thought 
proper,  to  join  their  fortunes  with  those  of  the  Confederacy. 
But  he  penetrated  only  that  portion  of  the  State  in  which  the 
people  had  always  been  but  lukewarm  Southerners,  and  an 
indifferent,  if  not  cold,  reception  awaited  him.  The  result 
might  have  been  different  if  he  could  have  made  his  way  into 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  the  more  Southern  parts  of  the  State. 
There  the  enemy  was  as  cordially  detested,  as  in  any  part  of 
the  Confederacy.  The  Federal  Government  had,  by  this  time, 
gotten  firm  military  possession  of  the  State,  through  the  trea- 

642 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  643 

son  of  Governor  Bradford;  Mayor  Swann,  and  others,  and  no 
thing  short  of  driving  out  the  enemy  from  the  city  of  Balti 
more,  and  occupying  it  by  our  troops,  could  enable  the  people 
of  that  true  and  patriotic  city  to  move  in  defence  of  their  liber 
ties,  and  save  their  State  from  the  desecration  that  awaited  her. 

Harper's  Ferry  was  captured  by  a  portion  of  Lee's  forces ; 
the  battle  of  Sharpsburg  was  fought  (17th  September,  1862) 
without  decisive  results,  and  Lee  recrossed  his  army  into 
Virginia. 

In  the  West,  Corinth  was  evacuated  by  General  Beauregard, 
who  was  threatened  with  being  flanked,  by  an  enemy  of  supe 
rior  force. 

Memphis  was  captured  soon  afterward,  by  a  Federal  fleet, 
which  dispersed  the  few  Confederate  gunboats  that  offered  it 
a  feeble  resistance. 

The  fall  of  Fort  Pillow  and  Memphis  opened  the  way  for 
the  enemy,  as  far  down  the  Mississippi  as  Yicksburg.  Here 
Farragut's  and  Porter's  fleets  —  the  former  from  below,  the  lat 
ter  from  above  —  united  in  a  joint  attack  upon  the  place,  but 
Yan  Dorn  beat  them  off. 

The  Confederates  made  an  attempt  to  dislodge  the  enemy 
from  Baton  Eouge,  the  capital  of  Louisiana,  about  forty  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Bed  Biver,  but  failed.  The  expedi 
tion  was  to  be  a  joint  naval  and  military  one,  but  the  naval 
portion  of  it  failed  by  an  unfortunate  accident.  Breckinridge, 
with  less  than  3000  men,  fought  a  gallant  action  against  a 
superior  force,  and  drove  the  enemy  into  the  town,  but  for 
want  of  the  naval  assistance  promised  could  not  dislodge  him. 
We  now  occupied  Port  Hudson  below  Baton  Bouge,  and  the 
enemy  evacuated  Baton  Bouge  in  consequence.  We  thus  held 
the  Mississippi  Biver  between  Port  Hudson  and  Vicksburg,  a 
distance  of  more  than  200  miles. 

General  Bragg  now  made  a  campaign  into  Kentucky,  which 
State  he  occupied  for  several  weeks,  but  was  obliged  finally  to 
evacuate,  by  overwhelming  forces  of  the  enemy.  During  this 
campaign,  the  battles  of  Bichmond  and  Perryville  were  fought. 
Bragg  gathered  immense  supplies  during  his  march,  killed, 
wounded,  or  captured  25,000  of  the  enemy's  troops,  and  re 
turned  with  a  well-clothed,  well-equipped,  more  numerous,  and 


644  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

better  disciplined  army  than  he  had  at  the  beginning  of  the 
campaign.  The  effect  of  this  campaign  was  to  relieve  North 
Alabama  and  Middle  Tennessee  of  the  presence  of  the  enemy 
for  some  months. 

In  September,  1862,  Van  Dorn  attacked  Eosencrans  at  Cor 
inth,  but  was  obliged  to  withdraw  after  a  gallant  and  bloody 
fight.  He  retreated  in  good  order. 

After  Lee's  retreat  into  Virginia,  from  his  march  into  Mary 
land,  which  has  been  alluded  to,  McClellan  remained  inactive 
for  some  time,  and  the  Northern  people  becoming  dissatisfied, 
clamored  for  a  change  of  commanders.  Burnside  was  ap 
pointed  to  supersede  him — a  man,  in  every  way  unfit  for  the 
command  of  a  large  army.  With  an  army  of  150,000  men, 
this  man  of  straw  crossed  the  Eappahannock,  and  attacked 
Lee  at  Fredericksburg,  in  obedience  to  the  howl  of  the  North 
ern  Demos,  of  "  On  to  Kichmond ! "  A  perfect  slaughter  of 
his  troops  ensued.  As  far  as  can  be  learned,  this  man  did  not 
cross  the  river  at  all  himself,  but  sent  his  troops  to  assault 
works  in  front  which  none  but  a  madman  would  have  thought 
of  attempting  —  especially  with  a  river  in  his  rear.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  state  the  result.  Federal  loss  in  killed,  1152 ; 
wounded,  7000.  Confederate  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  1800. 
During  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain,  the  beaten  army  regained 
the  shelter  of  its  camps  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  Burn- 
side  was  now  thrown  overboard  by  the  Northern  Demos,  as 
McClellan  had  been  before  him. 

As  the  old  year  died,  and  the  new  year  came  in,  the  battle 
of  Murfreesborough,  in  Middle  Tennessee,  was  fought  between 
Bragg  and  Eosencrans,  which  was  bloody  on  both  sides,  and 
indecisive.  Bragg  retired  from  Murfreesborough,  but  was  not 
molested  by  the  enemy  during  his  retreat.  The  year  1862 
may  be  said,  upon  the  whole,  to  have  resulted  brilliantly  for 
the  Confederate  arms.  We  had  fought  drawn  battles,  and  had 
made  some  retrograde  movements,  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we 
had  gained  splendid  victories,  made  triumphant  marches  into 
the  enemy's  territory,  and  even  threatened  his  capital.  The 
nations  of  the  earth  were  looking  upon  us  with  admiration, 
and  we  had  every  reason  to  feel  encouraged. 

One  of  the  first  events  of  the  year  1863,  was  the  dispersion 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE     STATES.      645 

of  the  enemy's  blockading  fleet,  off  Charleston,  by  Commo 
dore  Ingraham,  with  two  small  iron-clads,  the  Ghicora  and  the 
Palmetto  State.  This  gallant  South  Carolinian,  in  his  flag-ship, 
the  Ghicora,  first  attacked  the  Mercedita,  Captain  Stellwagen. 
Having  run  into  this  vessel,  and  fired  one  or  two  shots  at  her, 
she  cried  for  quarter,  and  surrendered,  believing  herself  to  be 
in  a  sinking  condition.  In  a  few  minutes,  the  Mercedita  sent 
a  boat  alongside  the  Ghicora,  with  her  first  lieutenant,  who,  by 
authority  of  his  captain,  surrendered  the  ship,  and  assented  to 
the  paroling  of  the  officers  and  crew.  The  two  little  iron-clads 
then  went  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy's  other  ships,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  a  shot  at  one  or  two  of  them,  but  they  were  all  too 
fast  for  them,  and  betaking  themselves  to  their  heels,  soon  put 
themselves  out  of  harm's  way.  In  a  short  time  there  was  not 
a  blockader  to  be  seen  ! 

Judge  of  the  surprise  of  Commodore  Ingraham,  when,  upon 
his  return,  he  found  that  his  prize,  the  Mercedita,  which  he  had 
left  at  anchor,  under  parole,  had  cleared  out.  Captain  Stell 
wagen,  and  every  officer  and  man  on  board  the  Mercedita,  had 
solemnly  promised  on  honor  —  for  this  is  the  nature  of  a  parole 

—  that  they  would  do  no  act  of  war  until  exchanged.     From 
the  moment  they  made  that  promise,  they  were  hors  du  combat. 
They  were  prisoners  at  large,  on  board  the  ship  which  they  had 
surrendered  to  the  enemy.     And  yet,  when  that  enemy  turned 
his  back  —  relying  upon  the  parole  which  they  had  given  him 

—  they  got  up  their  anchor,  and  steamed  off  to  Port  Royal, 
and  reported  to  their  Admiral  —  Dupont!     Did  Dupont  send 
her  back  to  Ingraham  ?     No.     He  reported  the  facts  to  Mr. 
Secretary  Welles.     And  what  did  Mr.   Secretary  Welles  do  ? 
He  kept  possession  of  the  ship  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  honor  of 
the  Department  over  which  he  presided.    And  what  think  you, 
reader,  was  the  excuse  ?     It  is  a  curiosity.     Admiral  Dupont 
reported  the  case  thus  to  Mr.  Welles  : —  "  *    *    *    Unable  to 
use  his   [Stellwagen's]   guns,  and  being  at  the  mercy  of  the 
enemy,  which  was  lying  alongside,  on  his  starboard  quarter, 
all  further  resistance  was  deemed  hopeless  by  Captain  Stell 
wagen,  and  he  surrendered.     The  crew  and  officers  were  pa 
roled,  though  nothing  was  said  about  the  ship;  the  executive  offi 
cer,  Lieutenant-Commander  Abbot,  having  gone  on  board  the 


646  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

enemy's  ship,  and  made  the  arrangements."  Mr.  Welles,  thus 
prompted  by  Admiral  Dupont,  adopted  the  exceedingly  bril 
liant  idea,  that  as  nothing  had  been  said  about  the  sJdp  —  that  is, 
as  the  skip  had  not  been  paroled,  she  might,  like  every  other 
unparoled  prisoner,  walk  off  with  herself,  and  make  her  escape ! 
But  to  say  nothing  of  the  odd  idea  of  paroling  a  ship,  these  hon 
orable  casuists  overlooked  the  small  circumstance  that  the  ship 
could  not  make  her  escape  without  the  assistance  of  the  pa 
roled  officers ;  and  it  was  an  act  of  war  for  paroled  officers  to 
get  under  way,  and  carry  off  from  her  anchors,  a  prize-ship  of 
the  enemy.  It  was  a  theft,  and  breach  of  honor  besides. 

A  few  days  after  Ingraham's  raid,  Galveston  was  recaptured 
by  the  Confederates,  as  already  described  when  speaking  of 
the  victory  of  the  Alabama  over  the  Hatteras. 

Sherman  made  an  attempt  upon  Vicksburg,  and  failed.  Ad 
miral  Dupont,  with  a  large  and  well  appointed  fleet  of  iron 
clads,  attacked  Charleston,  and  was  beaten  back  —  one  of  his 
ships  being  sunk,  and  others  seriously  damaged.  On  the  Po 
tomac,  Hooker  had  been  sent  by  the  many-headed  monster  to 
relieve  Burnside,  which  was  but  the  substitution  of  one  dun 
derhead  for  another.  But  Hooker  had  the  sobriquet  of  "fight 
ing  Joe,"  and  this  tickled  the  monster.  "With  the  most 
splendid  army  on  the  planet,"  as  characterized  by  the  hyper- 
bolous  Joe  himself,  he  crossed  the  Eappahannock,  on  his  way 
to  Richmond.  Lee  had  no  more  than  about  one  third  of  Hook 
er's  force,  with  which  to  oppose  him.  Three  battles  ensued  — 
at  the  Wilderness,  Chancellorsville,  and  Salem  Church,  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  and  rout  of  "fighting  Joe,"  and  his  rapid 
retreat  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Kappahannock.  But  these 
victories  cost  us  the  life  of  Stonewall  Jackson,  the  Coeur  de 
Leon  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  His  body  has  been  given 
to  the  worms,  but  his  exploits  equal,  if  they  do  not  excel,  those 
of  Napoleon  in  his  first  Italian  campaign,  and  will  fire  the  youth 
of  America  as  long  as  our  language  lives,  and  history  con 
tinues  to  be  read. 

A  third  attempt  was  made  upon  Vicksburg ;  this  time  by 
General  Grant,  with  a  large  army  that  insured  success.  With 
this  army,  and  a  fleet  of  gunboats,  he  laid  siege  to  Pemberton. 
On  the  4th  of  July  Pemberton  surrendered.  This  was  a  ter- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    647 

rible  blow  to  us.  It  not  only  lost  us  an  army,  but  cut  the 
Confederacy  in  two,  by  giving  the  enemy  the  command  of  the 
Mississippi  River.  Port  Hudson  followed.  As  a  partial  set- 
off  to  these  disasters,  General  Dick  Taylor  captured  Brasher 
City,  a  very  important  base  which  the  enemy  had  established 
for  operations  in  Louisiana  and  Texas.  Nearly  five  million 
dollars'  worth  of  stores  fell  into  Taylor's  hands. 

After  the  defeat  of  Hooker,  Lee  determined  upon  another 
move  across  the  enemy's  border.  Hooker  followed,  keeping 
himself  between  Lee  and  Washington,  supposing  the  latter  to 
be  the  object  of  Lee's  movement.  But  Lee  moved  by  the 
Shenandoah  Valley,  upon  Gettysburg  in  Pennsylvania.  Hooker 
now  resigned  the  command,  for  which  he  found  himself  un 
fitted,  and  Meade  was  sent  to  relieve  him.  The  latter  marched 
forthwith  upon  Gettysburg,  cautiously  disposing  his  troops, 
meanwhile,  so  as  to  cover  both  Baltimore  and  Washington. 
The  greatest  battle  of  the  war  was  fought  here  during  the  first 
three  days  of  July.  Both  parties  were  whipped,  and  on  the 
4th  of  July,  when  Pemberton  was  surrendering  Vicksburg  to 
Grant,  Lee  was  preparing  to  withdraw  from  Gettysburg  for  the 
purpose  of  recrossing  the  Potomac.  If  the  battle  had  been 
fought  in  Virginia,  Meade  would  have  been  preparing,  in  like 
manner,  to  cross  the  same  river,  but  to  a  different  side.  Lee 
withdrew  without  serious  molestation,  Meade  being  too  badly 
crippled,  to  do  more  than  follow  him  at  a  limping  gait.  The 
disproportion  of  numbers  in  this  battle  was  greatly  in  favor 
of  Meade,  and  he  had,  besides,  the  advantage  of  acting  on  the 
defensive,  in  an  intrenched  position. 

Vicksburg  and  Gettysburg  mark  an  era  in  the  war.  The 
Confederates,  from  this  time,  began  to  show  signs  of  weak 
ness.  In  consequence  of  the  great  disparity  of  numbers,  we 
had  been  compelled,  at  an  early  day  in  the  war,  to  draw  upon 
our  whole  fighting  population.  The  Northern  hive  was  still 
swarming,  and  apparently  as  numerous  as  ever.  All  Europe 
was,  besides,  open  to  the  North  as  a  recruiting  station,  and  we 
have  seen,  in  the  course  of  these  pages,  how  unscrupulously 
and  fraudulently  the  Federal  agents  availed  themselves  of 
this  advantage.  We  were  being  hard  pressed,  too,  for  mate 
rial,  for  the  enemy  was  maintaining  a  rigid  blockade  of  our 


648  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE     AFLOAT 

ports,  and  was,  besides,  with  a  barbarity  unknown  in  civilized 
war,  laying  waste  our  plantations  and  corn-fields.  We  need 
no  better  evidence  of  the  shock  which  had  been  given  to  public 
confidence  in  the  South,  by  those  two  disasters,  than  the  simple 
fact,  that  our  currency  depreciated  almost  immediately  a  thou 
sand  per  cent. !  Later  in  the  summer,  another  attempt  was 
made  upon  Charleston,  which  was  repulsed  as  the  others  had 
been.  Dupont,  after  his  failure,  had  been  thrown  overboard, 
and  Admiral  Foote  ordered  to  succeed  him  ;  but  Foote  dying 
before  he  could  assume  command,  Dahlgren  was  substituted. 
This  gentleman  had,  from  a  very  early  period  in  his  career, 
directed  his  attention  to  ordnance,  and  turned  to  account  the 
experiments  of  Colonel  Paixan  with  shell-guns  and  shell- 
firing.  He  had  much  improved  upon  the  old-fashioned  naval 
ordnance,  in  vogue  before  the  advent  of  steamships,  and  for 
these  labors  of  his  in  the  foundries  and  work-shops,  he  had 
been  made  an  Admiral.  He  was  now  sent  to  aid  General 
Gilmore,  an  engineer  of  some  reputation,  to  carry  out  the 
favorite  Boston  idea  of  razing  Charleston  to  the  ground,  as  the 
original  hot-bed  of  secession.  They  made  a  lodgment  on 
Morris  Island,  but  failed,  as  Dupont  had  done,  against  the 
other  works.  We  have  thus  strung,  as  it  were,  upon  our 
thread  of  the  war,  the  more  important  military  events  that 
occurred  during  the  first  year  of  the  cruise  of  the  Alabama. 
We  will  now  return  to  that  ship.  We  left  her  at  Saldanha 
Bay,  near  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  August,  the  weather  being 
fine,  and  the  wind  light  from  the  south,  we  got  under  way  for 
Table  Bay.  As  we  were  steaming  along  the  coast,  we  fell  in 
with  our  consort,  the  Tuscaloosa,  on  her  way  to  join  us,  at 
Saldanha  Bay,  in  accordance  with  her  instructions.  She  had 
been  delayed  by  light  winds  and  calms.  She  reported  the 
capture  of  the  enemy's  ship  Santee,  from  the  East  Indies,  laden 
with  rice,  on  British  account,  and  bound  for  Falmouth,  in 
England.  She  had  released  her  on  ransom-bond.  The  Tus- 
caloosa  being  in  want  of  supplies,  I  directed  her  to  proceed  to 
Simon  Town,  in  Simon's  Bay,  to  the  eastward  of  the  Cape, 
and  there  refit,  and  provide  herself  with  whatever  might  be 
necessary.  A  little  after  mid-day,  as  we  were  hauling  in  for 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      649 

Cape  Town,  "sail  ho!"  was  cried  from  aloft;  and  when  we  had 
raised  the  sail  from  the  deck,  we  could  see  quite  distinctly  that 
the  jaunty,  newly  painted  craft,  with  the  taper  spars,  and  white 
canvas,  was  an  American  bark,  bound,  like  ourselves,  into 
Table  Bay.  As  before  remarked,  the  wind  was  light,  and  the 
bark  was  not  making  much  headway.  This  was  fortunate,  for 
if  there  had  been  a  brisk  breeze  blowing,  she  must  have  run 
within  the  charmed  marine  league,  before  we  could  have  over 
hauled  her. 

Hoisting  the  English  colors,  we  gave  the  Alabama  all  steam 
in  chase,  and  came  near  enough  to  heave  the  stranger  to,  when 
she  was  still  five  or  six  miles  from  the  land.  She  proved  to  be 
the  Sea-Bride,  of  Boston,  from  New  York,  and  bound,  with  an 
assorted  cargo  of  provisions  and  notions,  on  a  trading  voyage 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa.  I  threw  a  prize  crew  on 
board  of  her,  and  as  I  could  not  take  her  into  port  with  me,  I 
directed  the  officer  to  stand  off  and  on  until  further  orders  — 
repairing  to  Saldanha  Bay,  by  the  loth  of  the  month,  in  case 
he  should  be  blown  off  by  a  gale.  The  capture  of  this  ship 
caused  great  excitement  at  Cape  Town,  it  having  been  made 
within  full  view  of  the  whole  population.  The  editor  of  a 
daily  newspaper  published  at  the  Cape  —  the  "Argus" — wit 
nessed  it,  and  we  will  let  him  describe  it.  The  following  is  an 
extract  from  that  paper,  of  the  date  of  the  6th  of  August,  1863  : — 

"  Yesterday,  at  almost  noon,  a  steamer  from  the  northward  was 
made  down  from  the  signal-post,  on  Lion's  Hill.  The  Governor 
had,  on  the  previous  day,  received  a  letter  from  Captain  Semmes, 
informing  his  Excellency  that  the  gallant  captain  had  put  his  ship 
into  Saldanha  Bay  for  repairs.  This  letter  had  been  made  public 
in  the  morning,  and  had  caused  no  little  excitement.  Cape  Town, 
that  has  been  more  than  dull  —  that  has  been  dismal  for  months, 
thinking  and  talking  of  nothing  but  bankruptcies  —  bankruptcies 
fraudulent,  and  bankruptcies  unavoidable — was  now  all  astir,  full 
of  life  and  motion.  The  stoop  of  the  Commercial  Exchange  was 
crowded  with  merchants,  knots  of  citizens  were  collected  at  the 
corner  of  every  street ;  business  was  almost,  if  not  entirely  sus 
pended. 

"All  that  could  be  gleaned,  in  addition  to  the  information  of  Cap 
tain  Semmes'  letter  to  the  Governor,  a  copy  of  which  was  sent  to 
the  United  States  Consul,  immediately  it  was  received,  was  that 
the  schooner  Atlas  had  just  returned  from  Malagas  Island,  where 
she  had  been  with  water  and  vegetables  for  men  collecting  guano 


650  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

there.  Captain  Boyce,  the  master  of  the  Atlas,  reported  that  he 
had  himself  actually  seen  the  Alabama  ;  a  boat  from  the  steamer 
had  boarded  his  vessel,  and  he  had  been  on  board  of  her.  His 
report  of  Captain  Semmes  corroborated  that  given  by  every  one 
else.  He  said  the  Captain  was  most  courteous  and  gentlemanly. 
He  asked  Captain  Boyce  to  land  thirty  prisoners  for  him,  in  Table 
Bay,  with  which  request  Captain  Boyce  was  unable  to  comply. 
Captain  Semmes  said  that  the  Florida  was  also  a  short  distance 
off  the  Cape,  and  that  the  Alabama,  when  she  had  completed  her 
repairs,  and  was  cleaned  and  painted,  would  pay  Table  Bay  a  visit. 
He  expected  to  be  there,  he  said,  very  nearly  as  soon  as  the  Atlas. 
Shortly  after  the  Atlas  arrived,  a  boat  brought  up  some  of  the  pri 
soners  from  Saldanha  Bay,  and  among  them  one  of  the  crew  of 
the  Alabama,  who  said  he  had  left  the  ship.  All  these  waited  on 
the  United  States  Consul,  but  were  unable  to  give  much  informa 
tion,  beyond  what  we  had  already  received. 

"  The  news  that  the  Alabama  was  coming  into  Table  Bay,  and 
would  probably  arrive  about  four  o'clock  this  afternoon,  added  to 
the  excitement.  About  noon,  a  steamer  from  the  north-west  was 
made  down  by  the  signal-man  on  the  hill.  Could  this  be  the  Ala 
bama  \  or  was  it  the  Hydaspes,  from  India,  or  the  Lady  Jocelyn 
from  England?  All  three  were  now  hourly  expected,  and  the  city 
was  in  doubt.  Just  after  one,  it  was  made  down  'Confederate 
steamer  Alabama  from  the  north-west,  and  Federal  bark  from  the 
south-east.1  Here  was  to  be  a  capture  by  the  celebrated  Confed 
erate  craft,  close  to  the  entrance  of  Table  Bay.  The  inhabitants 
rushed  off  to  get  a  sight.  Crowds  of  people  ran  up  the  Lion's  Hill, 
and  to  the  Kloof  Road.  All  the  cabs  were  chartered — every  one 
of  them  ;  there  was  no  cavilling  about  fares  ;  the  cabs  were  taken, 
and  no  questions  asked,  but  orders  were  given  to  drive  as  hard  as 
possible. 

"  The  bark  coming  in  from  the  south-east,  and,  as  the  signal-man 
made  down,  five  miles  off;  the  steamer  coming  in  from  the  north 
west,  eight  miles  off,  led  us  to  think  that  the  kloof  road  was  the 
best  place  for  a  full  view.  To  that  place  we  directed  our  Jehu  to 
drive  furiously.  We  did  the  first  mile  in  a  short  time  ;  but  the 
kloof-hill  for  the  next  two  and  a  half  miles  is  up-hill  work.  The 
horse  jibbed,  so  we  pushed  on,  on  foot,  as  fast  as  possible,  and  left 
the  cab  to  come  on.  When  we  reached  the  summit,  we  could  only 
make  out  a  steamer  on  the  horizon,  from  eighteen  to  twenty  miles 
off.  This  could  not  be  the  Alabama,  unless  she  was  making  off  to 
sea  again.  There  was  no  bark.  As  soon  as  our  cab  reached  the 
^rown  of  the  hill,  we  set  off  at  a  break-neck  pace,  down  the  hill,  on 
past  the  Hound-house,  till  we  came  near  Brighton,  and  as  we  reached 
the  corner,  there  lay  the  Alabama  within  fifty  yards  of  the  unfortu 
nate  Yankee.  As  'the  Yankee  came  around  from  the  south-east, 
and  about  five  miles  from  the  Bay,  the  steamer  came  down  upon 
her.  The  Yankee  was  evidently  taken  by  surprise.  The  Alabama 
fired  a  gun,  and  brought  her  to. 

"When  first  we  got  sight  of  the  Alabama,  it  was  difficult  to  make 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     651 

out  what  she  was  doing ;  the  bark's  head  had  been  put  about,  and 
the  Alabama  lay  off  quite  immovable,  as  if  she  were  taking  a  sight 
of  the  '  varmint.'  The  weather  was  beautifully  calm  and  clear, 
and  the  sea  was  as  smooth  and  transparent  as  a  sheet  of  glass. 
The  bark  was  making  her  way  slowly  from  the  steamer,  with  every 
bit  of  her  canvas  spread.  The  Alabama,  with  her  steam  off,  ap 
peared  to  be  letting  the  bark  get  clear  off.  What  could  this  mean? 
No  one  understood.  It  must  be  the  Alabama.  'There,'  said  the 
spectators,  '  is  the  Confederate  flag  at  her  peak  ;  it  must  be  a  Fed 
eral  bark,  too,  for  there  are  the  stars  and  stripes  of  the  States  flying 
at  her  main.'  What  could  the  Alabama  mean  lying  there  — 

*  As  idly  as  a  painted  ship 
Upon  a  painted  ocean.' 

What  it  meant  was  soon  seen.  Like  a  cat,  watching  and  playing 
with  a  victimized  mouse,  Captain  Semmes  permitted  his  prize  to 
draw  off  a  few  yards,  and  then  he  up  steam  again,  and  pounced 
upon  her.  She  first  sailed  round  the  Yankee  from  stem  to  stern, 
and  stern  to  stem  again.  The  way  that  fine,  saucy,  rakish  craft 
was  handled  was  worth  riding  a  hundred  miles  to  see.  She  went 
round  the  bark  like  a  toy,  making  a  complete  circle,  and  leaving  an 
even  margin  of  water  between  herself  and  her  prize,  of  not  more 
than  twenty  yards.  From  the  hill  it  appeared  as  if  there  was  no 
water  at  all  between  the  two  vessels.  This  done,  she  sent  a  boat 
with  a  prize  crew  off,  took  possession  in  the  name  of  the  Confed 
erate  States,  and  sent  the  bark  off  to  sea. 

"  The  Alabama  then  made  for  the  port.  We  came  round  the 
Kloof  to  visit  Captain  Semmes  on  board.  As  we  came,  we  found 
the  heights  overlooking  Table  Bay  covered  with  people  ;  the  road 
to  Green  Point  lined  with  cabs.  The  windows  of  the  villas  at  the 
bottom  of  the  hill  were  all  thrown  up,  and  ladies  waved  their  hand 
kerchiefs,  and  one  and  all  joined  in  the  general  enthusiasm  ;  over 
the  quarries,  along  the  Malay  burying-ground,  the  Gallows  Hill, 
and  the  beach,  there  were  masses  of  people  —  nothing  but  a  sea  of 
heads  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Along  Strand  Street,  and 
Alderley  Street,  the  roofs  of  all  the  houses,  from  which  Table  Bay 
is  overlooked,  were  made  available  as  standing-places  for  the  people 
who  could  not  get  boats  to  go  off  to  her.  The  central,  the  north,  the 
south,  and  the  coaling  jetties  were  all  crowded.  At  the  central 
jetty  it  was  almost  impossible  to  force  one's  way  through  to  get  a 
boat.  However,  all  in  good  time,  we  did  get  a  boat,  and  wTent  off, 
in  the  midst  of  dingies,  cargo-boats,  gigs,  and  wherries,  all  as  full 
as  they  could  hold.  Nearly  all  the  city  was  upon  the  bay ;  the 
rowing  clubs  in  uniform,  with  favored  members  of  their  respective 
clubs  on  board.  The  crews  feathered  their  oars  in  double-quick 
time,  and  their  pulling,  our  '  stroke '  declared,  was  a  '  caution,  and 
no  mistake.'  *  *  *  On  getting  alongside  the  Alabama,  we  found 
about  a  dozen  boats  before  us,  arid  we  had  not  been  on  board  five 
minutes  before  she  was  surrounded  by  nearly  every  boat  in  Table 


652  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Bay,  and  as  boat  after  boat  arrived,  three  hearty  cheers  were  given 
for"  Captain  Semmes  and  his  gallant  privateer.  This,  upon  the 
part  of  a  neutral  people,  is,  perchance,  wrong ;  but  we  are  not  argu 
ing  a  case — we  are  recording  facts.  They  did  cheer,  and  cheer 
with  a  will,  too.  It  was  not,  perhaps,  taking  the  view  of  either 
side,  Federal  or  Confederate,  but  in  admiration  of  the  skill,  pluck, 
and  daring  of  the  Alabama,  her  captain,  and  her  crew,  who  afford 
a  general  theme  of  admiration  for  the  world  all  over. 

"  Visitors  were  received  by  the  officers  of  the  ship  most  cour 
teously,  and  without  distinction,  and  the  officers  conversed  freely 
and  unreservedly  of  their  exploits.  There  was  nothing  like  brag 
in  their  manner  of  answering  questions  put  to  them.  They  are  as 
fine  and  gentlemanly  a  set  of  fellows  as  ever  we  saw  ;  most  of  them 
young  men.  The  ship  has  been  so  frequently  described,  that  most 
people  know  what  she  is  like,  as  we  do  who  have  seen  her.  We 
should  have  known  her  to  be  the  Alabama,  if  we  had  boarded  her 
in  the  midst  of  the  ocean,  with  no  one  to  introduce  us  to  each  other. 
Her  guns  alone  are  worth  going  off  to  see,  and  everything  about 
her  speaks  highly  of  the  seamanship  and  discipline  of  her  com 
mander  and  his  officers.  She  had  a  very  large  crew,  fine,  lithe- 
looking  fellows,  the  very  picture  of  English  man-of-war's  men." 

The  editor  of  the  "Argus"  has  not  overdrawn  the  picture  when 
he  says,  that  nearly  all  Cape  Town  was  afloat,  on  the  evening 
of  the  arrival  of  the  Alabama.  The  deck  of  the  ship  was  so 
crowded,  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  stir  in  any  direction. 
Nor  was  this  simply  a  vulgar  crowd,  come  off  to  satisfy  mere 
curiosity.  It  seemed  to  be  a  generous  outpouring  of  the 
better  classes.  Gentlemen  and  ladies  of  distinction  pressed 
into  my  cabin,  to  tender  me  a  cordial  greeting.  Whatever  may- 
have  been  the  cause,  their  imaginations  and  their  hearts  seemed 
both  to  have  been  touched.  I  could  not  but  be  gratified  at 
such  a  demonstration  on  the  part  of  an  entire  people.  The  in 
habitants  of  the  Cape  colony  seemed  to  resemble  our  own  peo 
ple  in  their  excitability,  and  in  the  warmth  with  which  they 
expressed  their  feelings,  more  than  the  phlegmatic  English 
people,  of  whom  they  are  a  part.  This  resemblance  became 
still  more  apparent,  when  I  had  the  leisure  to  notice  the  tone, 
and  temper  of  their  press,  the  marshalling  of  political  parties, 
and  the  speeches  of  their  public  men.  The  colony,  with  its 
own  legislature,  charged  with  the  care  of  its  own  local  con 
cerns,  was  almost  a  republic.  It  enjoyed  all  the  freedom  of  a 
republic,  without  its  evils.  The  check  upon  the  franchise,  and 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      653 

the  appointment  of  the  Executive  by  the  Crown,  so  tempered 
the  republican  elements,  that  license  was  checked,  without  lib 
erty  being  restrained. 

Bartelli,  my  faithful  steward,  was  in  his  element  during  the 
continuance  of  this  great  levee  on  board  the  Alabama.  He 
had  dressed  himself  with  scrupulous  care,  and  posting  himself 
at  my  cabin-door,  with  the  air  of  a  chamberlain  to  a  king,  he 
refused  admission  to  all  comers,  until  they  had  first  presented 
him  with  a  card,  and  been  duly  announced.  Pressing  some 
of  the  ward-room  boys  into  his  service,  he  served  refreshments 
to  his  numerous  guests,  in  a  style  that  did  my  menage  infinite 
credit.  Fair  women  brought  off  bouquets  with  them,  which 
they  presented  with  a  charming  grace,  and  my  cabin  was  soou 
garlanded  with,  flowers.  Some  of  these  were  immortelles  pecu 
liar  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  for  months  afterward,  they 
retained  their  places  around  the  large  mirror  that  adorned  the 
after-part  of  my  cabin,  with  their  colors  almost  as  bright  as 
ever.  During  my  entire  stay,  my  table  was  loaded  with  flow 
ers,  and  the  most  luscious  grapes,  and  other  fruits,  sent  off  to 
me  every  morning,  by  the  ladies  of  the  Cape,  sometimes  with, 
and  sometimes  without,  a  name.  Something  has  been  said  be 
fore  about  the  capacity  of  the  heart  of  a  sailor.  My  own  was 
carried  by  storm  on  the  present  occasion.  I  simply  surrendered 
at  discretion,  and  whilst  Kell  was  explaining  the  virtues  of  his 
guns  to  his  male  visitors,  and  answering  the  many  questions 
that  were  put  to  him  about  our  cruises  and  captures,  I  found 
it  as  much  as  I  could  do,  to  write  autographs,  and  answer  the 
pretty  little  perfumed  billets  that  came  off  to  me.  Dear  ladies 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  !  these  scenes  are  still  fresh  in  my 
memory,  and  I  make  you  but  a  feeble  return  for  all  your  kind 
ness,  in  endeavoring  to  impress  them  upon  these  pages,  that 
they  may  endure  "  yet  a  little  while."  I  have  always  found 
the  instincts  of  women  to  be  right,  and  I  felt  more  gratified  at 
this  spontaneous  outpouring  of  the  sympathies  of  the  sex,  for 
our  cause,  than  if  all  the  male  creatures  of  the  earth  had  ap 
proved  it,  in  cold  and  formal  words. 

I  found,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  stereotyped  Ameri 
can  Consul ;  half  diplomat,  half  demagogue.  Here  is  a  letter 
which  the  ignorant  fellow  wrote  to  the  Governor,  whilst  I  was 
still  at  Saldanha  Bay  :  — 


654  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"SiR:  From  reliable  information  received  by  me,  and  which  you 
are  also  doubtless  in  possession  of,  a  war-steamer  called  the  Ala 
bama,  is  now  in  Saldanha  Bay,  being  painted,  discharging  prison 
ers  of  war,  &c.  The  vessel  in  question  was  built  in  England,  to 
prey  upon  the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  escaped  there 
from  while  on  her  trial-trip,  forfeiting  bonds  of  £20,000  (I)  which 
the  British  Government  exacted  under  the  Foreign  Enlistment  Act. 
Now,  as  your  Government  has  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
with  the  United  States,  and  has  not  recognized  the  persons  in  re 
volt  against  the  United  States  as  a  government  at  all,  the  vessel 
alluded  to  should  be  at  once  seized,  and  sent  to  England,  whence 
she  clandestinely  escaped.  Assuming  that  the  British  Government 
was  sincere  in  exacting  the  bonds,  you  have,  doubtless,  been  in 
structed  to  send  her  home  to  England,  where  she  belongs.  But  if, 
from  some  oversight,  you  have  not  received  such  instructions,  and 
you  decline  the  responsibility  of  making  the  seizure,  I  would  most 
respectfully  protest  against  the  vessel  remaining  in  any  port  of  the 
Colony,  another  day.  She  has  been  at  Saldanha  Bay  four  days 
already,  and  a  week  previously  on  the  coast,  and  has  forfeited  all 
right  to  remain  an  hour  longer,  by  this  breach  of  neutrality.  Paint 
ing  a  ship  [especially  with  Yankee  paint]  does  not  come  under  the 
head  of  "  necessary  repairs,"  and  is  no  proof  that  she  is  unsea- 
worthy  ;  and  to  allow  her  to  visit  other  ports,  after  she  has  set  the 
Queen's  proclamation  of  neutrality  at  defiance,  would  not  be  re 
garded  as  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  that  docu 
ment." 

This  letter,  in  its  loose  statement  of  facts,  and  in  its  lucid 
exposition  of  the  laws  of  nations,  would  have  done  credit  to 
Mr.  Seward  himself,  the  head  of  the  department  to  which  this 
ambitious  little  Consul  belonged.  Instead  of  a  week,  the  Ala 
bama  had  been  less  than  a  day  on  the  coast,  before  she  ran  into 
Saldanha  Bay ;  and,  if  she  had  chosen,  she  might  have  cruised  on 
the  coast  during  the  rest  of  the  war,  in  entire  conformity  with  the 
Queen's  proclamation,  and  the  laws  of  nations.  But  the  richest 
part  of  the  letter  is  that  wherein  the  Consul  tells  the  Governor, 
that  inasmuch  as  the  Confederate  States  had  not  been  acknowl 
edged  as  a  nation,  they  had  no  right  to  commission  a  ship  of 
war !  It  is  astonishing  how  dull  the  Federal  officials,  generally, 
were  on  this  point.  The  Consul  knew  that  Great  Britain  bad 
acknowledged  us  to  be  in  possession  of  belligerent  rights,  and 
that  the  only  rights  I  was  pretending  to  exercise,  in  the  Ala 
bama,  were  those  of  a  belligerent.  But  the  Consul  was  not  to 
blame.  He  was  only  a  Consul,  and  could  not  be  supposed  to 
know  better.  Mr.  Seward's  despatches  on  the  subject  of  the 


DUEING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       655 

Alabama  had  so  muddled  the  brains  of  his  subordinates,  that 
they  could  never  make  head  or  tail  of  the  subject. 

The  following  was  the  reply  of  the  Governor,  through  the 
Colonial  Secretary :  — 

"  I  am  directed  by  the  Governor,  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  yesterday's  date,  relative  to  the  Alabama.  His  Ex 
cellency  has  no  instructions,  neither  has  he  any  authority,  to  seize, 
or  detain  that  vessel ;  and  he  desires  me  to  acquaint  you,  that  he 
has  received  a  letter  from  the  Commander,  dated  the  1st  instantr 
stating  that  repairs  were  in  progress,  and  as  soon  as  they  were 
completed  he  intended  to  go  to  sea.  He  further  announces  his  in 
tention  of  respecting  the  neutrality  of  the  British  Government, 
The  course  which  Captain  Semmes  here  proposes  to  take,  is,  in  the 
Governor's  opinion,  in  conformity  with  the  instructions  he  has  him 
self  received,  relative  to  ships  of  war  and  privateers,  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  and  the  States  calling  themselves  the  Confed 
erate  States  of  America,  visiting  British  ports.  The  reports  re 
ceived  from  Saldanha  Bay  induce  the  Governor  to  believe,  that  the 
vessel  will  leave  that  harbor,  as  soon  as  her  repairs  are  completed ; 
but  he  will  immediately,  on  receiving  intelligence  to  the  contrary, 
take  the  necessary  steps  for  enforcing  the  observance  of  the  rules 
laid  down  by  her  Majesty's  Government." 

Another  correspondence  now  sprang  up  between  the  Consul 
and  the  Governor  in  relation  to  the  capture  of  the  Sea- Bride. 
The  Consul  wrote  to  the  Governor,  as  follows :  — 

"  The  Confederate  steamer  Alabama  has  just  captured  an  Ameri 
can  bark  off  Green  Point,  or  about  four  miles  from  the  nearest 
land  —  Robben  Island.  I  witnessed  the  capture  with  my  own  eyes, 
as  did  hundreds  of  others  at  the  same  time.  This  occurrence  at 
the  entrance  of  Table  Bay,  and  clearly  in  British  waters,  is  an  in 
sult  to  England,  and  a  grievous  injury  to  a  friendly  power,  the 
United  States." 

This  remark  about  the  honor  of  England  will  remind  the 
reader  of  the  article  I  quoted  some  pages  back,  from  the  New 
York  "  Commercial  Advertiser,"  to  the  same  effect.  How  won 
derfully  alive  these  fellows  were  to  English  honor,  when  Yan 
kee  ships  were  in  danger !  But  as  the  Consul  admits,  upon 
the  testimony  of  his  "  own  eyes,"  that  the  capture  was  made 
four  miles  from  the  nearest  land,  the  reader  will,  perhaps,  be 
curious  to  see  how  he  brings  it  within  British  waters.  The 
marine  league  is  the  limit  of  jurisdiction,  and  the  writers  on 
international  law  say  that  that  limit  was  probably  adopted, 

42 


656  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

because  a  cannon-shot  could  not  be  thrown  farther  than  three 
miles  from  the  shore.  It  may  have  been  the  cannon-shot 
which  suggested  the  league,  but  it  was  the  league,  and  not  the 
cannot-shot,  which  was  the  limit.  Now  the  Consul  argued 
that  the  Yankees  had  invented  some  "  big  guns,"  which  would 
throw  a  shot  a  long  way  beyond  the  league — ergo,  the  Yan 
kee  guns  had  changed  the  Laws  of  Nations. 

But  the  Consul  wrote  his  letter  in  too  great  a  hurry.  He 
had  not  yet  seen  the  master  of  the  captured  ship.  This  clever 
Yankee,  backed  by  several  of  his  crew  equally  clever,  made  a 
much  better  case  for  him ;  for  they  swore,  in  a  batch  of  affida 
vits  before  the  Consul  himself,  and  in  spite  of  the  Consul's 
"  own  eyes,"  that  the  ship  had  been  captured  within  two  miles 
and  a  half  of  Eobben  Island  !  Imprudent  Consul,  to  have  thus 
gone  off  half  cocked !  This  discovery  of  new  testimony  was 
communicated  to  the  Governor,  as  follows :  "  I  beg  now  to  en 
close  for  your  Excellency's  perusal,  the  affidavit  of  Captain 
Charles  F.  White,  of  the  Sea-Bride,  protesting  against  the  cap 
ture  of  the  said  bark  in  British  waters.  The  bearings  taken 
by  him  at  the  time  of  capture,  conclusively  show  that  she  was 
in  neutral  waters,  being  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Eob 
ben  Island.  This  statement  is  doubtless  more  satisfactory  than 
the  testimony  of  persons,  who  measured  the  distance  by  the 
eye."  Doubtless,  if  the  bearings  had  been  correct ;  but  unfor 
tunately  for  Captain  White,  there  were  too  many  other  wit 
nesses,  who  were  under  no  temptation  to  falsify  the  truth.  A 
fine  ship,  and  a  lucrative  trading  voyage  along  the  eastern 
coast  of  Africa  were  to  be  the  reward  of  his  testimony ;  the 
simple  telling  of  the  truth  the  reward  of  the  other  witnesses. 
The  usual  consequences  followed.  The  interested  witness 
perjured  himself,  and  was  disbelieved.  I  remained  entirely 
neutral  in  the  matter,  volunteered  no  testimony,  and  only  re 
sponded  to  such  questions  as  were  asked  me  —  not  under  oath 
—by  the  authorities.  The  following  was  the  case  made  in 
rebuttal  of  this  "Yankee  hash":  — 

STATEMENT   OF   JOSEPH   HOPSON. 

Joseph   Hopson,  keeper  of  the  Green  Point  Light-house, 
states :  — 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      657 

"  I  was  on  the  look-out  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  when  the  Ala* 
bama  and  Sea-Bride  were  coming  in.  When  I  first  saw  them,  the 
steamer  was  coming  round  the  north-west  of  Robben  Island,  and 
the  bark  bore  from  her  about  five  miles  W.  N.  W.  The  bark  was 
coming  in  under  all  sail,  with  a  good  breeze,  and  she  took  nothing 
in,  when  the  gun  was  fired.  I  believe  two  guns  were  fired,  but  the 
gun  I  mean  was  the  last,  and  the  steamer  then  crossed  the  stern  of 
the  bark,  and  hauled  up  to  her  on  the  starboard  side.  He  steamed 
ahead  gently,  and  shortly  afterward  I  saw  the  bark  put  round,  with 
her  head  to  the  westward,  and  a  boat  put  off  from  the  steamer  and 
boarded  her.  Both  vessels  were  then  good  five  miles  off  the  main 
land,  and  quite  five,  if  not  six,  from  the  north-west  point  of  Robben 
Island." 

STATEMENT    OF    W.   S.  FIELD,  COLLECTOR    OF    THE    CUSTOMS. 

"  I  was  present  at  the  old  light-house,  on  Green  Point,  on 
Wednesday  afternoon  at  two  p.  M.,  and  saw  the  Alabama  capture 
the  American  bark  Sea-Bride,  and  I  agree  with  the  above  state 
ment,  as  far  as  the  position  of  the  vessels,  and  their  distance  from 
shore  are  concerned.  I  may  also  remark  that  I  called  the  attention 
of  Colonel  Bisset  and  the  lighthouse  keeper,  Hopson,  to  the  dis 
tance  of  the  vessels  at  the  time  of  the  capture,  as  it  was  probable 
we  should  be  called  upon  to  give  our  evidence  respecting  the  affair, 
and  we  took  a  note  of  the  time  it  occurred." 

STATEMENT  OF  JOHN  ROE. 

"  I  was,  yesterday,  the  5th  day  of  August,  1863,  returning  from 
a  whale  chase  in  Hunt's  Bay,  when  I  first  saw  the  bark  Sea-Bride 
standing  from  the  westward,  on  to  the  land.  I  came  on  to  Table 
Bay,  and  when  off  Camp's  Bay,  I  saw  the  smoke  of  the  Alabama, 
some  distance  from  the  westward  of  Robben  Island.  When  I 
reached  the  Green  Point  lighthouse,  the  steamer  was  standing  up 
toward  the  bark,  which  was  about  five  miles  and  a  half  to  the  west 
ward  of  Green  Point,  and  about  four  and  a  half  from  the  western 
point  of  Robben  Island.  This  was  their  position — being  near  each 
other  —  when  the  gun  was  fired." 

STATEMENT  OF  THE  SIGNAL-MAN  AT  THE  LION'S  RUMP  TELEGRAPH 

STATION. 

"  On  Wednesday  last,  the  5th  day  of  August,  1863,  I  sighted  the 
bark  Sea-Bride,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  about  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles  off  the  land,  standing  into  Table  Bay  from  the 
south-west.  There  was  a  light  breeze  blowing  from  the  north-west, 
which  continued  until  mid-day.  About  mid-day  I  sighted  the  Ala 
bama,  screw-steamer,  standing  from  due  north,  toward  Table  Bay, 
intending,  as  it  appeared  to  me,  to  take  the  passage  between  Rob 
ben  Island,  and  the  Blueberg  Beach.  She  was  then  between  fifteen 
and  eighteen  miles  off  the  land.  After  sighting  the  steamer,  I 
hoisted  the  demand  for  the  bark,  when  she  hoisted  the  American 


658  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

flag,  which  I  reported  to  the  port-office,  the  bark  being  then  about 
eight  miles  off  the  land,  from  Irville  Point.  No  sooner  had  the 
bark  hoisted  the  American  flag,  than  the  steamer  turned  sharp 
round  in  the  direction  of,  and  toward  the  bark.  The  steamer  ap 
peared  at  that  time  to  be  about  twelve  miles  off  the  land,  from 
Irville  Point,  and  about  four  or  five  miles  outside  of  Robben  Island, 
and  about  seven  miles  from  the  bark.  The  steamer  then  came  up 
to,  and  alongside  of  the  bark,  when  the  latter  was  good  four  miles 
off  the  land,  at  or  near  the  old  lighthouse,  and  five  miles  off  the 
island.  The  steamer,  after  firing  a  gun,  stopped  the  farther  pro 
gress  of  the  bark,  several  boats  were  sent  to  her,  and  after  that 
the  bark  stood  out  to  sea  again,  and  the  Alabama  steamed  into 
Table  Bay." 

At  the  time  of  the  capture,  her  Majesty's  steamship  Valor 
ous  was  lying  in  Table  Bay,  and  the  Governor,  in  addition  to 
the  above  testimony,  charged  Captain  Forsyth,  her  commander, 
also,  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  report  to  him.  The  fol 
lowing  is  Captain  Forsyth's  report:  — 

HER  MAJESTY'S  SHIP  YALOROUS,  August  6,  1863. 
In  compliance  with  the  request  conveyed  to  me  by  your  Excel 
lency,  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  I  have  obtained  from  Cap 
tain  Semmes,  a  statement  of  the  position  of  the  Confederate  States 
steamer  Alabama,  and  the  American  bark  Sea-Bride,  when  the 
latter  was  captured,  yesterday  afternoon.  Captain  Semmes  asserts, 
that  at  the  time  of  his  capturing  the  Sea-Bride,  Green  Point  light 
house  bore  from  the  Alabama,  south-east,  about  six  or  six  and  a 
half  miles.  [The  Yankee  master  said  that  it  bore  south,  by  east.] 
This  statement  is  borne  out  by  the  evidence  of  Captain  Wilson, 
Port-Captain  of  Table  Bay,  who  has  assured  me,  that  at  the  time 
of  the  Sea-Bride  being  captured,  he  was  off  Green  Point,  in  the 
port-boat,  and  that  only  the  top  of  the  Alabama's  hull  was  visible. 
I  am  of  opinion,  if  Captain  Wilson  could  only  see  that  portion 
of  the  hull  of  the  Alabama,  she  must  have  been  about  the  distance 
from  shore,  which  is  stated  by  Captain  Semmes,  and  I  have, 
therefore,  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  bark  Sea-Bride  was 
beyond  the  limits  assigned,  when  she  was  captured  by  the  Alabama. 

The  Governor,  after  having  thus  patiently  investigated  the 
case,  directed  his  Secretary  to  inform  the  Consul  of  the  result 
in  the  following  letter :  — 

"  With  reference  to  the  correspondence  that  has  passed,  relative 
to  the  capture,  by  the  Confederate  States  steamer  Alabama,  of  the 
bark  Sea-Bride,  I  am  directed  by  the  Governor  to  acquaint  you, 
that,  on  the  best  information  he  has  been  enabled  to  procure,  he  has 
come  to^the  conclusion,  that  the  capture  cannot  be  held  to  be  illegal, 
or  in  violation  of  the  neutrality  of  the  British  Government,  by 
reason  of  the  distance  from  the  land  at  which  it  took  place." 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      659 

The  Consul  was  foiled ;  but  lie  was  a  man  of  courage,  and 
resolved  to  strike  another  blow  for  the  Sea-Bride.  He  next 
charged  that  the  prize-master  had  brought  her  within  the 
marine  league  after  her  capture.  He  made  this  charge  upon 
the  strength  of  another  affidavit  —  that  ready  resource  of  the 
enemy  when  in  difficulty.  Enclosing  this  affidavit  to  the 
Governor,  he  wrote  as  follows :  — 

"  From  the  affidavit  of  the  first  officer,  it  appears  that  the  alleged 
prize  was  brought  within  one  mile  and  a  half  of  Green  Point  light 
house,  yesterday,  at  one  o'clock  A.  M.  Now,  as  the  vessel  was,  at 
the  time,  in  charge  of  a  prize-crew,  it  was  a  violation  of  neutrality, 
as  much  as  if  the  capture  had  been  made  at  the  same  distance  from 
the  land." 

And  he  required  that  the  ship  should  be  seized. 

Without  stopping  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  the  fact  stated, 
the  Governor  directed  his  Secretary  to  reply,  that-*- 

"  His  Excellency  is  not  prepared  to  admit  that  the  fact  of  a  vessel 
having  been  brought,  by  the  prize-crew,  within  one  and  a  half  mile 
of  the  Green  Point  lighthouse  'was  a  violation  of  the  neutrality, 
as  much  as  if  the  capture  had  taken  place  at  the  same  distance 
from  the  land,'  although  both  the  belligerents  are  prohibited  from 
bringing  their  prizes  into  British  ports.  The  Governor  does  not 
feel  warranted  in  taking  steps  for  the  removal  of  the  prize-crew 
from  the  Sea-Bride," 


CHAPTEE    XLVII. 

A  GALE  AT  CAPE  TOWN ALABAMA  GETS  UNDER  WAY 

FOE  SIMON'S  TOWN CAPTURE  OF  THE  MARTHA  WEN- 

ZELL  —  THE   TUSCALOOSA;    HER  STATUS  AS  SHIP  OF 

WAR   CONSIDERED THE    TUSCALOOSA   PROCEEDS   TO 

SEA THE   ALABAMA   FOLLOWS   HER THEY,   WITH 

THE   SEA-BRIDE,    RENDEZVOUS   AT   ANGRA    PEQUENA. 

HAYING  brushed  away  Mr.  Seward's  gadfly,  as  described 
in  the  last  chapter,  we  may  turn  our  attention  again  to 
the  A  fabama.  On  the  7th  of  August,  we  took  one  of  the  gales 
so  common  at  the  Cape,  in  the  winter  season.  Dense  banks  of 
black  clouds  hove  up  in  the  north-west,  soon  overspreading 
the  whole  heavens,  and  the  wind  came  out  whistling  from  that 
quarter.  The  reader  must  bear  in  mind,  that  when  he  crossed 
into  the  southern  hemisphere  he  reversed  the  points  of  the 
compass,  so  far  as  wind  and  weather  are  concerned,  and  that 
the  north-wester,  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  answers  to  our 
south-easter,  on  the  American  coast  —  bringing  with  it  thick, 
rainy  weather.  There  was  a  number  of  ships  in  the  harbor, 
and  the  gale  drove  in  upon  them  without  the  least  protection. 
These  ships,  forewarned  by  the  usual  signs,  had  all  struck 
their  upper  masts,  sent  down  their  yards,  and  let  go  second 
anchors,  and  veered  to  long  scopes.  We  did  the  same  in  the 
Alabama. 

It  was  a  sublime  spectacle  to  look  abroad  upon  the  bay  in 
the  height  of  the  gale.  The  elements  seemed  to  be  literally 
at  war,  a  low  scud  rushing  to  the  shore,  and  climbing,  as  if 
pursued  by  demons,  up  and  over  the  Lion's  Kump  and  Table 
Mountain.  Huge  waves  were  rolling  in  upon  the  struggling 
shipping,  trying  its  ground-tackle  to  its  utmost  tension ;  the 
jetties  and  landings  were  covered  with  spray ;  and  Cape 

660 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  661 

Town,  though  only  a  mile  off,  looked  like  a  spectre  town,  as 
viewed  through  the  spray  and  driving  scud.  And  what  added 
much  to  the  interest  of  the  scene,  was  the  daring  and  skill  of 
the  watermen.  These  men,  in  substantial  launches,  under 
close-reefed  sails,  and  with  spare  anchors  and  cables  on  board, 
for  the  use  of  any  ships  that  might  be  in  distress  for  want  of 
sufficient  ground-tackle,  were  darting  hither  and  thither,  like 
so  many  spirits  of  the  storm.  They  seemed  to  be  sporting 
with  the  dashing  and  blinding  waves  and  the  fury  of  the  gale, 
in  very  wantonness,  as  though  they  would  defy  the  elements. 
The  ships  at  anchor  were  all  fortunate  enough  to  hold  on ;  but 
a  luckless  Bremen  brig,  outside,  which  had  ventured  too  near 
the  land,  was  wrecked,  during  the  night,  on  Green  Point. 
Fortunately,  no  lives  were  lost. 

The  gale  lasted  about  twenty-four  hours ;  and  when  it  had 
sufficiently  abated,  we  communicated  with  the  shore,  and  got 
off  such  supplies  as  we  needed ;  it  being  my  intention  to  run 
round  to  Simon's  Town,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Cape,  where 
there  is  shelter  from  these  gales,  for  the  purpose  of  completing 
my  repairs.  On  the  9th,  the  weather  had  again  become  fine. 
The  wind  had  gone  round  to  south-east,  the  fair-weather  quar 
ter,  and  the  Devil  had  spread  his  table-cloth  on  Table  Moun 
tain.  Every  one  has  heard  of  this  famous  table-cloth  at 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  It  is  a  fleecy,  white  cloud,  which 
hangs  perpetually  over  Table  Mountain  during  fine  weather. 
The  south-east  winds,  as  they  climb  the  steep  ascent,  bring 
with  them  more  or  less  moisture.  This  moisture  is  sufficiently 
cooled  as  it  passes  over  the  "table" — a  level  space  on  the  top 
of  the  mountain — to  become  condensed  into  a  white  vapor, 
very  similar  to  that  which  escapes  from  a  steam-pipe.  When 
the  wind  shifts,  and  the  storm  begins  to  gather,  the  table-cloth 
disappears. 

At  nine  o'clock,  on  this  morning,  we  got  under  way,  and 
steamed  out  of  the  harbor,  on  our  way  to  Simon's  Town.  The 
day  was  charmingly  fine.  The  atmosphere  was  soft  and  trans 
parent,  and  the  sun  bright,  bringing  out  all  the  beauties  of  the 
bold  promontories  and  the  deep-water  bays  that  indent  the 
coast.  We  were  now  really  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
As  we  approached  the  famous  headland,  with  its  lighthouse 


(562  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

perched  several  hundred  feet  above  the  bold  and  blackened 
rocks,  our  imaginations  busy  with  the  past,  endeavoring  to  de 
pict  the  frail  Portuguese  bark,  which  had  first  dared  its  stormy 
waters,  the  cry  of  "  sail  ho ! "  resounded  most  musically  from 
the  mast-head.  Imagination  took  flight  at  once,  at  the  sound 
of  this  practical  cry.  It  recalled  us  from  our  drearn  of  John 
of  Portugal,  to  one  Abraham  Lincoln  and  his  surroundings. 
Here  was  not  the  poetical  bark,  of  four  centuries  ago,  that  had 
at  last  found  its  way  to  those  "Indies,"  which  Columbus  so 
long  sought  for  in  vain,  but  a  Yankee  ship  laden  with  rice ; 
for  an  hour's  steaming  brought  us  alongside  of  the  Martha 
Wenzell,  of  Boston,  from  Akyab  for  Falmouth  in  England. 
The  Wenzell  had  better  luck  than  the  Sea-Bride,  for  she  had 
clearly  entered  the  mouth  of  False  Bay,  and  though  seven  or 
eight  miles  yet  from  the  land,  was  within  a  line  drawn  from 
point  to  point  of  the  Bay.  Being  thus  within  British  juris 
diction,  I  astonished  the  master  by  releasing,  instead  of  burn 
ing  his  ship.  He  looked  so  dumfounded  when-  I  announced 
to  him  this  decision,  that  if  I  had  been  a  Yankee,  he  would,  no 
doubt,  have  suspected  me  of  some  Yankee  trick.  He  gathered 
his  slow  ideas  together,  by  degrees,  however,  and  was  profuse 
in  his  thanks.  I  told  him  he  had  none  to  give  me,  for  I  was 
only  too  sorry  not  to  be  able  to  burn  him. 

We  now  hauled  in  for  the  coast,  and  taking  a  pilot,  as  we 
approached  the  harbor,  anchored  at  two  P.  M.  in  Simon's  Bay. 
This  is  the  naval  station  of  the  colony,  and  we  found  here  the 
frigate  Narcissus,  wearing  the  flag  of  Bear  Admiral  Sir  Bald 
win  Walker,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  British  naval 
forces  at  the  Cape.  We  were  visited  immediately  upon  anchor 
ing  by  a  lieutenant  from  the  flag-ship.  The  Tuscaloosa  had 
preceded  me,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  a  few  days,  and  we  found 
her  still  here,  not  having  quite  completed  her  preparations  for 
sea.  The  gadfly,  I  found,  had  been  buzzing  around  her,  too, 
but  her  difficulties  were  all  ended.  As  the  correspondence  is 
short,  I  will  give  it  to  the  reader.  The  Federal  Consul  wrote 
to  the  Governor,  as  follows :  — 

"  An  armed  vessel  named  the  Tuscaloosa,  claiming  to  act  under 
the  authority  of  the  so-called  Confederate  States,  entered  Simon's 
Bay,  on  Saturday,  the  8th  instant.  That  vessel  was  formerly 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      6G3 

owned  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  while  engaged  in  law 
ful  commerce  [as  if  lawful  commerce  was  not  a  subject  of  capture, 
during  war]  was  captured  as  a  prize  by  the  Alabama.  She  was 
subsequently  fitted  out  with  arms,  by  the  Alabama,  to  prey  upon 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States,  and  now,  without  having  been 
condemned  as  a  prize,  by  any  Admiralty  Court  of  any  recognized 
government,  she  is  permitted  to  enter  a  neutral  port,  in  violation 
of  the  Queen's  proclamation,  with  her  original  cargo  on  board. 
Against  this  proceeding,  I,  hereby,  most  emphatically  protest,  and 
I  claim  that  the  vessel  ought  to  be  given  up  to  her  lawful  owners." 

It  is  quite  true  that  the  Tuscaloosa  had  not  been  condemned 
by  a  prize  court  of  the  Confederacy,  but  it  was  equally  true 
that  the  Sovereign  Power  of  the  Confederacy,  acting  through 
its  authorized  agent,  had  commissioned  her  as  a  ship  of  war, 
which  was  the  most  solemn  condemnation  of  the  prize,  that 
the  Sovereign  could  give,  It  was  equally  true,  that  no  nation 
has  the  right  to  inquire  into  the  antecedents  of  the  ships  of  war 
of  another  nation.  But  these  were  points  beyond  the  compre 
hension  of  the-  gadfly.  The  following  was  the  answer  of  the 
Governor.  The  Colonial  Secretary  writes  : — 

"I  am  directed  by  the  Governor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of 
your  letter  of  this  date,  and  to  acquaint  you,  that  it  was  not  until 
late  last  evening,  that  his  Excellency  received  from  the  Naval 
Commander-in-Chief,  information,  that  the  condition  of  the  Tusca 
loosa  was  such  as,  as  his  Excellency  is  advised,  to  entitle  her  to  be 
regarded  as  a  vessel  of  war.  The  Governor  is  not  aware,  nor  do 
you  refer  him  to  the  provisions  of  the  International  Law,  by  which 
captured  vessels,  as  soon  as  they  enter  our  neutral  ports,  revert  to 
their  original  owners,  and  are  forfeited  by  their  captors.  But  his 
Excellency  believes,  that  the  claims  of  contending  parties  to  vessels 
captured  can  only  be  determined,  in  the  first  instance,  by  the  courts 
of  the  captor's  country." 

We  remained  five  days  at  Simon's  Town.  We  did  not 
need  coal,  but  we  had  some  caulking  of  the  bends,  and  re 
placing  of  copper  about  the  water-line  to  do,  and  some  slight 
repairs  to  put  upon  our  engine.  Whilst  these  preparations 
for  sea  were  going  on,  we  had  some  very  pleasant  intercourse 
with  the  officers  of  the  station  and  the  citizens  on  shore.  Be 
sides  the  Narcissus,  flag-ship,  there  were  one  or  two  other 
British  ships  of  war  at  anchor.  There  were  some  officers  sta 
tioned  at  the  navy-yard,  and  there  was  a  Chinese  gunboat, 


664  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  Kwan-Tung,  with  an  English  commander  and  crew,  which 
had  put  into  the  harbor,  on  her  way  to  the  east.  Simon's 
Town  was  thus  quite  gay.  The  Governor,  Sir  Philip  W  ode- 
house,  also  came  over  from  Cape  Town  during  our  stay. 
Lunches  on  board  the  different  ships,  excursions  on  board  the 
Kivan-Tung,  and  dinner-parties  were  the  order  of  the  day. 
As  I  have  before  remarked,  the  English  naval  officers  dis 
carded  all  the  ridiculous  nonsense  about  our  not  being  "  re 
cognized,"  and  extended  to  us  official,  as  well  as  private 
civilities. 

The  Admiral  was  kind  enough  to  give  me  a  dinner-party, 
at  which  the  Governor,  and  his  lady,  and  the  principal  officers 
of  his  squadron  were  present.  I  found  the  ladies  of  the  Ad 
miral's  family  exceedingly  agreeable.  They  were  living  in  a 
picturesque  cottage,  near  the  sea-shore,  and  solaced  themselves 
for  their  temporary  banishment  from  "dear  old  England,"  by 
making  their  home  as  English  as  possible.  They  had  sur 
rounded  themselves  by  fine  lawns  and  shrubbery  and  flowers, 
and  Mrs.  Walker,  and  one  of  the  bewitching  young  ladies 
were  kind  enough  to  show  me  over  their  extensive  and  well- 
cultivated  garden,  in  which  they  took  much  interest.  Horse 
back  riding,  picnics  to  the  country,  and  balls  on  board  the 
ships  were  the  principal  amusements  of  the  young  people. 
Whilst  my  officers  and  myself  were  thus  relaxing  ourselves, 
my  sailors  were  also  making  the  most  of  their  time.  Kell  had 
told  them  off;  by  quarter  watches,  and  sent  them  on  "liberty." 
Each  batch  was  mustered,  and  inspected  as  it  was  sent  on 
shore,  and  pretty  soon  we  had  the  old  Jamaica  scenes  over 
again.  Most  of  them  went  over  to  Cape  Town,  in  the  stage 
coach  that  was  running  between  the  two  places,  and  put  that 
lively  commercial  town  "  in  stays."  The  sailor  quarter  was  a 
continuous  scene  of  revelry  for  several  days.  The  towns 
people  humored  and  spoiled  them.  They  all  overstayed  their 
time,  and  we  only  got  them  back  by  twos  and  threes.  It  was 
of  no  use  to  muster,  and  inspect  them  now.  The  tidy,  new 
suits,  in  which  they  had  gone  on  shore,  were  torn  and  drag 
gled,  and  old-drunks  were  upon  nearly  all  of  them. 

The  Tuscaloosa  went  to  sea  at  daylight  on  the  14th,  and  we 
followed  her  in  the  Alabama  the  next  day.  The  former  was 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN"    THE    STATES.       665 

to  proceed  to  Saldanha  Bay,  and  thence  take  the  Sea-Bride 
with  her  to  one  of  the  uninhabited  harbors,  some  distance  to 
the  northward,  and  the  Alabama  was  to  follow  her  thither, 
after  a  cruise  of  a  few  days  off  the  Cape.  The  object  of  these 
movements  will  be  explained  in  due  time.  I  now  threw  my 
self  into  that  perpetual  stream  of  commerce,  that  comes  setting 
around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  from  the  East  Indies.  From 
daylight  until  dark,  ships  are  constantly  in  sight  from  the 
lighthouse  on  the  Cape.  The  road  is  about  twenty  miles 
wide —  no  more.  We  kept  our  station  in  this  road,  day  in 
and  day  out  for  ten  days,  during  which  we  chased  and  over 
hauled  a  great  number  of  ships,  but  there  was  not  a  Yan 
kee  among  them !  It  was  winter-time,  we  were  off  the 
"  stormy  Cape,"  and  we  had  the  weather  suited  to  the  season 
and  the  locality.  Storms  and  fogs  and  calms  followed  in  suc 
cession — the  storm  being  the  normal  meteorological  condition. 
As  we  would  be  lying  to,  in  this  track,  under  reefed  sails,  in  a 
dark  and  stormy  night,  our  very  hair  would  sometimes  be 
made  to  stand  on  end,  by  the  apparition  of  a  huge  ship  rush 
ing  past  us  at  lightning  speed,  before  the  howling  gale,  at  no 
more  than  a  few  ships'  lengths  from  us.  A  collision  would 
have  crushed  us  as  if  we  had  been  an  egg-shell. 

At  length,  when  I  supposed  the  Tuscaloosa  and  the  Sea- 
Bride  had  reached  their  destination,  I  filled  away  and  followed 
them.  As  we  were  making  this  passage,  it  was  reported  to 
me  that  our  fresh-water  condenser  had  given  out.  Here  was 
a  predicament !  The  water  was  condensed  once  a  week,  and 
we  had  no  more  than  about  one  week's  supply  on  hand.  The 
joints  of  the  piping  had  worked  loose,  and  the  machine  had 
become  nearly  useless.  It  was  now  still  more  necessary  to 
make  a  harbor,  where  we  might  get  access  to  water,  and  see 
what  could  be  done  in  the  way  of  repairs.  We  worked  our 
way  along  the  African  coast  somewhat  tediously,  frequently 
encountering  head-winds  and  adverse  currents.  On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  28th  of  August,  we  sighted  the  land,  after  having 
been  delayed  by  a  dense  fog  for  twenty -four  hours,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  we  ran  into  the  Bay  of  Angra  Pe- 
quefia,  and  anchored.  This  was  our  point  of  rendezvous.  I 
found  the  Tuscaloosa  and  the  Sea-Bride  both  at  anchor.  I  had 


666  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

at  last  found  a  port  into  which  I  could  take  a  prize !  I  was 
now,  in  short,  among  the  Hottentots;  no  civilized  nation 
claiming  jurisdiction  over  the  waters  in  which  I  was  anchored. 

When  at  Cape  Town;  an  English  merchant  had  visited  me, 
and  made  overtures  for  the  purchase  of  the  Sea-Bride  and  her 
cargo.  He  was  willing  to  run  the  risk  of  non-condemnation 
by  a  prize-court,  and  I  could  put  him  in  possession  of  the 
prize,  he  said,  at  some  inlet  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  without  the 
jurisdiction  of  any  civilized  power.  I  made  the  sale  to  him. 
He  was  to  repair  to  the  given  rendezvous  in  his  own  vessel, 
and  I  found  him  here,  according  to  his  agreement,  with  the 
stipulated  price  —  about  one  third  the  value  of  the  ship  and 
cargo  —  in  good  English  sovereigns,  which,  upon  being  counted, 
were  turned  over  to  the  paymaster,  for  the  military  chest. 
The  purchaser  was  then  put  in  possession  of  the  prize.  I  had 
made  an  arrangement  with  other  parties  for  the  sale  of  the 
wool  still  remaining  on  board  the  Tuscaloosa,  This  wool  was 
to  be  landed  at  Angra  Pequena,  also,  the  purchaser  agreeing 
to  ship  it  to  Europe,  and  credit  the  Confederate  States  with 
two  thirds  of  the  proceeds.  The  reader  will  see  how  eas}r  it 
would  have  been  for  me,  to  make  available  many  of  my  prizes 
in  this  way,  but  the  great  objection  to  the  scheme,  was  the  loss 
of  time  which  it  involved,  and  the  risks  I  ran  of  not  getting 
back  my  prize  crews.  If  I  had  undertaken,  whenever  I  cap 
tured  a  prize,  to  follow  her  to  some  out-of-the-way  port,  and 
spend  some  days  there,  in  negotiating  for  her  sale,  and  getting 
back  my  prize  crew,  I  should  not  have  accomplished  half  the 
work  I  did.  The  great  object  now  was  to  destroy,  as  speedily 
as  possible,  the  enemy's  commerce,  and  to  this  I  devoted  all 
my  energies.  I  did  not,  therefore,  repeat  the  experiment  of 
the  Sea- Bride. 

I  could  not  have  chosen  a  better  spot  for  my  present  pur 
pose.  At  Angra  Pequefia  I  was  entirely  out  of  the  world. 
It  was  not  visited  at  all,  except  by  some  straggling  coaster  in 
quest  of  shelter  in  bad  weather.  There  was,  indeed,  no  other 
inducement  to  visit  it.  It  was  in  a  desert  part  of  Africa.  The 
region  was  rainless,  and  there  was  not  so  much  as  a  shrub,  or 
even  a  blade  of  grass  to  be  seen.  The  harbor  was  rock-bound, 
and  for  miles  inland  the  country  was  a  waste  of  burning  sand. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      667 

The  harbor  did  not  even  afford  fresh  water,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  supply  ourselves  from  the  vessel  of  my  English 
friend,  until  our  condenser  could  be  repaired.  The  whole 
country  was  a  waste,  in  which  there  was  no  life  visible  away 
from  the  coast.  On  the  coast  itself,  there  were  the  usual  sea- 
birds —  the  gannet  and  the  sea-gull  —  and  fish  in  abundance. 
We  hauled  the  seine,  and  caught  a  fine  mess  for  the  crews  of 
all  the  ships.  Three  or  four  naked,  emaciated  Hottentots,  hav 
ing  seen  the  ships  from  a  distance,  had  made  their  way  to  the 
harbor,  and  came  begging  us  for  food.  They  remained  during 
our  stay,  and  had  their  emptiness  filled.  Some  thirty  or  forty 
miles  from  the  coast,  they  said,  vegetation  began  to  appear, 
and  there  were  villages  and  cattle. 

I  ordered  Lieutenant  Low,  the  commander  of  the  Tuscaloosa, 
as  soon  as  he  should  land  his  cargo,  to  ballast  his  ship  with 
the  rock  which  abounded  on  every  hand,  and  proceed  on  a 
cruise  to  the  coast  of  Brazil.  Sufficient  time  had  now  elapsed, 
I  thought,  for  the  ships  of  war  of  the  enemy,  which  had  been 
sent  to  that  coast,  in  pursuit  of  me,  to  be  coming  in  the  direc 
tion  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Lieutenant  Low  would, 
therefore,  in  all  probability,  have  a  clear  field  before  him. 
Having  nothing  further  to  detain  me  in  the  Alabama,  I  got 
under  way,  on  my  return  to  Simon's  Town,  intending  to  fill 
up  with  coal,  and  proceed  thence  to  the  East  Indies,  in  compli 
ance  with  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Secretary  Mallory.  The  Tus 
caloosa,  after  cruising  the  requisite  time  on  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
was  to  return  to  the  Cape  to  meet  me,  on  my  own  return  from 
the  East  Indies. 

When  I  reached  the  high  way  off  the  Cape  again,  I  held  my 
self  there  for  several  days,  cruising  off  and  on,  and  sighting 
the  land  occasionally,  to  see  if  perchance  I  could  pick  up  an 
American  ship.  But  we  had  no  better  success  than  before. 
The  wary  masters  of  these  ships,  if  there  were  any  passing, 
gave  the  Cape  a  wide  berth,  and  sought  their  way  home,  by 
the  most  unfrequented  paths,  illustrating  the  old  adage,  that 
"  the  farthest  way  round  is  the  shortest  way  home."  Impa 
tient  of  further  delay,  without  results,  on  Wednesday,  the  16th 
of  September,  I  got  up  steam,  and  ran  into  Simon's  Bay.  I 
learned,  upon  anchoring,  that  the  United  States  steamer  Van- 


668  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

derbilt,  late  the  flag-ship  of  Admiral  Wilkes,  and  now  under 
the  command  of  Captain  Baldwin,  had  left  the  anchorage,  only 
the  Friday  before,  and  gone  herself  to  cruise  off  the  Cape,  in 
the  hope  of  falling  in  with  the  Alabama.  She  had  taken  her 
station,  as  it  would  appear,  a  little  to  the  eastward  of  me.  off 
Cape  Agulhas  and  Point  Danger.  On  the  day  the  Vand&bilt 
went  to  sea,  viz.,  Friday,  the  llth  of  September,  it  happened 
that  the  Alabama  was  a  little  further  off  the  land  than  usual, 
which  accounts  for  the  two  ships  missing  each  other.  The  fol 
lowing  is  the  record  on  my  journal,  for  that  day:  "Weather 
very  fine,  wind  light  from  the  south-west.  At  half-past  six, 
showed  the  English  colors  to  an  English  bark,  after  a  short 
chase."  On  the  following  Sunday,  we  were  in  plain  sight  of 
Table  Mountain.  The  two  ships  were  thus  cruising  almost  in 
sight  of  each  other's  smoke. 

The  Vanderbilt  visited  both  Cape  Town,  and  Simon's  Town, 
and  lay  several*  days  at  each.  I  did  not  object  that  she  had 
been  "painting  ship,"  and  should  have  been  sent  to  sea  earlier. 
The  more  time  Baldwin  spent  in  port,  the  better  I  liked  it. 
Indeed,  it  always  puzzled  me,  that  the  gadflies  should  insist 
upon  my  being  sent  to  sea  so  promptly,  when  nearly  every 
day  that  the  Alabama  was  at  sea,  cost  them  a  ship. 

I  had  scarcely  come  to  anchor,  before  Captain  Bickford,  of 
the  Narcissus,  came  on  board  of  me,  on  the  part  of  the  Admi 
ral,  to  have  an  "explanation."  The  gadfly  had  continued  its 
buzzing,  I  found,  during  my  late  absence  from  the  Cape.  A 
short  distance  to  the  northward  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  in 
the  direction  of  Angra  Pequena,  there  is  an  island  called  Icha- 
boe,  a  dependency  of  the  Cape  colony.  It  had  been  repre 
sented  to  the  Admiral,  by  the  Consul,  that  the  transactions 
which  have  been  related  as  taking  place  at  Angra  Pequena, 
had  taken  place  at  this  island,  in  violation  of  British  neutral 
ity.  In  what  the  evidence  consisted  I  did  not  learn,  but  the 
Consul,  in  his  distress  and  extremity,  had  probably  had  re 
course  to  some  more  Yankee  affidavits.  It  was  this  charge 
which  Captain  Bickford  had  come  on  board  to  ask  an  expla 
nation  of.  The  following  letter  from  Sir  Baldwin  Walker,  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Admiralty  in  London,  will  show  how 
easily  I  brushed  off  the  gadfly,  for  the  second  time :  — 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN     THE     STATES.      669 

"With  reference  to  my  letters,  dated  respectively  the  19th  and 
31st  ult.,  relative  to  the  Confederate  States  ship-of-war  Alabama, 
and  the  prizes  captured  by  her,  I  beg  to  enclose,  for  their  lord 
ships  information,  the  copy  of  a  statement  forwarded  to  me  by  the 
Collector  of  Customs  at  Cape  Town,  wherein  it  is  represented,  that 
the  Tascaloosa  and  Sea-Bride  had  visited  Ichaboe,  which  is  a 
dependency  of  this  colony.  Since  the  receipt  of  the  above-men 
tioned  document,  the  Alabama  arrived  at  this  anchorage,  (the  16th 
instant,)  and  when  Captain  Semmes  waited  on  me,  I  acquainted  him 
with  the  report,  requesting  he  would  inform  me  if  it  was  true.  I 
was  glad  to  learn  from  him  that  it  was  not  so.  He  frankly  ex 
plained  that  the  prize  Sea-Bride,  in  the  first  place,  had  put  into 
Saldanha  Bay,  through  stress  of  weather,  and  on  being  joined  there, 
by  the  Tuscaloosa,  both  vessels  proceeded  to  Angra  Pequena,  on 
the  west  coast  of  Africa,  where  he  subsequently  joined  them  ID 
the  Alabama,  and  there  sold  the  Sea-Bride  and  her  cargo,  to  an 
English  subject  who  resides  at  Cape  Town.  The  Tuscaloosa  had 
landed  some  wool  at  Angra  Pequena,  and  received  ballast,  but  he 
states,  is  still  in  commission  as  a  tender.  It  will,  therefore,  be  seen, 
how  erroneous  is  the  accompanying  report.  I  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  Captain  Semmes'  explanation  ;  and  he  seems  to  be  fully  alive 
to  the  instructions  of  her  Majesty's  Government,  and  appears  to  be 
most  anxious  not  to  commit  any  breach  of  neutrality.  The  Ala 
bama  has  returned  to  this  port  for  coal,  some  provisions,  and  to 
repair  her  condensing  apparatus.  From  conversation  with  Captain 
Semmes,  I  find  he  has  been  off  this  Cape  for  the  last  five  days,  and 
as  the  Vanderbilt  left  this,  on  the  night  of  the  llth  inst.,  it  is  sur 
prising  they  did  not  meet  each  other." 

The  Vanderbilt,  I  found,  had  exhausted  the  supply  of  coal  at 
Simon's  Town,  having  taken  in  as  much  as  eight  or  nine  hun 
dred  tons.  Commodore  Yanderbilt,  as  he  is  called,  had  cer 
tainly  presented  a  mammoth  coal-consumer  to  the  Federal 
Government,  if  nothing  else.  I  was  obliged,  in  consequence, 
to  order  coal  for  the  Alabama,  around  from  Cape  Town.  And 
as  the  operation  of  coaling  and  making  the  necessary  repairs 
would  detain  me  several  days,  and  as  I  was,  besides,  bound  on 
a  long  voyage,  I  yielded  to  the  petitions  of  my  crew,  and  per 
mitted  them  to  go  on  liberty  again.  The  officers  of  the  station 
were  as  courteous  to  us  as  before,  and  I  renewed  my  very 
pleasant  intercourse  with  the  Admiral's  family.  The  owner 
of  the  famous  Constantia  vineyard,  lying  between  Simon's  Town 
and  Cape  Town,  sent  me  a  pressing  invitation  to  come  and  spend 
a  few  days  with  him,  but  I  was  too  busy  to  accept  his  hospi 
tality.  He  afterward  sent  me  a  cask  of  his  world-renowned 


670  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

wine.  This  cask  of  wine;  after  making  the  voyage  to  India, 
was  offered  as  a  libation  to  the  god  of  war.  It  went  down  in 
the  Alabama  off  Cherbourg.  We  had  another  very  pleasant 
dinner  at  the  Admiral's  —  the  guests  being  composed,  this 
time,  exclusively  of  naval  officers.  After  our  return  to  the 
drawing-room,  the  ladies  made  their  appearance,  and  gave  us 
some  delightful  music.  These  were  some  of  the  oases  in  the 
desert  of  my  life  upon  the  ocean. 

In  the  course  of  five  or  six  days,  by  the  exercise  of  great 
diligence,  we  were  again  ready  for  sea.  But  unfortunately  all 
my  crew  were  not  yet  on  board.  My  rascals  had  behaved 
worse  than  usual,  on  this  last  visit  to  Cape  Town.  Some  of 
them  had  been  jugged  by  the  authorities  for  offences  against 
the  peace,  and  others  had  yielded  to  the  seductions  of  the 
ever  vigilant  Federal  Consul,  and  been  quartered  upon  his 
bounty.  The  Consul  had  made  a  haul.  They  would  be  cap 
ital  fellows  for  "affidavits"  against  the  Alabama.  I  need  not 
say  that  they  were  of  the  cosmopolitan  sailor  class,  none  of 
them  being  citizens  of  the  Southern  States.  I  offered  large 
rewards  for  the  apprehension  and  delivery  to  me  of  these  fel 
lows;  but  the  police  were  afraid  to  act  —  probably  forbidden 
by  their  superiors,  in  deference  to  their  supposed  duty  under 
the  neutrality  laws.  That  was  a  very  one-sided  neutrality, 
however,  which  permitted  the  Federal  Consul  to  convert  his 
quarters  into  a  hostile  camp,  for  the  seduction  of  my  sailors, 
and  denied  me  access  to  the  police  for  redress.  My  agent  at 
Cape  Town,  having  made  every  exertion  in  his  power  to  secure 
the  return  of  as  many  of  my  men  as  possible,  finally  telegraphed 
me,  on  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  September,  that  it  was  use 
less  to  wait  any  longer.  As  many  as  fourteen  had  deserted ; 
enough  to  cripple  my  crew,  and  that,  too,  with  an  enemy's  ship 
of  superior  force  on  the  coast. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  Luckily  there  was  a  remedy  at 
hand.  A  sailor-landlord,  one  of  those  Shylocks  who  coin 
Jack's  flesh  and  blood  into  gold,  hearing  of  the  distress  of  the 
Alabama,  came  off  to  tell  me  that  all  his  boarders,  eleven  in 
number,  had  volunteered  to  supply  the  place  of  my  deserters. 
This  seemed  like  a  fair  exchange.  It  was  but  "swapping 
horses,"  as  the  "sainted  Abraham"  would  have  said,  if  he 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        671 

had  been  in  my  place  —  only  I  was  giving  a  little  "boot"  — 
fourteen  well-fed,  well-clothed  fellows,  for  eleven  ragged,  whis 
key-filled  vagabonds.  It  was  a  "  swap  "  in  another  sense,  too, 
as,  ten  to  one,  all  these  eleven  fellows  were  deserters  from 
other  ships  that  had  touched  at  this  "relay  house"  of  the  sea. 
There  was  only  one  little  difficulty  in  the  way  of  my  shipping 
these  men.  There  was  my  good  friend,  her  Majesty,  the  Queen 

—  I  must  not  be  ungallant  to  her,  and  violate  her  neutrality 
laws.    What  monstrous  sophists  we  are,  when  interest  prompts 
us  ?     I  reasoned  out  this  case  to  my  entire  satisfaction.    1  said 
to  myself,  My  sailors  have  gone  on  shore  in   her  Majesty's 
dominions,  and  refuse  to  come  back  to  me.     When  I  apply  to 
her  Majesty's  police,  they  tell  me  that  so  sacred  is  the  soil  of 
England,  no  man  must  be  coerced  to  do  what  he  does  n't  want 
to  do.     Good !     I  reply  that  a  ship  of  war  is  a  part  of  the  ter 
ritory  to  which  she  belongs,  and  that  if  some  of  the  subjects 
of  the  Queen  should  think  proper  to  come  into  my  territory, 
and  refuse  to  go  back,  I  may  surely  apply  the  same  principle, 
and  refuse  to  compel  them. 

When  I  had  come  to  this  conclusion,  I  turned  to  the  land 
lord,  and  said :  "  And  so  you  have  some  gentlemen  boarding  at 
your  house,  who  desire  to  take  passage  with  me  ?  "  The  land 
lord  smiled,  and  nodded  assent.  I  continued  :  "You  know  I 
cannot  ship  any  seamen  in  her  Majesty's  ports,  but  I  see  no 
reason  why  I  should  not  take  passengers  to  sea  with  me,  if  they 
desire  to  go."  "Certainly,  your  honor  —  they  can  work  their 
passage,  you  know."  "I  suppose  you  '11  charge  something 
for  bringing  these  gentlemen  on  board  ?  "  "  Some'at,  your 
honor."  Here  the  landlord  pulled  out  a  greasy  memorandum, 
and  began  to  read.  "  Bill  Bunting,  board  a,nd  lodging,  ten  shil 
lings —  drinks,  one  pound  ten.  Tom  Bowline,  board  and  lodg 
ing,  six  shillings — Tom  only  landed  yesterday  from  a  Dutch  ship 

—  drinks,  twelve  shillings."     "  Hold  !  "  said  I ;  "  never  mind  the 
board  and  lodging  and  drinks  —  go  to  the  paymaster," — and 
turning  to  Kell,  I  told  him  to  give  the  paymaster  the  necessary 
instructions,  —  "and  he  will  pay  you  your  fares  for  bringing 
the  passengers  on  board."     The   "passengers"  were  already 
alongside,  and  being  sent  down  to  the  surgeon,  were  examined, 
and  passed  as  sou  id  and  able-bodied  men. 

43 


672  MEMOIKS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

It  was  now  nine  o'clock  at  night.  It  had  been  blowing  a 
gale  of  wind,  all  day,  from  the  south-east ;  but  it  was  a  fair- 
weather  gale,  if  I  may  use  the  solecism ;  the  sky  being  clear, 
and  the  barometer  high.  These  are  notable  peculiarities  of 
the  south-east  gales  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  sky  is 
always  clear,  and  the  gale  begins  and  ends  with  a  high  barom 
eter.  I  was  very  anxious  to  get  to  sea.  A  report  had  come 
in,  only  a  day  or  two  before,  that  the  Vctnderbilt  was  still  cruis 
ing  off  Cape  Agulhas,  and  I  was  apprehensive  that  she  might 
get  news  of  me,  and  blockade  me.  This  might  detain  me  sev 
eral  days,  or  until  I  could  get  a  dark  night  —  and  the  moon 
was  now  near  her  full  —  in  which  to  run  the  blockade.  I  need 
not  remark  that  the  Vanderbilt  had  greatly  the  speed  of  me, 
and  threw  twice  my  weight  of  metal.  The  wind  having  par 
tially  1  ailed,  we  got  up  steam,  and  at  about  half-past  eleven, 
we  moved  out  from  our  anchors.  The  lull  had  only  been  tem 
porary,  for  we  had  scarcely  cleared  the  little  islands  that  give 
a  partial  protection  to  the  harbor  from  these  south-east  winds, 
when  the  gale  came  whistling  and  howling  as  before.  The  wind 
and  sea  were  both  nearly  ahead,  and  the  Alabama  was  now  put 
upon  her  metal,  under  steam,  as  she  had  been  so  often  before,  un 
der  sail.  False  Bay  is  an  immense  sheet  of  water,  of  a  horse-shoe 
shape,  and  we  had  to  steam  some  twenty  miles  before  we  could 
weather  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  under  our  lee.  We  drove 
her  against  this  heavy  gale  at  the  rate  of  five  knots  per  hour. 

This  struggle  of  the  little  ship  with  the  elements  was  a  thing 
to  be  remembered.  The  moon,  as  before  remarked,  was  near 
her  full,  shedding  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  scene.  The  Bay 
was  whitened  with  foam,  as  the  waters  were  lashed  into  fury 
by  the  storm.  Around  the  curve  of  the  "horse-shoe"  arose 
broken,  bald,  rocky  mountains,  on  the  crests  of  which  were 
piled  fleecy,  white  clouds,  blinking  in  the  moonlight,  like  banks 
of  snow.  These  clouds  were  perfectly  motionless.  It  appeared 
as  if  the  D — 1  had  spread  a  great  many  "table-cloths  "  around 
False  Bay,  that  night ;  or,  rather,  a  more  appropriate  figure 
would  be,  that  he  had  touched  the  mountains  with  the  stillness 
of  death,  and  wreathed  them  with  winding-sheets.  The  scene 
was  wild  and  weird  beyond  description.  It  was  a  picture  for 
the  eye  of  a  poet  or  painter  to  dwell  upon.  Nor  was  the  im- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       673 

agination  less  touched,  when,  from  time  to  time,  tie  revolving 
light  upon  the  grim  old  Cape  —  that  Cape  which  had  so  long 
divided  the  Eastern  from  the  "Western  world — threw  its  full 
blaze  upon  the  deck  of  the  struggling  ship.  Overhead,  the 
sky  was  perfectly  clear,  there  being  not  so  much  as  a  speck  of 
a  cloud  to  be  seen  —  and  this  in  the  midst  of  a  howling  gale 
of  wind  !  At  three  A.  M.  we  cleared  the  Cape,  and  keep 
ing  the  ship  off  a  few  points,  gave  her  the  trysails,  with  the 
bonnets  off.  She  bounded  over  the  seas  like  a  stag-hound 
unleashed.  I  had  been  up  all  night,  and  now  went  below  to 
snatch  some  brief  repose,  before  the  toils  of  another  day  should 
begin. 


CHAPTBK    XLVIII. 

THE   ALABAMA    ON    THE    INDIAN    OCEAN THE    PASSEN 
GERS      QUESTIONED,     AND      CONTRACTED      WITH THE 

AGULHAS   CURRENT THE    "  BRAVE    WEST    WINDS  " 

A     THEORY THE     ISLANDS     OF     ST.     PETER     AND     ST. 

PAUL THE  TROPIC  OF  CAPRICORN THE  SOUTH-EAST 

TRADES  AND  THE   MONSOONS THE  ALABAMA  ARRIVES 

OFF   THE   STRAIT   OF   SUNDA,  AND    BURNS    ONE   OF    THE 

SHIPS  OF  THE   ENEMY RUNS   IN  AND  ANCHORS  UNDER 

THE  ISLAND  OF  SUMATRA. 

WHEN  Bartelli  awakened  me,  at  the  usual  hour  of  "  seven 
bells"-  — half-past  seven  A.  M., —  on  the  morning  after 
the  events  described  in  the  last  chapter,  the  Alabama  was  well 
launched  upon  the  Indian  Ocean.  She  had  run  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  out  of  sight,  and  was  still  hieing  off  before  the 
gale,  though  this  had  moderated  considerably  as  she  had  run 
off  the  coast.  We  were  now  about  to  make  a  long  voyage, 
tedious  to  the  unphilosophical  mariner,  but  full  of  interest  to 
one  who  has  an  eye  open  to  the  wonders  and  beauties  of 
nature.  My  first  duty,  upon  going  on  deck,  was  to  put  the 
ship  under  sail,  and  let  the  steam  go  down ;  and  my  second,  to 
have  an  interview  with  the  "passengers,"  who  had  come  on 
board,  overnight.  We  were  now  on  the  high  seas,  and  might, 
with  all  due  respect  to  Queen  Victoria,  put  them  under  contract. 
If  the  reader  recollects  Falstaff's  description  of  his  ragged  bat 
talion,  he  will  have  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  personnel  I  had 
before  me.  These  subjects  of  the  Queen  stood  in  all  they  pos 
sessed.  None  of  them  had  brought  any  baggage  on  board  with 
them.  Bagged  blue  and  red  flannel  shirts,  tarred  trousers,  and 
a  mixture  of  felt  hats  and  Scotch  caps,  composed  their  wardrobe. 
Their  persons  had  passed  muster  of  the  surgeon,  it  is  true,  but  it 

674 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  675 

was  plain  that  it  would  require  a  deal  of  washing  and  scrubbing 
and  wholesome  feeding,  and  a  long  abstinence  from  "  drinks," 
to  render  them  fit  for  use.  Upon  questioning  them,  I  found 
that  each  had  his  cock-and-a-bull  story  to  tell,  of  how  he  :.as 
"  left  "  by  this  ship,  or  by  that,  without  any  fault  of  his  own, 
and  how  he  had  been  tricked  by  his  landlord.  I  turned  them 
over  to  the  first  lieutenant,  and  paymaster,  and  they  were  soon 
incorporated  with  the  crew.  I  hold  that  her  Majesty  owes  me 
some  ''boot,"  for  the  "swap"  I  made  with  her,  on  that  remark 
able  moonlight  night  when  I  left  the  Cape.  At  all  events,  I 
never  heard  that  she  complained  of  it. 

I  was  grieved  to  find  that  our  most  serious  loss  among  the 
deserters,  was  our  Irish  fiddler.  This  fellow  had  been  remark 
ably  diligent,  in  his  vocation,  and  had  fiddled  the  crew  over 
half  the  world.  It  was  a  pity  to  lose  him,  now  that  we  were 
going  over  the  other  half.  When  the  evening's  amusements 
began,  Michael  Mahoney's  vacant  camp-stool  cast  a  gloom  over 
the  ship.  There  was  no  one  who  could  make  his  violin  "talk  " 
like  himself,  and  it  was  a  long  time  before  his  place  was  sup 
plied.  Poor  Michael !  we  felt  convinced  he  had  not  been  un 
true  to  us  —  it  was  only  a  "  dhrop"  too  much  of  the  "crayture  " 
he  had  taken. 

For  the  first  few  days  after  leaving  the  Cape,  we  ran  off  due 
south,  it  being  my  intention  to  seek  the  fortieth  parallel  of 
south  latitude,  and  run  my  easting  down  on  that  parallel.  As 
icebergs  have  been  known  to  make  their  appearance  near  the 
Cape  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  I  ordered  the  temperature  of 
the  air  and  water  to  be  taken  every  hour  during  the  night,  to 
aid  me  in  detecting  their  presence.  We  did  not  discover  any 
icebergs,  but  the  thermometer  helped  to  reveal  to  me  some  of 
the  secrets  of  the  deep,  in  this  part  of  the  ocean.  Much  to 
my  surprise,  I  found  myself  in  a  sort  of  Gulf  Stream ;  the 
temperature  of  the  water  being  from  three  to  five  degrees 
higher,  than  that  of  the  air.  My  celestial  observations  for  fix 
ing  the  position  of  the  ship,  informed  me  at  the  same  time 
that  I  was  experiencing  a  south-easterly  current ;  the  current 
bending  more  and  more  toward  the  east,  as  I  proceeded  south, 
until  in  the  parallel  of  40°,  it  ran  due  east.  The  rate  of  this 
current  was  from  thirty  to  fifty  miles  per  day.  This  was  un 
doubtedly  a  branch  of  the  great  Agulhas  current. 


676  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

If  the  reader  will  inspect  a  map,  he  will  find  that  the  North 
Indian  Ocean  is  bounded  wholly  by  tropical  countries  —  Hin- 
dostan,  Beloochistan,  and  Arabia  to  the  Eed  Sea,  and  across 
that  sea,  by  Azan  and  Zanguebar.  The  waters  in  this  great 
bight  of  the  ocean  are  intensely  heated  by  the  fervor  of  an 
Indian  and  African  sun,  and  flow  off'  in  quest  of  cooler  regions 
through  the  Mozambique  Channel.  Passing  thence  over  the 
Agulhas  Bank,  which  lies  a  short  distance  to  the  eastward  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  they  reach  that  Cape,  as  the  Agulhas 
current.  Here  it  divides  into  two  main  prongs  or  branches ; 
one  prong  pursuing  a  westerly  course,  and  joining  in  with  the 
great  equatorial  current,  which,  the  reader  recollects,  we  encoun 
tered  off  Fernando  de  Noronha,  and  the  other  bending  sharply 
to  the  south-east,  and  forming  the  Gulf  Stream  of  the  South 
Indian  Ocean,  in  which  the  Alabama  is  at  present.  What  it 
is,  that  gives  this  latter  prong  its  sudden  deflection  to  the 
southward  is  not  well  understood.  Probably  it  is  influenced, 
to  some  extent,  by  the  southerly  current,  running  at  the  rate 
of  about  a  knot  an  hour  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  and 
debouching  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Here  it  strikes  the 
Agulhas  current  at  right  angles,  and  hence  possibly  the  deflec 
tion  of  a  part  of  that  current. 

But  if  there  be  a  current  constantly  setting  from  the  Cape 
of  Good 'Hope  to  the  south-east,  how  is  it  that  the  iceberg 
finds  its  way  to  the  neighborhood  of  that  Cape,  from  the  south 
polar  regions?  There  is  but  one  way  to  account  for  it.  There 
must  be  a  counter  undercurrent.  These  bergs,  setting  deep 
in  the  water,  are  forced  by  this  counter-current  against  the 
surface  current.  This  phenomenon  has  frequently  been  wit 
nessed  in  the  Arctic  seas.  Captain  Duncan,  of  the  English 
whaler  Dundee,  in  describing  one  of  his  voyages  to  Davis' 
Strait,  thus  speaks  of  a  similar  drift  of  icebergs:  —  "It  was 
awful  to  behold  the  immense  icebergs  working  their  way  to 
the  north-east  from  us,  and  not  one  drop  of  water  to  be^een; 
they  were  working  themselves  right  through  the  middle  of 
the  ice."  Here  was  an  undercurrent  of  such  force  as  to  carry 
a  mountain  of  ice,  ripping  and  crashing  through  a  field  of  solid 
ice.  Lieutenant  De  Haven,  who  made  a  voyage  in  search  of 
Sir  John  Franklin,  describes  a  similar  phenomenon  as  fol- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      677 

lows:  —  "The  iceberg,  as  before  observed,  came  up  very  near 
to  the  stern  of  our  ship ;  the  intermediate  space,  between  the 
berg  and  the  vessel,  was  filled  with  heavy  masses  of  ice,  which, 
though  they  had  been  previously  broken  by  the  immense 
weight  of  the  berg,  were  again  formed  into  a  compact  body 
by  its  pressure.  The  berg  was  drifting  at  the  rate  of  about 
four  knots,  and  by  its  force  on  the  mass  of  ice,  was  pushing 
the  ship  before  it,  as  it  appeared,  to  inevitable  destruction." 
And  again,  on  the  next  day,  he  writes :  —  "  The  iceberg  still  in 
sight,  but  drifting  away  fast  to  the  north-east."  Here  was  an 
other  undercurrent,  driving  a  monster  iceberg  through  a  field 
of  broken  ice  at  the  rate  of  four  knots  per  hour ! 

When  we  had  travelled  in  the  Alabama  some  distance  to 
the  eastward,  on  the  39th  and  40th  parallels,  the  current  made 
another  curve  —  this  time  to  the  north-east.  If  the  reader 
will  again  refer  to  a  map,  he  will  find  that  the  Agulhas  cur 
rent,  as  it  came  along  through  the  Mozambique  Channel  and 
by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  was  a  south-westerly  current.  It 
being  now  a  north-easterly  current,  he  observes  that  it  is  run 
ning  back  whence  it  came,  in  an  ellipse !  We  have  seen,  in  a 
former  part  of  this  work,  that  the  Gulf  Stream  of  the  North 
Atlantic  performs  a  circuit  around  the  coasts  of  the  United 
States,  Newfoundland,  the  British  Islands,  the  coasts  of  Spain 
and  Portugal,  the  African  coast,  and  so  on,  into  the  equatorial 
current,  and  thence  back  again  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  From 
my  observation  of  currents  in  various  parts  of  the  world,  my 
impression  is,  that  the  circle  or  ellipse  is  their  normal  law. 
There  are,  of  course,  offshoots  from  one  circle,  or  ellipse,  to 
another,  and  thus  a  general  intermingling  of  the  waters  of  the 
earth  is  going  on — but  the  normal  rule  for  the  guidance  of  the 
water,  as  of  the  wind,  is  the  curve. 

As  we  approached  the  40th  parallel  of  latitude,  my  attention 
was  again  forcibly  drawn  to  the  phenomena  of  the  winds. 
The  "Brave  West  Winds"  —  as  the  sailors  call  them — those 
remarkable  polar  trade-winds,  now  began  to  prevail  with  won 
derful  regularity.  On  the  30th  of  September,  we  observed  in 
latitude  39°  12',  and  longitude  31°  59'.  The  following  is  the 
entry  on  my  journal  for  that  day :  —  "Rough  weather,  with  the 
wind  fresh  from  the  N.  N.  W.  with  passing  rain-squalls.  Sea 


678  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

turbulent.  Barometer  29.47;  thermometer,  air  55°,  water  58; 
distance  run  in  the  last  twenty -four  hours,  221  miles.  Weather 
looking  better  at  noon.  The  water  has  resumed  its  usual  deep- 
sea  hue.  [We  had  been  running  over  an  extensive  tract  of 
soundings,  the  water  being  of  that  pea-green  tint  indicating  a 
depth  of  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  fathoms.]  In  high  southern 
latitudes,  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  storm-fiend  seems  to  hold  high 
carnival  all  the  year  round.  He  is  constantly  racing  round  the 
globe,  from  west  to  east,  howling  over  the  waste  of  waters  in  his 
mad  career.  Like  Sisyphus,  his  labors  are  never  ended.  He 
not  only  does  not  rest  himself,  but  he  allows  old  Ocean  none, 
constantly  lashing  him  into  rage.  He  scatters  the  icebergs 
hither  and  thither  to  the  great  terror  of  the  mariner,  and  con 
verts  the  moisture  of  the  clouds  into  the  blinding  snow-flake  or 
the  pelting  hail.  As  we  are  driven,  on  dark  nights,  before  these 
furious  winds,  we  have  only  to  imitate  the  Cape  Horn  naviga 
tor —  'tie  all  fast,  and  let  her  rip,'  iceberg  or  no  iceberg. 
When  a  ship  is  running  at  a  speed  of  twelve  or  fourteen  knots, 
in  such  thick  weather  that  the  look-out  at  the  cat-head  can 
scarcely  see  his  own  nose,  neither  sharp  eyes,  nor  water  ther 
mometers  are  of  much  use." 

These  winds  continued  to  blow  from  day  to  day,  hurrying 
us  forward  with  great  speed.  There  being  a  clear  sweep  of 
the  sea  for  several  thousand  miles,  unobstructed  by  continent 
or  island,  the  waves  rose  into  long,  sweeping  swells,  much 
more  huge  and  majestic  than  one  meets  with  in  any  other 
ocean.  As  our  little  craft,  scudding  before  a  gale,  would  be 
overtaken  by  one  of  these  monster  billows,  she  would  be 
caught  up  by  its  crest,  like  a  cock-boat,  and  darted  half-way 
down  the  declivity  that  lay  before  her,  at  a  speed  that  would 
cause  the  sailor  to  hold  his  breath.  Any  swerve  to  the  right, 
or  the  left,  that  would  cause  the  ship  to  "  broach  to,"  or  come 
broadside  to  the  wind  and  sea,  would  have  been  fatal.  These 
"brave  west  winds,"  though  thus  fraught  with  danger,  are  a 
great  boon  to  commerce.  The  reader  has  seen  how  the  cur 
rents  in  this  part  of  the  ocean  travel  in  an  ellipse.  We  have 
here  an  ellipse  of  the  winds.  The  Alabama  is  hurrying  to  the 
Far  East,  before  a  continuous,  or  almost  continuous  north-west 
gale.  If  she  were  a  few  hundred  miles  to  the  northward  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       679 

her  present  position,  she  might  be  hurrying,  though  not  quite 
with  equal  speed,  before  the  south-east  trades,  to  the  Far  West. 
We  have  thus  two  parallel  winds  blowing  all  the  year  round 
in  opposite  directions,  and  only  a  few  hundred  miles  apart. 

Storms  are  now  admitted  by  all  seamen  to  be  gyratory,  as 
we  have  seen.  When  I  was  cruising  in  the  Gulf  Stream,  I 
ventured  to  enlarge  this  theory,  as  the  reader  may  recollect, 
and  suggested  that  rotation  was  the  normal  condition  of  all 
extra-tropical  winds  on  the  ocean,  where  there  was  nothing  to 
obstruct  them  —  of  the  moderate  wind,  as  well  as  of  the  gale. 
I  had  a  striking  confirmation  of  this  theory  in  the  "  brave  west 
winds."  These  winds  went  regularly  around  the  compass,  in 
uniform  periods;  the  periods  occupying  about  three  days. 
We  would  take  them  at  about  1ST.  1ST.  W.,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  "period"  they  would  go  entirely  around  the  compass,  and 
come  back  to  the  same  point ;  there  being  an  interval  of  calm 
of  a  few  hours.  The  following  diagram  will  illustrate  this 
rotary  motion. 

Let  Figure  1,  on  the  opposite  page,  represent  a  circular  wind 
—  the  wind  gyrating  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows,  and  the 
circle  travelling  at  the  same  time,  along  the  dotted  lines  from 
west  to  east.  If  the  northern  segment  of  this  circular  wind 
passes  over  the  ship,  the  upper  dotted  line  from  A  to  A2,  will 
represent  her  position  during  its  passage.  At  A,  where  the 
ship  first  takes  the  wind,  she  will  have  it  from  about  north 
west  ;  and  at  A2,  where  she  is  about  to  lose  it,  she  will  have  it 
from  about  south-west.  The  ship  is  supposed  to  remain  sta 
tionary,  whilst  the  circle  is  passing  over  her.  Now,  this  is 
precisely  the  manner  in  which  we  found  all  these  winds  to 
haul  in  the  Alabama.  We  would  have  the  wind  from  the 
north-west  to  the  south-west,  hauling  gradually  from  one  point 
to  the  other,  and  blowing  freshly  for  the  greater  part  of  three 
days.  It  would  then  become  light,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  few 
hours,  go  round  to  the  south,  to  the  south-east,  to  the  east,  and 
then  settle  in  the  north-west,  as  before. 

Figure  2  represents  two  of  these  circular  winds — and  the 
reader  must  recollect  that  there  is  a  constant  series  of  them  — 
one  following  the  other  so  closely  as  to  overlap  it.  Now,  if 
the  reader  will  cast  his  eye  upon  the  letter  C,  near  the  upper 


680  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      681 

dotted  line,  in  the  overlapped  space,  he  will  observe  why  it  is, 
that  there  is  always  a  short  interval  of  calm  before  the  north 
west  wind  sets  in,  the  second  time.  The  wind  within  that 
space  is  blowing,  or  rather  should  blow,  according  to  the 
theory,  two  opposite  ways  at  once — from  the  N.  N.  W.,  and 
the  S.  S.  E.  The  consequence  is,  necessarily,  a  calm.  It  is 
thus  seen  that  the  theory,  that  these  "  brave  west  winds  "  are 
a  series  of  circular  winds,  harmonizes  entirely  with  the  facts 
observed  by  us.  The  lower  dotted  line  is  merely  intended  to 
show  in  what  direction  the  wind  would  haul,  if  the  southern 
segment,  instead  of  the  northern,  passed  over  the  ship.  In 
that  case,  the  ship  would  take  the  wind,  from  about  N.  N. 
E.,  as  at  B,  and  lose  it  at  south-east,  as  at  B2.  In  the  region 
of  the  "brave  west  winds,"  it  would  seem  that  the  northern 
segment  always  passes  over  that  belt  of  the  ocean.  The  re 
ceived  theory  of  these  south  polar-winds,  is  not  such  as  I  have 
assumed.  Former  writers  have  not  supposed  them  to  be  cir 
cular  winds  at  all.  They  suppose  them  to  pass  over  the  south 
east  trade-winds,  as  an  upper  current,  and  when  they  have 
reached  the  proper  parallel,  to  descend,  become  surface-winds, 
and  blow  home,  as  straight  winds,  to  the  pole.  But  I  found  a 
difficulty  in  reconciling  this  theory  with  the  periodical  veering 
of  the  wind  entirely  around  the  compass,  as  above  described. 
If  these  were  straight  winds,  blowing  contrary  to  the  trades, 
why  should  they  not  blow  steadily  like  the  trades  ?  But  if  we 
drop  the  straight- wind  theory,  and  take  up  the  circular  hy 
pothesis,  all  the  phenomena  observed  by  us  will  be  in  con 
formity  with  the  latter.  The  periodical  hauling  of  the  wind 
will  be  accounted  for,  and  if  we  suppose  that  the  northern  half 
of  the  circle  invariably  passes  over  the  ship,  in  the  passage- 
parallels,  we  shall  see  how  it  is  that  the  wind  is  blowing  nearly 
all  the  time  from  the  westward.  To  account  for  the  fact  that 
the  northern  half  of  the  circle  invariably  passes  over  these 
parallels,  we  have  only  to  suppose  the  circle  to  be  of  sufficient 
diameter  to  extend  to,  or  near  the  pole. 

Here  is  the  figure.  It  extends  from  the  parallel  of  40°,  to 
the  pole ;  it  is  therefore  fifty  degrees,  or  three  thousand  miles, 
in  diameter.  Half-way  from  its  northern  to  its  southern  edge, 
would  be  tie  65th  parallel.  Along  this  parallel,  represented 


682 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 


by  the  dotted  line,  which  passes  through  the  centre  of  the  cir 
cle,  the  vortex,  Y,  or  calm  spot,  would  travel.     There  should 


be  calms,  therefore,  about  the  65th  parallel.  In  the  southern 
half  of  the  circle,  or  that  portion  of  it  between  the  vortex  and 
the  pole,  easterly  winds  should  prevail.  Navigators  between 
the  parallels  of  65°  and  75°,  speak  of  calms  as  the  normal 
meteorological  condition.  All  nature  seems  frozen  to  death, 
the  winds  included.  Unfortunately,  we  have  no  reliable  data 
for  the  parallels  beyond,  and  do  not  know,  therefore,  whether 
easterly  winds  are  the  prevalent  winds  or  not.  It  is  probable, 
as  we  approached  the  pole,  that  we  should  find  another  cairn. 
The  winds,  [see  the  arrows,]  as  they  come  hurrying  along  the 
circle,  from  its  northern  segment,  bring  with  them  an  impetus 
toward  the  east,  derived  from  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  earth, 
on  its  axis.  As  these  winds  approach  the  pole,  this  velocity 
increases,  in  consequence  of  the  diminishing  diameter  of  the 
parallels.  To  illustrate.  If  a  particle  of  air  on  the  equator, 
having  a  velocity  eastward  of  fifteen  miles  per  minute  — and 
this  is  the  rate  of  the  revolution  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  — 
should  be  suddenly  transported  to  a  point,  distant  five  miles 
from  the  pole,  it  would  have  sufficient  velocity  to  carry  it 
enti  rely  around  the  pole  in  one  minute.  Here  we  have  two  forces 
acting  in  opposition  to  each  other  —  the  impetus  of  the  wind 
w ward  the  east,  given  to  it  by  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  earth, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      683 

and  an  impetus  from  the  east,  given  to  it  by  whatever  causes 
are  hurrying  it  around  the  circle.  These  two  forces  neces 
sarily  neutralize  each  other,  and  a  calm  is  the  consequence. 
It  is  in  this  calm  region  near  the  poles,  that  the  winds  prob 
ably  ascend,  to  take  their  flight  back  to  the  equator,  in  obedi 
ence  to  that  beautiful  arrangement  for  watering  the  earth, 
which  I  described  some  pages  back. 

There  remains  but  one  other  fact  to  be  reconciled  with  our 
theory.  It  has  been  seen  that  consecutive  circles  of  wind 
passed  over  the  Alabama,  in  periods  of  three  days  each.  Did 
this  time  correspond  with  the  known  rate  of  travel  of  the 
circles  ?  Almost  precisely.  Keferring  again  to  the  last  dia 
gram,  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  Alabama  was  near  the 
northern  edge  of  the  circle.  Let  A  A  represent  her  position 
at  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  wind.  The  chord  of  the 
segment,  represented  by  the  dotted  line,  is  about  1500  miles  in 
length.  The  circles  travel  at  the  rate  of  about  20  miles  per 
hour.  Multiply  the  number  of  hours  —  72  —  in  three  days, 
by  20,  and  we  shall  have  1440  miles.  It  is  not  pretended,  of 
course,  that  these  fig  ares  are  strictly  accurate,  but  they  are 
sufficiently  so  to  show,  at  least,  that  there  is  no  discordance 
between  the  fact  and  the  theory. 

Soon  after  leaving  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  storm-birds 
began  to  gather  around  us  in  considerable  numbers  —  the  Cape 
pigeon,  the  albatross,  and  occasionally  the  tiny  petrel,  so  abun 
dant  in  the  North  Atlantic.  These  birds  seemed  to  be  quite 
companionable,  falling  in  company  with  the  ship,  and  travel 
ling  with  her  for  miles  at  a  time.  On  the  occasion  of  one  of 
the  short  calms  described,  we  caught  an  albatross,  with  hook 
and  line,  which  measured  ten  feet  across  the  wings.  The  mon 
ster  bird  was  very  fat,  and  it  was  quite  a  lift  to  get  it  inboard. 
Though  very  active  on  the  wing,  and  rising  with  great  facility 
from  the  water,  in  which  it  sometimes  alights,  it  lay  quite  help 
less  when  placed  upon  the  deck.  It  did  not  seem  to  be  much 
alarmed  at  the  strangeness  of  its  position,  but  looked  at  us 
with  the  quiet  dignity  and  wisdom  of  an  owl,  as  though  it 
would  interrogate  us  as  to  what  we  were  doing  in  its  dominions. 
These  birds  live  in  the  midst  of  the  great  Indian  Ocean,  thou 
sands  of  miles  away  from  any  land — only  making  periodical 


684  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

visits  to  some  of  the  desert  islands;  or;  it  may  oe,  to  the 
Antarctic  Continent,  to  incubate  and  rear  their  young. 

I  have  described  at  some  length  the  nature  of  the  great 
circles  of  wind  which  form  the  normal  meteorological  condition 
of  the  region  of  ocean  through  which  we  were  passing.  This 
normal  condition  was  sometimes  interfered  with  by  the  passage 
of  cyclones  of  smaller  diameter  —  a  circle  within  a  circle ; 
both  circles,  however,  obeying  the  same  laws.  We  took  one 
of  these  cyclones  on  the  5th  of  October.  I  do  not  design  to 
repeat,  here,  the  description  of  a  cyclone,  and  only  refer  to  that 
which  we  now  encountered,  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
the  Alabama  ran  a  race  with  it,  and  was  not  very  badly  beaten. 
This  race  is  thus  described  in  my  journal:  "Morning  dull, 
cloudy,  and  cool.  The  wind  hauled,  last  night,  to  north,  and 
is  blowing  a  fresh  breeze  at  noon.  Barometer,  30.14.  Ther 
mometer,  air  54°,  water  60°.  Current  during  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours,  thirty  miles  east.  The  weather  continued  to  thicken 
in  the  afternoon,  and  the  wind  to  increase,  with  a  falling  bar 
ometer,  indicating  the  approach  of  a  gale.  At  nine  P.  M.;  the 
squalls  becoming  heavy,  we  furled  the  top-gallant  sails  and 
foresail,  close-reefed  the  topsails,  and  took  the  bonnets  off  the 
trysails.  Under  this  reduced  sail  we  continued  to  scud  the 
ship  all  night  —  the  barometer  still  falling,  the  wind  increasing, 
and  a  heavy  sea  getting  up.  We  had  entered  the  north-east 
ern  edge  of  a  cyclone.  The  next  morning  the  wind  was  still 
north  by  west,  having  hauled  only  a  single  point  in  twelve 
hours ;  showing  that  we  had  been  running,  neck  and  neck,  with 
the  gale. 

If  the  reader  will  recollect  that,  in  these  circular  gales,  the 
change  of  the  wind  is  due  to  the  passage  of  the  circle  over  the 
ship,  he  will  have  no  difficulty  in  conceiving  that,  if  the  ship 
travels  as  fast  as  the  circle,  and  in  the  same  direction,  the 
wind  will  not  change  at  all.  Now,  as  the  wind  had  changed 
but  a  single  point  in  twelve  hours,  it  is  evident  that  the  Ala 
bama  had  been  travelling  nearly  as  fast  as  the  circular  gale. 
The  race  continued  all  the  next  day — the  wind  not  varying 
half  a  point,  and  the  barometer  settling  by  scarcely  perceptible 
degrees.  Toward  night,  however,  the  barometer  began  to 
settle  quite  rapidly,  and  the  wind  increased,  and  began  to  haul 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      685 

to  the  westward.  The  gale  had  acquired  accelerated  speed, 
and  was  now  evidently  passing  ahead  of  us  quite  rapidly  ;  for 
by  half-past  four  A.  M.  the  wind  was  at  west,  having  hauled 
nearly  a  quadrant  in  twelve  hours.  At  this  point  we  had  the 
lowest  barometer,  29.65.  The  centre  of  the  storm  was  then 
just  abreast  of  us,  bearing  about  south,  and  distant  perhaps  a 
hundred  miles.  At  five  A.  M.,  or  in  half  an  hour  afterward, 
the  wind  shifted  suddenly  from  W.  to  W.  S.  W.;  showing  that 
the  vortex  had  passed  us,  and  that  the  Alabama  was  at  last 
beaten  !  The  wind  being  still  somewhat  fresher  than  I  desired, 
I  hove  the  ship  to,  on  the  port  tack,  to  allow  the  gale  to  draw 
farther  ahead  of  me.  After  lying  to  three  hours,  the  barom 
eter  continuing  to  rise,  and  the  wind  to  moderate,  we  filled 
away,  and  shaking  out  some  of  the  reefs,  continued  on  our 
course. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  we  passed  the  remarkable  islets  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  a  sort  of  half-way  mile-posts  between 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  Strait  of  Sunda.  These  islets 
are  the  tops  of  rocky  mountains,  shooting  up  from  great  depths 
in  the  sea.  They  are  in  the  midst  of  a  dreary  waste  of  waters, 
having  no  other  land  within  a  thousand  miles  and  more,  of 
them.  They  are  composed  of  solid  granite,  without  vegeta 
tion,  and  inhabited  only  by  the  wild  birds  of  the  ocean.  I 
cannot  imagine  a  more  fitting  station  for  a  meteorologist.  He 
would  be  in  the  midst  of  constant  tempests,  and  might  study 
the  laws  of  his  science,  without  interruption  from  neighboring 
isle  or  continent.  There  being  an  indifferent  anchorage  under 
the  lee  of  St.  Paul,  we  scanned  the  island  narrowly  with  our 
glasses,  as  we  passed,  not  knowing  but  we  might  find  some 
adventurous  Yankee  whaler,  or  seal-catcher,  trying  out  blub 
ber,  or  knocking  a  seal  on  the  head.  These  islands  are  fre 
quently  sighted  by  India-bound  ships,  and  it  was  my  inten 
tion  to  cruise  a  few  days  in  their  vicinity,  but  the  bad  weather 
hurried  me  on. 

We  took  another  gale,  on  the  night  after  leaving  them,  and 
had  some  damage  done  to  our  head-rail  and  one  of  our  quar 
ter-boats.  The  scene  was  a  sublime  one  to  look  upon.  The 
seas — those  long  swells  before  described  —  were  literally  run 
ning  mountains  high,  the  wind  was  howling  with  more  than 


686  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

usual  fury,  and  a  dense  snow-storm  was  pelting  us  from  the 
blackest  and  most  angry-looking  of  clouds.  I  was  now  in  lon 
gitude  83°  E.;  and  bore  away  more  to  the  northward.  Although 
the  thermometer  had  not  settled  below  50°,  we  felt  the  cold 
quite  piercingly  —  our  clothing  being  constantly  saturated  with 
moisture.  On  the  14th  of  October,  we  had  the  first  tolerably 
fine  day  we  had  experienced  for  the  last  two  weeks,  and  we 
availed  ourselves  of  it,  to  uncover  the  hatches  and  ventilate 
the  ship,  getting  up  from  below,  and  airing  the  damp  bedding 
and  mildewed  clothing.  The  constant  straining  of  the  ship, 
in  the  numerous  gales  she  had  encountered,  had  opened  the 
seams  in  her  bends,  and  all  our  state-rooms  were  leaking  more 
or  less,  keeping  our  beds  and  clothing  damp.  On  the  next 
day,  another  gale  overtook  us,  in  which  we  lay  to  ten  hours,  to 
permit  it,  as  we  had  done  the  gale  we  ran  the  race  with,  to  pass 
ahead  of  us. 

And  thus  it  was,  that  we  ran  down  our  easting,  in  the  region 
of  the  "brave  west  winds,"  with  every  variety  of  bad  weather, 
of  the  description  of  which,  the  reader  must,  by  this  time,  be 
pretty  well  tired.  On  the  17th  of  October,  I  was  nearly  antip 
odal  with  my  home  in  Alabama.  By  the  way,  has  the  reader 
ever  remarked  that  land  is  scarcely  ever  antipodal  with  land  ? 
Let  him  take  a  globe,  and  he  will  be  struck  with  the  fact,  that 
land  and  water  have  been  almost  invariably  arranged  opposite 
to  each  other.  May  not  this  arrangement  have  something  to 
do  with  the  currents,  and  the  water-carriers,  the  winds  ? 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  October,  at  about  five  o'clock, 
we  crossed  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  on  the  100th  meridian 
of  east  longitude.  We  still  held  on  to  our  west  winds, 
though  they  had  now  become  light.  We  took  the  trade- 
wind  from  about  S.  S.  E.  almost  immediately  after  crossing 
the  tropic.  We  thus  had  the  good  fortune,  a  second  time, 
:to  cross  the  tropic  without  finding  a  calm-belt ;  the  two  coun 
ter-winds  blowing  almost  side  by  side  with  each  other.  We 
had  been  twenty-four  days  and  three  quarters  from  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  in  that  time  had  run,  under  sail  alone  — 
occasionally  lying  to,  in  bad  weather  —  4410  miles;  the  aver 
age  run,  per  day,  being  178  miles.  We  had  brought  the  east 
erly  current  with  us,  too,  all  the  way.  It  had  set  us  twenty 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      687 

miles  to  the  north-east,  on  the  day  we  reached  the  tropic.  In 
all  this  lengthened  run,  we  had  sighted  only  two  or  three  sails. 
One  of  these  was  a  steamer,  which  we  overhauled,  and  boarded, 
but  which  proved  to  be  English.  For  nineteen  days  we  did 
not  see  a  sail ;  and  still  we  were  on  the  great  highway  to  India. 
There  must  have  been  numerous  travellers  on  this  highway, 
before  and  behind  us,  but  each  was  bowling  along  at  a  rapid, 
and  nearly  equal  pace,  before  the  "  brave  west  winds,"  envel 
oped  in  his  own  circle,  and  shut  out  from  the  view  of  his 
neighbor  by  the  mantle  of  black  rain-clouds  in  which  he  was 
wrapped.  Our  mysterious  friends,  the  Cape-pigeons,  disap 
peared,  as  we  approached  the  tropics. 

We  now  ran  rapidly  through  the  south-east  trades,  with  fine 
weather,  until  we  reached  the  12th  parallel  of  south  latitude,  when 
we  passed  suddenly  into  the  monsoon  region.  The  monsoons 
were  undergoing  a  change.  The  east  monsoon  was  dying  out, 
and  the  west  monsoon  was  about  to  take  its  place.  The  struggle 
between  the  outgoing,  and  the  incoming  wind  would  occupy 
several  weeks,  and  during  all  this  time  I  might  expect  sudden 
shifts  and  squalls  of  wind  and  rain,  with  densely  overcast 
skies,  and  much  thunder  and  lightning.  My  intention  was  to 
make  for  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  that  well-known  passage  into, 
and  out  of  the  China  seas,  between  the  islands  of  Java  and 
Sumatra,  cruise  off  it  some  days,  and  then  run  into  the  China 
seas  On  the  evening  of  the  26th  we  spoke  an  English  bark, 
just  out  of  the  Strait,  which  informed  us  that  the  United 
States  steamer  Wyoming  was  cruising  in  the  Strait,  in  com 
pany  with  a  three-masted  schooner,  which  she  had  fitted  up  as 
a  tender,  and  that  she  anchored  nearly  every  evening  under  the 
island  of  Krakatoa.  Two  days  afterward,  we  boarded  a  Dutch 
ship,  from  Batavia  to  Amsterdam,  which  informed  us,  that  a 
boat  from  the  Wyoming  had  boarded  her,  off  the  town  of  An 
ger  in  the  Strait.  There  seemed,  therefore,  to  be  little  doubt, 
that  if  we  attempted  the  Strait,  we  should  find  an  enemy  bar 
ring  our  passage. 

As  we  drew  near  the  Strait,  we  began  to  fall  in  with  ships 

in  considerable   numbers.     On   the  31st  of  October,  no  less 

than  six  were  cried  from  aloft,  at  the  same  time,  all  standing 

to   the   south-west,  showing   that  they  were  just  out  of  the 

44 


688  MEMOIES    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

finious  passage.  The  wind  being  light  and  baffling,  we 
got  up  steam,  and  chased  and  boarded  four  of  them — three 
English,  and  one  Dutch.  By  this  time,  the  others  were  out 
of  sight  —  reported,  by  those  we  had  overhauled,  to  be  neu 
tral —  and  the  night  was  setting  in  dark  and  rainy.  The  Dutch 
ship,  like  the  last  one  we  had  boarded,  was  from  Batavia,  and 
corroborated  the  report  of  the  presence  of  the  Wyoming  in 
these  waters.  She  had  left  her  at  Batavia,  which  is  a  short 
distance  only  from  the  Strait  of  Sunda.  The  weather  had 
now  become  exceedingly  oppressive.  Notwithstanding  the 
almost  constant  rains,  the  heat  was  intense.  On  the  morning 
of  the  6th  of  November,  we  boarded  an  English  ship,  from 
Foo  Chow  for  London,  which  informed  us,  that  an  American 
ship,  called  the  Winged  Racer,  had  come  out  of  the  Strait,  in 
company  with  her.  In  the  afternoon,  two  ships  having  been 
cried  from  aloft,  we  got  up  steam,  and  chased,  hoping  that  one 
of  them  might  prove  to  be  the  American  ship  reported.  They 
were  both  English ;  but  whilst  we  were  chasing  these  two 
English  ships,  a  third  ship  hove  in  sight,  farther  to  windward, 
to  which  we  gave  chase  in  turn. 

This  last  ship  was  to  be  our  first  prize  in  East-Indian  waters. 
A  gun  brought  the  welcome  stars  and  stripes  to  her  peak,  and 
upon  being  boarded,  she  proved  to  be  the  bark  Amanda, 
of  Boston,  from  Manilla  bound  to  Queenstown  for  orders. 
The  Amanda  was  a  fine,  rakish-looking  ship,  and  had  a  cargo 
of  hemp,  and  sugar.  She  was  under  charter-party  to  proceed 
first  to  Queenstown,  and  thence  to  the  United  States,  for  a 
market,  if  it  should  be  deemed  advisable.  On  the  face  of  each 
of  the  three  bills  of  lading  found  among  her  papers,  was  the 
following  certificate  from  the  British  Consul  at  Manilla : — "  I 
hereby  certify  that  Messrs.  Ker  &  Co.,  the  shippers  of  the  mer 
chandise  specified  in  this  bill  of  lading,  are  British  subjects 
established  in  Manilla,  and  that  according  to  invoices  produced, 
the  said  merchandise  is  shipped  by  order,  and  for  account  of 
Messrs.  Holliday,  Fox  &  Co.,  British  subjects,  of  London,  in 
Great  Britain."  As  nobody  swore  to  anything,  before  the 
Consul,  his  certificate  was  valueless  to  protect  the  property, 
and  the  ship  and  cargo  were  both  condemned.  The  night  set 
in  very  dark  and  squally,  whilst  we  were  yet  alongside  of  this 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       689 

ship.  We  g  3t  on  board  from  her  some  articles  of  provisions, 
and  some  sails  and  cordage  to  replace  the  wear  and  tear  of  the 
late  gales  we  had  passed  through,  and  made  a  brilliant  bonfire 
of  her  at  about  ten  P.  M.  The  conflagration  lighted  up  the  sea  for 
many  miles  around,  and  threw  its  grim  and  ominous  glare  to 
the  very  mouth  of  the  Strait. 

The  next  day  we  ran  in  and  anchored  under  Flat  Point,  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Strait,  in  seventeen  fathoms  water,  about 
a  mile  from  the  coast  of  Sumatra.  My  object  was  to  procure 
some  fruits  and  vegetables  for  my  crew,  who  had  been  now  a 
long  time  on  salt  diet. 


CHAPTEE    XLIX. 

THE  ALABAMA   PASSES  THROUGH   THE    STRAIT   OF   SUNDA, 

SEEING     NOTHING     OF     THE     WYOMING BURNS     THE 

WINGED      RACER      JUST     INSIDE      THE      STRAIT THE 

MALAY  BOATMEN  AND  THEIR  ALARM  —  ALABAMA 
MAKES  FOR  THE  GASPAR  STRAIT,  AND  BURNS  THE  CON- 

'  TEST,  AFTER    AN   EXCITING   CHASE PASSES   THROUGH 

THE  CARIMATA  PASSAGE DISCHARGES  HER  PRISON 
ERS  INTO  AN  ENGLISH  SHIP MINIATURE  SEA-SER 
PENTS THE  CURRENTS PULO  CONDORE ARRIVAL 

AT   SINGAPORE 

SOON  after  anchoring  as  described  in  the  last  chapter,  we 
had  a  false  alarm.  It  was  reported  that  a  bark  some  dis 
tance  off  had  suddenly  taken  in  all  sail,  and  turned  her  head 
in  our  direction,  as  though  she  were  a  steamer  coming  in  chase. 
Orders  were  given  to  get  up  steam,  to  be  ready  for  any  emer 
gency,  but  countermanded  in  a  few  minutes,  when  upon  a  par 
tial  lifting  of  the  rain-clouds,  it  was  ascertained  that  the  strange 
sail  was  a  merchant-ship  and  had  only  taken  in  her  top-gallant 
sails  to  a  squall,  and  clewed  down  her  topsails,  to  reef.  She 
was  indeed  coming  in  our  direction,  but  it  was  only  to  take 
shelter  for  the  night.  She  was  a  Dutch  bark  from  Batavia, 
for  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra. 

The  next  morning,  we  got  under  way,  at  an  early  hour,  to 
pass  through  the  Strait  of  Sunda  into  the  China  Sea.  We 
hove  up  our  anchor  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  rain-squall,  but 
the  weather  cleared  as  the  day  advanced,  and  a  fresh  and 
favorable  wind  soon  sprang  up.  We  ran  along  by  Keyser 
Island,  and  at  half-past  ten  lowered  the  propeller  and  put  the 
ship  under  steam.  Under  both  steam  and  sail  we  made  rapid 
headway.  We  passed  between  the  high  and  picturesque  islands 

690 


MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  691 

of  Beezee  and  Soubooko,  the  channel  being  only  about  a  mile 
in  width.  Groves  of  cocoanut-trees  grew  near  the  beach  on 
the  former  island,  among  which  were  some  straw-thatched 
huts.  From  these  huts,  the  natives,  entirely  naked,  except  a 
breech-cloth  around  the  loins,  flocked  out  in  great  numbers  to 
see  the  ship  pass.  Ships  do  not  often  take  this  narrow  chan 
nel,  and  the  spectacle  was,  no  doubt,  novel  to  them.  They 
made  no  demonstration,  but  gazed  at  us  in  silence  as  we  flew 
rapidly  past  them.  We  ran  through  the  Strait  proper  of  Sun- 
da,  between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  passing  to 
the  westward  of  the  island  called  Thwart-the-Way,  and  close 
to  the  Stroom  Eock,  lying  with  its  blackened  and  jagged  sur 
face  but  a  few  feet  above  the  water.  This  course  carried  us  in 
full  view  of  the  little  town  and  garrison  of  Anjer,  but  we  saw 
nothing  of  the  Wyoming.  We  found  the  Strait  of  Sunda  as 
unguarded  by  the  enemy,  as  we  had  found  the  other  highways 
of  commerce  along  which  we  had  passed. 

Just  where  the  Strait  debouches  into  the  China  Sea,  we 
descried,  in  the  midst  of  a  rain-squall,  to  which  we  were  both 
obliged  to  clew  up  our  top-gallant  sails,  a  tall  clipper  ship,  evi 
dently  American.  She  loomed  up  through  the  passing  shower 
like  a  frigate.  We  at  once  gave  chase,  and  in  a  very  few  min 
utes  hove  the  stranger  to  with  a  gun.  It  was  the  Winged 
Racer,  which  our  English  friend  told  us  had  passed  out  of  the 
Strait  some  days  before  in  his  company.  She  had  lingered 
behind  for  some  reason,  and  as  a  consequence  had  fallen  into 
the  power  of  her  enemy,  with  no  friendly  gun  from  the  Wyo 
ming  to  protect  her.  The  Winged  Racer  was  a  perfect  beauty 
—  one  of  those  New  York  ships  of  superb  model,  with  taunt, 
graceful  masts,  and  square  yards,  known  as  "clippers."  She 
was  from  Manilla,  bound  for  New  York,  with  a  cargo  consisting 
chiefly  of  sugar,  hides,  and  jute.  There  was  no  claim  of  neutral 
property,  and  condemnation  followed  the  capture  as  a  matter 
of  course.  We  anchored  her  near  North  Island,  and  came  to, 
ourselves,  for  the  convenience  of  "robbing"  her.  She  had 
sundry  provisions  on  board  —  particularly  sugar  and  coffee  — 
of  which  we  stood  in  need.  She  had,  besides,  a  large  supply  of 
Manilla  tobacco,  and  my  sailors'  pipes  were  beginning  to  want 
replenishing.  It  took  us  a  greater  part  of  the  night — for  night 


692  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

had  set  in  by  the  time  the  two  ships  were  well  anchored — to 
transport  to  the  Alabama  such  things  as  were  needed.  In  the 
meantime,  the  master  of  the  captured  ship,  who  had  his  family 
on  board,  requested  me  to  permit  him  and  his  crew  to  depart  in 
his  own  boats.  The  portion  of  the  Javan  sea  in  which  we  were 
anchored  was  a  mere  lake,  the  waters  being  shallow,  and  stud 
ded  every  few  miles  with  islands.  He  proposed  to  make  his 
way  to  Batavia,  and  report  to  his  Consul  for  further  assistance. 
I  granted  his  request,  made  him  a  present  of  all  his  boats,  and 
told  him  to  pack  into  them  as  much  plunder  as  he  chose. 
About  one  o'clock  he  was  ready,  and  his  little  fleet  of  boats 
departed.  The  prisoners  from  the  Amanda  took  passage  with 
him. 

Whilst  these  things  were  going  on,  a  number  of  Malay  bum- 
boatmen  had  collected  around  us,  with  their  stores  of  fruits, 
and  vegetables,  and  live  stock.  These  boatmen,  like  the  Chi 
nese,  live  on  the  water,  and  make  a  business  of  supplying  ships 
that  pass  through  the  Strait.  The  stewards  of  the  different 
messes  had  all  been  busy  trading  with  them,  and  there  was 
a  great  squalling  of  chickens,  and  squealing  of  pigs  going  on. 
An  amusing  scene  was  now  to  occur.  The  boatmen  had  no 
suspicion  that  the  Alabama  had  captured  the  Winged  Racer, 
and  was  about  to  destroy  her.  They  were  lying  on  their  oars, 
or  holding  on  to  lines  from  the  two  ships,  with  the  most  perfect 
insouciance.  Presently  a  flame  leaped  up  on  board  the  Winged 
Racer,  and  in  a  few  minutes  enveloped  her.  Terror  at  once 
took  possession  of  the  Malay  boatmen,  and  such  a  cutting  of 
lines,  and  shouting,  and  vigorous  pulling  were  perhaps  never 
before  witnessed  in  the  Strait  of  Sunda.  These  boats  had 
informed  us  that  the  Wyoming  was  at  Anger  only  two  days 
before,  when  they  left. 

It  was  now  about  two  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  the  Alabama  getting 
up  her  anchor,  steamed  out  into  the  China  Sea,  by  the  light  of 
the  burning  ship.  We  had  thus  lighted  a  bonfire  at  either  end  of 
the  renowned  old  Strait  of  Siinda.  After  having  thus  advertised 
our  presence  in  this  passage,  it  was  useless  to  remain  in  it 
longer.  Ships  approaching  it  would  take  the  alarm,  and  seek 
some  other  outlet  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  Most  of  the  ships 
coming  down  the  China  Sea,  with  a  view  of  passing  out  at  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        693 

Strait  of  Sunda,  come  through  the  Gaspar  Strait.  I  resolved 
now  to  steam  in  the  direction  of  this  latter  strait,  and  forestall 
such  as  might  happen  to  be  on  their  way.  By  daylight  we 
had  steamed  the  coast  of  Sumatra  and  Java  out  of  sight,  and 
soon  afterward  we  made  the  little  island  called  the  North 
Watcher,  looking,  indeed,  as  its  name  implied,  like  a  lone  sen 
tinel  posted  on  the  wayside.  We  had  lost  the  beautiful  blue 
waters  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  with  its  almost  unfathomable 
depths,  and  entered  upon  a  sea  whose  waters  were  of  a  whitish 
green,  with  an  average  depth  of  no  more  than  about  twenty 
fathoms.  Finding  that  I  should  be  up  with  Gaspar  Strait,  some 
time  during  the  night,  if  I  continued  under  steam,  and  prefer 
ring  to  delay  my  arrival  until  daylight  the  next  morning,  I  let 
my  steam  go  down,  and  put  my  ship  under  sail,  to  take  it  more 
leisurely. 

We  were  about  to  lift  the  propeller  out  of  the  water,  when 
the  cry  of  "  sail  ho ! "  came  from  the  vigilant  look-out  at  the 
mast-head.  We  at  once  discontinued  the  operation,  not  know 
ing  but  we  might  have  occasion  to  use  steam.  As  the  stranger 
was  standing  in  our  direction,  we  soon  raised  her  from  the 
deck,  and  as  my  glass  developed,  first  one,  and  then  another  of 
her  features,  it  was  evident  that  here  was  another  clipper- 
ship  at  hand.  She  had  the  well-known  tall,  raking  masts, 
square  yards,  and  white  canvas.  She  was  on  a  wind,  with 
everything  set,  from  courses  to  skysails,  and  was  ploughing  her 
way  through  the  gently  ruffled  sea,  with  the  rapidity,  and  at 
the  same  time,  the  grace  of  the  swan.  We  made  her  a  point 
or  two  on  our  lee  bow,  and  not  to  excite  her  suspicion  we  kept 
away  for  her,  so  gradually,  that  she  could  scarcely  perceive 
the  alteration  in  our  course.  We  hoisted  at  the  same  time  the 
United  States  colors.  When  we  were  within  about  four  miles 
of  the  chase,  she  responded  by  showing  us  the  same  colors. 
Feeling  now  quite  sure  of  her,  we  fired  a  gun,  hauled  down 
the  enemy's  flag,  and  threw  our  own  to  the  breeze.  (We  were 
now  wearing  that  splendid  white  flag,  with  its  cross  and  stars, 
which  was  so  great  an  improvement  upon  the  old  one.)  So 
far  from  obeying  the  command  of  our  gun,  the  gallant  ship 
kept  off  a  point  or  two — probably  her  best  point  of  sailing — 
gave  herself  top-gallant  and  topmast  studding-sails,  and  away 
she  went ! 


694  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  had  been  a  little  premature  in  my  eagerness  to  clutch  so 
beautiful  a  prize.  She  was  not  as  yet  under  my  guns,  and  it 
was  soon  evident  that  she  would  give  me  trouble  before  I 
could  overhaul  her.  The  breeze  was  tolerably  fresh,  but  not 
stiff.  We  made  sail  at  once  in  chase.  Our  steam  had  been 
permitted  to  go  down,  as  the  reader  has  seen ;  and  as  yet  we 
had  not  much  more  than  enough  to  turn  over  the  propeller. 
The  chase  was  evidently  gaining  on  us.  It  was  some  fifteen 
or  twenty  minutes  before  the  engineer  had  a  head  of  steam  on. 
We  now  gave  the  ship  all  steam,  and  trimmed  the  sails  to  the 
best  possible  advantage.  Still  the  fugitive  ship  retained  her 
distance  from  us,  if  she  did  not  increase  it.  It  was  the  first  time 
the  Alabama  had  appeared  dull.  She  was  under  both  sail  and 
steam,  and  yet  here  was  a  ship  threatening  to  run  away  from 
her.  She  must  surely  be  out  of  trim.  I  tried,  therefore,  the 
effect  of  getting  my  crew  aft  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  shifting 
aft  some  of  the  forward  guns.  This  helped  us  visibly,  and  the 
ship  sprang  forward  with  increased  speed.  We  were  now  at 
least  holding  our  own,  but  it  was  impossible  to  say,  as  yet, 
whether  we  were  gaining  an  inch.  If  the  breeze  had  freshened, 
the  chase  would  have  run  away  from  us  beyond  all  question. 
I  watched  the  signs  of  the  weather  anxiously.  It  was  between 
nine  and  ten  o'clock  A.  M.  Fortunately,  as  the  sun  gained 
power,  and  drove  away  the  mists  of  the  morning,  the  breeze 
began  to  decline !  Now  came  the  triumph  of  steam.  When 
we  had  come  within  long  range,  I  threw  the  spray  over  the 
quarter-deck  of  the  chase,  with  a  rifle-shot  from  my  bow- 
chaser.  Still  she  kept  on,  and  it  was  not  until  all  hope  was 
evidently  lost,  that  the  proud  clipper-ship,  which  had  been 
beaten  rather  by  the  failure  of  the  wind,  than  the  speed  of 
the  Alabama,  shortened  sail  and  hove  to. 

When  the  captain  was  brought  on  board,  I  congratulated 
him  on  the  skilful  handling  of  his  ship,  and  expressed  my 
admiration  of  her  fine  qualities.  He  told  me  that  she  was  one 
of  the  most  famous  clipper-ships  out  of  New  York.  She  was 
the  Contest,  from  Yokohama,  in  Japan,  bound  to  New  York. 
She  was  light,  and  in  fine  sailing  trim,  having  only  a  partial 
cargo  on  board.  There  being  no  attempt  to  cover  the  cargo, 
consisting  mostly  of  light  Japanese  goods,  lacker-ware,  and 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      695 

curiosities,  I  condemned  both  ship  and  cargo.  I  was  sorry  to 
be  obliged  to  burn  this  beautiful  ship,  and  regretted  much  that 
I  had  not  an  armament  for  her,  that  I  might  commission  her 
as  a  cruiser.  Both  ships  now  anchored  in  the  open  sea,  with 
no  land  visible,  in  fourteen  fathoms  of  water,  whilst  the  crew 
was  being  removed  from  the  prize,  and  the  necessary  prep 
arations  made  for  burning  her.  It  was  after  nightfall  before 
these  were  all  completed,  and  the  torch  applied.  We  hove  up 
our  anchor,  and  made  sail  by  the  light  of  the  burning  ship. 
Having  now  burned  a  ship  off  Gaspar  Strait,  I  turned  my 
ship's  head  to  the  eastward,  with  the  intention  of  taking  the 
Carimata  Strait. 

My  coal  was  running  so  short,  by  this  time,  that  I  was 
obliged  to  dispense  with  the  use  of  steam,  except  on  emergen 
cies,  and  work  my  way  from  point  to  point  wholly  under  sail. 
Fortune  favored  me  however,  for  I  passed  through  the  Cari 
mata  Strait  in  the  short  space  of  five  days  against  the  north 
west  monsoon,  which  was  a  head-wind.  Ships  have  been 
known  to  be  thirty  days  making  this  passage.  I  generally 
anchored  at  night,  on  account  of  the  currents,  and  the  exceed 
ing  difficulty  of  the  navigation  —  shoals  besetting  the  naviga 
tor  on  every  hand  in  this  shallow  sea.  We  began  now  to  fall 
in  with  some  of  the  curiosities  of  the  China  Sea.  Salt-water 
serpents  made  their  appearance,  playing  around  the  ship,  and 
cutting  up  their  antics.  These  snakes  are  from  three  to  five 
feet  long,  and  when  ships  anchor  at  night,  have  been  known 
to  crawl  up  the  cables,  and  make  their  way  on  deck  through 
the  hawse-holes,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of  the  sailors  who 
chance  to  be  sleeping  on  deck.  They  are  not  known  to  be 
poisonous.  Never  having  been  in  the  China  seas  before,  I 
was  quite  amused  at  the  gambols  of  these  minature  sea-ser 
pents.  Seeing  an  old  sailor  stopping  up  the  hawse-holes,  with 
swabs,  one  evening  after  we  had  anchored,  I  asked  him  what 
he  was  about.  "I  'm  stopping  out  the  snakes,  y'r  honor/'  he 
replied.  "What,"  said  I,  "do  they  come  on  deck?"  "Oh!  yes, 
y'r  honor;  when  I  was  in  the  ship  Flying  Cloud,  we  killed 
forty  of  them  on  deck  in  one  morning  watch." 

Naked  Malays  frequently  paddled  off  to  us,  when  we  an 
chored  near  their  villages,  with  fowls,  and  eggs,  and  fruits, 


696  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

and  vegetables,  which  they  desired  to  exchange  for  rice  and 
ship-bread.  In  frail  piraguas,  these  amphibious  bipeds  will 
make  long  voyages  from  island  to  island.  They  seem  to  be  a 
sort  of  wandering  Arabs  of  the  sea,  and,  as  a  rule,  are  a  great 
set  of  villains,  not  hesitating  to  take  a  hand  at  piracy  when 
opportunity  offers.  So  intricate  are  some  of  the  archipelagos 
which  they  inhabit,  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  track  them 
to  their  hiding-places.  These  nomads,  upon  whom  no  civiliza 
tion  seems  to  make  any  impression,  will  probably  long  remain 
the  pests  of  the  China  seas,  in  spite  of  the  steamship. 

Emerging  from  the  Carimata  passage,  we  stood  over  to  the 
west  end  of  the  island  of  Souriton,  where  we  anchored  at  four 
p.  M.,  on  the  18th  of  November.  Here  we  lay  several  days, 
and  for  the  convenience  of  overhauling  passing  ships,  without 
the  necessity  of  getting  under  way,  we  hoisted  out,  and  rigged 
our  launch,  a  fine  cutter-built  boat,  and  provisioning  and  wa 
tering  her  for  a  couple  of  days  at  a  time,  sent  her  out  cruising; 
directing  her,  however,  to  keep  herself  within  sight  of  the 
ship.  A  number  of  sails  were  overhauled,  but  they  all  proved 
to  be  neutral  —  mostly  English  and  Dutch.  I  was  much  struck 
with  the  progress  the  Dutch  were  making  in  these  seas.  Hol 
land,  having  sunk  to  a  fourth  or  fifth  rate  power  in  Europe,  is 
building  up  quite  an  empire  in  the  East.  The  island  of  Java 
is  a  little  kingdom  in  itself,  and  the  boers,  with  the  aid  of  the 
natives,  whom  they  seem  to  govern  with  great  success  are 
fast  bringing  its  fertile  lands  into  cultivation.  Batavia,  Sou- 
rabia,  and  other  towns  are  rising  rapidly  into  importance.  The 
Dutch  are  overrunning  the  fine  island  of  Sumatra,  too.  They 
have  established  military  stations  over  the  greater  part  of  it, 
and  are  gradually  bringing  the  native  chiefs  under  subjection. 
They  occupy  the  spice  islands,  and  are  extending  their  domin 
ion  thence  to  the  northward.  In  short,  Great  Britain  must 
look  to  her  laurels  in  the  China  seas,  if  she  would  not  divide 
them  with  Holland. 

In  the  meantime,  the  inquiry  naturally  presents  itself,  Where 
is  the  Yankee  ?  that  he  is  permitting  all  this  rich  harvest  of 
colonization  and  trade  in  the  East  to  pass  away  from  him.  It 
was  at  one  time  thought  that  he  would  contest  the  palm  of 
enterprise  with  England  herself,  but  this  dream  has  long  since 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN"    THE    STATES.     697 

been  dispelled.  Even  before  the  war,  his  trade  began  to  dwin 
dle.  During  the  war  it  went  down  to  zero,  and  since  the  war 
it  has  not  revived.  Is  he  too  busy  with  his  internal  dissen 
sions  and  politics  ?  Is  the  miserable  faction  which  has  ruled 
the  country  for  the  last  seven  years  determined  to  destroy  all 
its  prosperity,  foreign  as  well  as  domestic  ? 

"While  lying  at  Souriton,  we  boarded  the  British  ship  Ava 
lanche,  two  days  from  Singapore,  with  newspapers  from  Amer 
ica  just  forty  days  old!  Here  was  a  proof  of  the  British  enter 
prise  of  which  we  have  just  been  speaking.  The  Atlantic,  the 
Mediterranean,  the  Eed  Sea,  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  a  part  of 
the  China  Sea,  are  traversed  by  British  steam  and  sail,  and  the 
Alabama  shakes  out  the  folds  of  a  newspaper  from  the  land  of 
her  enemy,  at  an  out-of-the-way  island  in  the  China  Sea,  just  forty 
days  old !  The  Avalanche  kindly  consenting,  we  sent  by  her  our 
prisoners  to  Batavia.  We  now  got  under  way,  and  stood  over 
to  the  west  coast  of  Borneo,  where  we  cruised  for  a  few  days, 
working  our  way  gradually  to  the  northward ;  it  being  my  in 
tention  as  soon  as  I  should  take  the  north-east  monsoon,  which 
prevails  at  this  season  in  the  China  Sea,  to  the  northward  of 
the  equator,  to  stretch  over  to  the  coast  of  Cochin  China,  and 
hold  myself  for  a  short  time  in  the  track  of  the  ships  coming 
down  from  Canton  and  Shanghai.  I  was  greatly  tempted  as 
I  passed  Sarawak,  in  the  island  of  Borneo,  to  run  in  and  visit 
my  friend  Kajah  Brooke,  whose  career  in  the  East  has  been  so 
remarkable  a  one.  Cruising  in  these  seas,  years  ago,  when  he 
was  a  young  man,  in  his  own  yacht,  a  jaunty  little  armed 
schooner  of  about  200  tons,  he  happened  in  at  Sarawak.  The 
natives,  taking  a  fancy  to  him  and  his  tiny  man-of-war,  insisted 
upon  electing  him  their  Rajah,  or  Governor.  He  assented,  got 
a  foothold  in  the  island,  grew  in  favor,  increased  his  dominions, 
and  was,  at  the  period  of  our  visit  to  the  coast,  one  of  the  most 
powerful  Rajahs  in  Borneo.  Since  my  return  from  the  China 
seas,  the  Rajah  has  died,  full  of  years  and  full  of  honors,  be 
queathing  his  government  to  a  blood  relation.  It  would  be 
difficult  for  even  a  Yankee  to  beat  that! 

Upon  reaching  this  coast,  we  struck  a  remarkable  northerly 
current.  It  ran  at  the  rate  of  two  knots  per  hour,  its  general 
set  being  about  north-east.  The  weather  falling  calm,  we  were 


698  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

several  days  within  its  influence.  When  it  had  drifted  us  as 
far  to  the  northward  as  I  desired  to  go,  I  was  obliged  to  let  go 
a  kedge  in  fifty  fathoms  water  to  prevent  further  drift.  The 
current  now  swept  by  us  at  so  rapid  a  rate,  that  we  were 
compelled  to  lash  two  deep  sea  leads  together,  each  weighing 
forty-five  pounds,  to  keep  our  drift-lead  on  the  bottom.  Here 
was  another  of  those  elliptical  currents  spoken  of  a  few  pages 
back.  If  the  reader  will  look  at  a  map  of  the  China  Sea,  he 
will  observe  that  the  north-east  monsoon,  as  it  comes  sweeping 
down  that  sea,  in  the  winter  months,  blows  parallel  with  the 
coasts  of  China  and  Cochin  China.  This  wind  drives  a  cur 
rent  before  it  to  the  south-west.  This  current,  as  it  strikes 
the  peninsula  of  Malacca,  is  deflected  to  the  eastward  toward 
the  coast  of  Sumatra.  Impinging  upon  this  coast,  it  is  again 
deflected  and  driven  off  in  the  direction  of  the  island  of  Borneo. 
This  island  in  turn  gives  it  a  northern  direction,  and  the  con 
sequence  is,  that  the  south-westerly  current  which  came  sweep 
ing  down  the  western  side  of  the  China  Sea,  is  now  going  up 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  same  sea,  as  a  north-easterly  current. 
We  lay  five  days  at  our  kedge,  during  a  calm,  that  lasted  all 
that  "time.  The  monsoons  were  changing ;  the  west  monsoon 
was  setting  in  in  the  East  Indian  archipelago,  and  the  north-east 
ern  monsoon  in  the  China  Sea.  Hence  the  calms,  and  rains, 
and  sudden  gusts  of  wind,  now  from  one  quarter,  and  now 
from  another,  which  we  had  experienced.  At  the  end  of  these 
five  days  of  calm,  we  took  the  north-east  monsoon,  from  about 
N.  N.  E.,  and,  getting  up  our  kedge,  we  made  our  way  over 
to  the  coast  of  Cochin  China,  in  accordance  with  the  intention 
already  expressed. 

There  is  no  navigation,  perhaps,  in  the  world,  so  trying  to 
the  vigilance  and  nerves  of  the  mariner  as  that  of  the  China 
seas.  It  is  a  coral  sea,  and  filled  with  dangers  in  almost  every 
direction,  especially  in  its  eastern  portion,  from  the  Philippine 
Islands  down  to  the  Strait  of  Sunda.  The  industrious  little 
stone-mason,  which  we  have  before  so  often  referred  to,  has 
laid  the  foundation  of  a  new  empire,  at  the  bottom  of  the  China 
Sea,  and  is  fast  making  his  way  to  the  surface.  He  has  already 
dotted  the  sea  with  ten  thousand  islands,  in  its  eastern  portion, 
and  is  silently  and  mysteriously  piling  up  his  tiny  blocks  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      699 

stone,  one  upon  another,  in  the  central  and  western  portions. 
He  is  working  very  irregularly,  having  large  gangs  of 
hands  employed  here,  and  very  few  there,  and  is  running  up 
his  structures  in  very  fantastic  shapes,  some  in  solid  blocks, 
with  even  surfaces,  some  as  pyramids,  and  some  as  cones.  The 
tops  of  the  pyramids  and  cones  are  sometimes  as  sharp  as 
needles,  and  pierce  a  ship's  bottom  as  readily  as  a  needle 
would  a  lady's  finger.  It  is  impossible  to  survey  such  a  sea 
with  accuracy.  A  surveying  vessel  might  drop  a  lead  on 
almost  every  square  foot  of  bottom,  and  yet  miss  some  of  these 
mere  needle-points.  A  ship,  with  the  best  of  modern  charts, 
may  be  threading  this  labyrinth,  as  she  thinks,  quite  securely, 
and  suddenly  find  herself  impaled  upon  one  of  these  dangers. 

To  add  to  the  perplexity  of  the  navigator,  days  sometimes 
elapse,  especially  when  the  monsoons  are  changing,  during 
which  it  is  impossible  to  get  an  observation  for  fixing  the 
position  of  his  ship ;  and  during  these  days  of  incessant 
darkness,  and  drenching  rains,  he  is  hurried  about  by  currents, 
he  knows  not  whither.  And  then,  perhaps,  the  typhoon  comes 
along — that  terrible  cyclone  of  the  China  seas  —  at  the  very 
moment,  it  may  be,  when  he  is,  by  reason  of  the  causes  men 
tioned,  uncertain  of  his  position,  and  compels  him  to  scud  his 
ship  at  hazard,  among  shoals  and  breakers !  I  lost  many  nights 
of  rest  when  in  these  seas,  and  felt  much  relieved  when  the 
time  came  for  me  to  turn  my  back  upon  them.  The  wind 
freshened  as  we  drew  out  from  the  coast  of  Borneo,  and  by 
the  time  we  had  reached  the  track  of  the  westward-bound 
ships,  we  found  the  monsoon  blowing  a  whole  topsail-breeze. 
We  struck,  at  the  same  time,  the  south-westerly  current  de 
scribed,  and  what  with  the  wind  and  the  current,  we  found  it 
as  much  as  we  could  do  to  hold  our  own,  and  prevent  ourselves 
from  being  drifted  to  leeward.  It  soon  became  apparent  that 
it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  operations  here,  unless  assisted 
by  steam.  Every  chase  would  probably  carry  us  miles  to  lee 
ward,  whence  it  would  be  impossible,  under  sail  alone,  to  re 
gain  our  position.  Still,  we  held  ourselves  a  day  or  two  in 
the  track,  in  accordance  with  my  previous  determination,  over 
hauling  several  ships,  none  of  which,  however,  proved  to  be 
enemy. 


700  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

At  the  3nd  of  this  short  cruise,  we  made  sail  for  the  island 
of  Condc  re,  or,  as  it  is  called  on  the  charts  of  the  China  Sea, 
Pulo  Condore,  the  word  "  pulo  "  being  the  Chinese  term  for 
island.  My  intention  was  to  run  into  this  small  island,  which 
has  a  snug  harbor,  sheltered  from  the  monsoon,  do  some  neces 
sary  repairs  with  my  own  mechanics,  refit  and  repaint,  and 
then  run  down  to  Singapore,  and  fill  up  with  coal.  My  future 
course  would  be  guided  by  contingencies.  We  made  Pulo 
Condore  early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  second  of  December,  and 
passing  to  the  northward  of  the  "  White  Kock,"  bore  up,  and 
ran  along  the  western  side  of  the  island  until  nightfall,  when 
we  anchored  under  the  lee  of  a  small,  rocky  island,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  harbor.  The  scenery  was  bold,  picturesque,  and 
impressive.  All  was  novelty ;  the  shallow  sea,  the  whistling 
monsoon,  and  the  little  islands  rising  so  abruptly  from  the  sea, 
that  a  goat  could  scarcely  clamber  up  their  sides.  The  richest 
vegetation  covered  these  islands  from  the  sea-level  to  their 
summits.  Occasionally  a  break  or  gap  in  the  mountain  —  for 
Pulo  Condore  rises  to  the  height  of  a  mountain  —  disclosed 
charming  ravines,  opening  out  into  luxuriant  plains,  where 
were  grazing  the  wild  cattle  of  the  country  —  the  bison,  or 
small-humped  buffalo  of  the  East. 

At  daylight  the  next  morning,  upon  looking  into  the  harbor 
with  our  glasses,  we  were  surprised  to  see  a  small  vessel  at  an 
chor,  wearing  the  French  flag ;  and  pretty  soon  afterward  we 
were  boarded  by  a  French  boat ;  Pulo  Condore  —  lying  off  the 
coast  of  Cochin  China  —  having  recently  become  a  French 
colony.  The  island  had  been  taken  possession  of  by  France 
two  years  before.  The  vessel  was  a  ship  of  war,  keeping 
watch  and  ward  over  the  lonely  waters.  This  was  a  surprise. 
I  had  expected  to  find  the  island  in  the  hands  of  the  Malay 
nomads  who  infest  these  seas,  and  to  have  converted  it  into 
Confederate  territory,  as  I  had  done  Angra  Pequefia,  on  the 
west  coast  of  Africa  —  at  least  during  my  stay.  And  so  when 
I  had  invited  the  French  officer,  who  was  himself  the  com 
mander  of  the  little  craft,  into  my  cabin,  I  remarked  to  him, 
"Yen  have  spoiled  a  pet  project  of  mine."  "  How  so?  "  said 
he.  I  then  explained  to  him  how,  in  imitation  of  my  friend 
Brc  >ke,  I  had  intended  to  play  Eajah  for  a  few  weeks,  in  Pulo 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     701 

Condore.  He  laug.ied  heartily,  and  said,  "  Serd  tout  le  meme 
chose,  Monsieur.  Vous  portez  plus  de  cannons  que  moi,  et  vous 
serez  Rajah,  pendant  votre  sejour"  I  did  carry  a  few  more  guns 
than  my  French  friend,  for  his  little  man-of-war  was  only  a 
craft  of  the  country,  of  less  than  a  hundred  tons  burden,  armed 
with  one  small  carronade.  His  crew  consisted  of  about  twenty 
men. 

I  found  him  as  good  as  his  word,  with  reference  to  my  play 
ing  Eajah,  for  he  did  not  so  much  as  mention  to  me,  once,  any 
rule  limiting  the  stay  of  belligerents  in  French  waters.  We 
now  got  under  way,  and  stood  in  to  the  anchorage,  the  French 
officer  kindly  consenting  to  show  me  the  way  in ;  though  there 
was  but  little  need,  as  the  harbor  was  quite  free  from  obstruc 
tions,  except  such  as  were  plainly  visible.  The  water  in  this 
cosy  little  harbor  was  as  smooth  as  a  mill-pond,  notwithstand 
ing  occasional  gusts  of  the  monsoon  swept  down  the  moun 
tain  sides.  There  were  mountains  on  two  sides  of  us,  both  to 
the  north  and  south.  The  harbor  was,  in  fact,  formed  by  two 
mountainous  islands,  both  passing  under  the  name  of  Condore ; 
there  being  only  a  boat-passage  separating  them  on  the  east. 

This  was  our  first  real  resting-place,  since  leaving  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  both  officers  and  men  enjoyed  the  relaxa 
tion.  The  island  was  full  of  game,  the  bay  full  of  fish,  and 
the  bathing  very  fine.  We  felt  quite  secure,  too,  against  the 
approach  of  an  enemy.  The  only  enemy's  steamer  in  these 
seas  was  the  Wyoming,  for  which  we  regarded  ourselves  as 
quite  a  match.  We  had,  besides,  taken  the  precaution,  upon 
anchoring,  to  lay  out  a  spring,  by  which  we  could,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  minutes,  present  our  broadside  to  the  nar 
row  entrance  of  the  harbor,  and  thus  rake  anything  that 
might  attempt  the  passage.  The  Governor  of  the  island  now 
came  on  board  to  visit  us.  He  had  his  headquarters  at  a  small 
Malay  village  on  the  east  coast,  where,  by  the  aid  of  a  ser 
geant's  guard,  he  ruled  his  subjects  with  despotic  sway.  He 
brought  me  on  board  a  present  of  a  pig,  and  generously  offered 
to  share  with  me  a  potato-patch  near  the  ship.  What  more 
could  a  monarch  do  ?  This  was  an  exceedingly  clever  young 
Frenchman  —  Monsieu r  Bizot  —  he  was  an  ensign  in  the  French 


702  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Navy,  about  twenty-two  years  of  age;  and  a  graduate  of  the 
French  naval  school.  The  commander  of  his  flag-ship — the 
small  country  craft  already  described — was  a  midshipman. 
These  two  young  men  had  entire  control  of  the  government  of 
the  island,  civil  and  military. 

Kell  having  set  his  mechanics  at  work  in  the  various  depart 
ments,  to  effect  the  necessary  repairs  on  the  ship,  I  relaxed  the 
reins  of  discipline,  as  much  as  possible,  that,  by  boat-sailing, 
fishing,  and  hunting  excursions,  my  people  might  recruit  from 
the  ill  effects  of  their  long  confinement  on  ship-board,  and  the 
storms  and  bad  weather  they  had  experienced.  The  north 
east  monsoon  having  now  fairly  set  in;  the  weather  had  become 
fine.  The  heat  was  very  great,  it  is  true,  but  it  was  much  tem 
pered  by  the  winds.  During  the  two  weeks  that  we  remained 
in  the  island,  almost  every  part  of  it  was  explored  by  my  ad 
venturous  hunters — even  the  very  mountain  tops  —  and  mar 
vellous  were  the  reports  of  their  adventures  which  they  brought 
on  board.  Some  small  specimens  of  deer  were  found ;  the 
bison — the  bull  of  which  is  very  savage,  not  hesitating  to  as 
sault  the  hunter,  under  favorable  circumstances — abounded  on 
the  small  savannas;  monkeys  travelled  about  in  troops ;  parrots, 
and  other  birds  of  beautiful  plumage,  wheeled  over  our  heads 
in  flocks — in  short,  the  whole  island  seemed  teeming  with  life. 
The  natives  told  us  that  there  were  many  large,  and  some  poi 
sonous  serpents  in  the  jungles,  but  fortunately  none  of  my 
people  were  injured  by  them. 

We  found  here  the  famous  vampyre  of  the  East.  Several 
specimens  were  shot,  and  brought  on  board.  Some  of  these 
monster  bats  measure  from  five  to  six  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of 
wing.  The  head  resembles  that  of  a  wolf.  It  has  long  and 
sharp  incisor-teeth  and  tusks,  and  would  be  a  dangerous  ani 
mal  to  attack  an  unarmed  man.  The  reptile  tribe  flourishes  in 
perfection.  A  lizard,  measuring  five  feet  ten  inches  in  length, 
was  brought  on  board  by  one  of  the  hunters.  Nature  runs 
riot  in  every  direction,  and  the  vegetable  world  is  as  curious 
as  the  animal.  The  engineer  coming  on  board,  one  day,  from 
one  of  his  excursions,  pulled  out  his  cigar  case,  and  offered 
me  a  very  tempting  Havana  cigar.  Imagine  my  surprise  when 
I  found  it  a  piece  of  wood  !  It  had  been  plucked  fresh  from 


DUKING    THE    WAE    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      703 

the  tree.  The  size,  shape,  and  color — a  rich  brown — were  all 
perfect.  It  was  not  a  capsule  or  a  seed-pod,  but  a  solid  piece 
of  wood,  with  the  ordinary  woody  fibre,  and  full  of  sap.  I 
put  it  away  carefully  among  my  curiosities,  but  after  a  few 
days  it  shrivelled,  and  lost  its  beauty. 

The  apes  did  not  appear  to  be  afraid  of  the  gun  —  probably 
because  they  were  not  accustomed  to  be  shot  at.  They  would 
cluster  around  a  hunting-party,  and  grin  and  chatter  like  so 
many  old  negroes,  one  sometimes  sees  on  the  coast  of  Africa. 
One  of  the  midshipmen  having  shot  one,  described  the  death 
of  the  old  gentleman  to  me,  and  said  that  he  felt  almost  as  if 
he  had  killed  his  old  "uncle"  on  his  father's  plantation.  The 
wounded  creature  —  whatever  it  may  be,  man  or  animal  — 
threw  its  arms  over  the  wound,  and  moaned  as  plaintively  and 
intelligibly  as  if  it  had  been  gifted  with  the  power  of  speech, 
and  were  upbraiding  its  slayer.  During  our  stay  I  made  the 
acquaintance  —  through  rny  opera-glass  —  of  several  of  these 
lampoons  upon  human  nature.  A  gang  of  apes,  old  and  young, 
came  down  to  the  beach  regularly  every  morning,  to  look  at 
the  ship.  The  old  men  and  women  would  seat  themselves  in 
rows,  and  gaze  at  us,  sometimes  for  an  hour,  without  changing 
their  places  or  attitudes  —  seeming  to  be  absorbed  in  wonder. 
I  became  quite  familiar  with  some  of  their  countenances. 
The  young  people  did  not  appear  to  be  so  strongly  impressed. 
They  would  walk  about  the  beach  in  twos  and  threes  —  making 
love,  most  likely,  and  settling  future  family  arrangements. 
The  children,  meanwhile,  would  be  romping  around  the  old 
people,  screaming  and  barking  in  very  delight.  If  a  boat  ap 
proached  them,  the  old  people  would  give  a  peculiar  whistle, 
when  the  younger  members  of  the  tribe  would  betake  them 
selves  at  once  to  the  cover  of  the  adjoining  jungle. 

A  hunting  party,  landing  here  one  morning,  shot  one  of 
these  old  apes.  The  rest  scampered  off,  and  were  seen  no 
more  that  day.  The  next  morning,  upon  turning  my  opera- 
glass  upon  the  beach,  I  saw  the  monkeys  as  usual,  but  they 
were  broken  into  squads,  and  moving  about  in  some  disorder, 
instead  of  being  seated  as  usual.  I  could  plainly  see  some  of 
them  at  work.  Some  appeared  to  be  digging  in  the  sand,  and 
others  to  be  bringing  twigs  and  leaves  of  trees,  and  such  of  the 

45 


704  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

debris  of  the  forest  as  they  could  gather  conveniently.  It  was 
my  usual  hour  for  landing,  to  get  sights  for  my  chronometers. 
As  the  boat  approached,  the  whole  party  disappeared.  I  had 
the  curiosity  to  walk  to  the  spot,  to  see  what  these  semi-human 
beings  had  been  doing.  They  had  been  burying  their  dead 
comrade,  and  had  not  quite  finished  covering  up  the  body, 
when  they  had  been  disturbed  !  The  deceased  seemed  to  have 
been  popular,  for  a  large  concourse  had  come  to  attend  his 
funeral.  The  natives  told  us,  that  this  burial  of  the  monkeys 
was  a  common  practice.  They  believe  in  monkey  doctors,  too, 
for  they  told  us  that  when  they  have  come  upon  sick  monkeys 
in  the  woods,  they  have  frequently  found  some  demure  old 
fellows  looking  very  wise,  with  their  fingers  on  their  noses 
sitting  at  their  bed-sides.  The  ladies  may  be  curious  to  know, 
from  the  same  good  authority,  how  the  monkeys  of  Pulo  Con- 
dore  treat  their  women.  As  among  the  Salt  Lake  saints, 
polygamy  prevails,  and  there  are  sometimes  as  many  as  a 
dozen  females  "sealed"  to  one  old  patriarch  —  especially  if  he 
be  broad  across  the  shoulders,  and  have  sharp  teeth.  The 
young  lady  monkeys  are  required  to  form  matrimonial  con 
nections  during  the  third  or  fourth  season  of  their  belledom ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  parent  monkeys  will  permit  their  daughters 
to  sally  out  and  return  home  as  often  as  they  please,  after  they 
have  "come  out,"  until  three  or  four  moons  have  elapsed. 
After  that  time  they  are  expected  to  betake  themselves  to 
their  own  separate  trees  for  lodging. 

I  was  frequently  startled,  whilst  we  lay  at  Pulo  Condore, 
at  hearing  what  appeared  to  be  the  whistle  of  a  locomotive  — 
rather  shrill,  it  may  be,  but  very  much  resembling  it.  It 
proceeded  from  an  enormous  locust. 

Pulo  Condore  lies  in  the  route  of  the  French  mail-steamer,  be 
tween  Singapore  and  Saigon,  the  latter  the  capital  of  the  French 
possessions  in  Cochin  China,  and  the  Governor  receiving  a  large 
mail  while  we  were  here,  was  kind  enough  to  send  us  some 
late  papers  from  Paris  and  Havre.  Every  two  or  three  days, 
too,  he  sent  us  fresh  beef,  fowls,  and  fruits.  On  the  Sunday 
evening  after  our  arrival,  he,  and  his  paymaster  repeated  their 
visit  to  us,  and  brought  in  the  same  boat  with  themselves,  a 
bullock— -a  fine  fat  bison!  In  a  country  comparatively  wild, 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      705 

and  where  supplies  were  so  difficult  to  be  obtained,  these  pres 
ents  were  greatly  enhanced  in  value.  Poor  Monsieur  Bizot ! 
we  all  regretted  to  learn,  upon  our  return  to  Europe,  that  this 
promising  young  officer,  so  full  of  talent,  life,  energy,  hope, 
had  fallen  a  victim  to  a  malarial  fever. 

Kell  performed  quite  a  feat  at  Pulo  Condore  in  the  way  of 
ship-carpentry.  Our  copper  having  fallen  off,  some  distance 
below  the  water-line,  he  constructed  a  coffer  or  caisson,  that 
fitted  the  side  of  the  ship  so  nicely,  when  sunk  to  the  required 
depth,  that  he  had  only  to  pump  it  out,  with  our  fire-engine  and 
suction-hose,  to  enable  his  mechanics  to  descend  into  a  dry  box 
and  effect  the  necessary  repairs.  We  found  our  ship  so  much 
out  of  order,  that  it  required  two  weeks  to  get  her  ready  for 
sea.  At  the  end  of  this  time,  we  took  an  affectionate  leave  of 
our  French  friends,  and  getting  under  way,  under  sail,  we  again 
threw  ourselves  into  the  monsoon,  and  south-west  current,  and 
turned  our  head  in  the  direction  of  Singapore.  We  crossed 
the  Gulf  of  Siam  under  easy  sail,  that  we  might  have  the  benefit 
of  any  chance  capture,  that  might  present  itself.  There  was  a 
number  of  vessels  hurrying  on  before  the  brisk  monsoon,  but 
no  Yankee  among  them.  The  Yankee  flag  had  already  be 
come  a  stranger  in  the  China  Sea.  On  the  evening  of  the  19th 
of  December,  we  ran  in,  and  anchored  under  Pulo  Aor,  in 
twenty  fathoms  water,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  village,  on  the 
south-west  end  of  the  island.  The  island  is  high,  and  broken 
—  its  forests  being  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  cocoanut  — 
and  is  inhabited  by  the  same  class  of  Malay  nomads  already 
described.  Their  houses  were  picturesquely  scattered  among 
the  trees,  and  several  large  boats  were  hauled  up  near  them, 
on  the  beach,  ready  for  any  enterprise  that  might  offer,  in  their 
line.  The  head  man  came  off  to  visit  me,  and  some  pira 
guas  with  fowls  and  fruits  came  alongside,  to  trade  with  the 
sailors. 

These  islanders  appeared  to  be  a  merry  set  of  fellows,  for 
during  nearly  the  whole  night,  we  could  hear  the  sound  of  tom 
toms,  and  other  musical  instruments,  as  though  they  were  en 
gaged  in  the  mysteries  of  the  dance.  Some  very  pretty  speci 
mens  of  young  women,  naked  to  the  middle,  came  off  in  their 
light  piraguas,  handling  the  paddle  equally  with  the  men,  and 


706  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

appearing  quite  as  much  at  home  on  the  water.  The  next  day 
being  Sunday,  and  the  weather  not  being  very  propitious  for 
our  run  to  Singapore,  it  being  thick  and  murky,  we  remained 
over  at  our  anchors,  at  this  island,  mustering  the  crew,  and 
inspecting  the  ship  as  usual.  After  muster,  some  of  the  offi 
cers  visited  the  shore,  and  were  hospitably  received  by  the 
natives.  They  saw  no  evidences  of  the  cultivation  of  the  soil, 
or  of  any  other  kind  of  labor.  Nature  supplied  the  inhabi 
tants,  spontaneously,  with  a  regular  succession  of  fruits  all  the 
year  round,  and  as  for  clothing,  they  needed  none,  so  near  the 
equator.  The  sea  gave  them  fish  ;  and  the  domestic  fowl,  which 
seemed  to  take  care  of  itself,  and  the  goat  which  browsed 
without  care  also  on  the  mountain-side,  secured  them  against 
the  caprice  of  the  elements.  Their  physique  was  well  devel 
oped,  and  life  seemed  to  be  with  them  a  continual  holiday. 
Who  shall  say  that  the  civilized  man  is  a  greater  philosopher, - 
than  the  savage  of  the  China  seas? 

On  the  next  morning,  at  a  very  early  hour — just  as  the 
cocks  on  shore  were  crowing  for  early  daylight — we  hove  up 
our  anchor,  and  giving  the  ship  both  steam  and  sail,  shaped  our 
course  for  Singapore.  Soon  after  getting  underway,  we  fell  in 
company  with  an  English  steamer  running  also  in  our  direc 
tion.  The  navigation,  as  one  approaches  the  Strait  of  Malacca, 
on  which  Singapore  is  situated,  is  very  difficult,  there  being 
some  ugly  shoals  by  the  wayside ;  and  the  weather  coming  on 
thick,  and  heavy  rains  setting  in,  we  were  obliged  to  anchor 
in  the  mouth  of  the  Strait  for  several  hours.  The  weather 
now  lifting,  and  the  clouds  breaking  away,  we  got  under  way, 
again,  and  taking  a  Malay  pilot  soon  afterward,  we  ran  into 
Singapore,  and  anchored,  at  about  five  P.  M.  The  harbor  was 
filled  with  shipping,  but  there  was  no  United  States  ship  of 
war  among  the  number.  The  reader  has  seen  that  the  Wyo 
ming  was  at  Anger  in  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  only  two  days 
before  we  burned  the  Winged  Racer.  She  must  have  heard  of 
that  event  soon  after  its  occurrence,  and  also  of  our  burning 
the  Contest  near  Gaspar  Strait.  The  English  ship  Avalanche 
had,  besides,  carried  news  to  Batavia,  that  we  were  off  Sorouton, 
still  higher  up  the  China  Sea.  The  Wyoming,  if  she  had  any 
intention  of  seeking  a  fight  with  us,  was  thus  entirely  deceived 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN     THE    STATES.    707 

by  our  movements.  These  indicated  that  we  were  bound  to 
Canton  and  Shanghai,  and  thither,  probably,  she  had  gone. 
She  must  have  passed  within  sight  of  Pulo  Condore,  while 
we  were  scraping  down  our  masts,  tarring  our  rigging,  and 
watching  the  funeral  of  the  dead  monkey  described  ;  and 
about  the  time  she  was  ready  to  run  into  Hongkong,  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  China  Sea,  we  had  run  into  Singapore, 
and  anchored  in  the  lower  part. 


CHAPTBE   L. 

THE   ALABAMA   AT   SINGAPORE PANIC    AMONG   THE   EN- 

EMY'S  SHIPPING  IN  THE    CHINA  SEA THE    MULTITUDE 

FLOCK    TO    SEE   THE  ALABAMA CURIOUS    RUMOR  CON 
CERNING  HER AUTHOR    RIDES  TO  THE  COUNTRY,  AND 

SPENDS  A  NIGHT THE  CHINESE  IN  POSSESSION  OF  ALL 

THE  BUSINESS  OF   THE  PLACE ALABAMA  LEAVES  SIN 
GAPORE  CAPTURE   OF  THE   MARTABAN,  ALIAS    TEXAN 

STAR ALABAMA    TOUCHES    AT    MALACCA CAPTURE 

OF    THE    HIGHLANDER   AND    SONORA ALABAMA   ONCE 

MORE   IN   THE   INDIAN   OCEAN. 

IT  turned  out  as  I  had  conjectured  in  the  last  chapter.  The 
Wyoming  had  been  at  Singapore  on  the  1st  of  December. 
She  had  gone  thence  to  the  Rhio  Strait,  where  a  Dutch  settle 
ment  had  given  her  a  ball,  which  she  had  reciprocated.  Whilst 
these  Yankee  and  Dutch  rejoicings  were  going  on,  the  Alabama 
was  crossing  the  China  Sea,  from  Borneo  to  Pulo  Coridore. 
All  traces  of  the  Wyoming  had  since  been  lost.  She  had 
doubtless  filled  with  coal  at  Rhio,  and  gone  northward.  We 
had  thus  a  clear  sea  before  us. 

A  very  gratifying  spectacle  met  our  eyes  at  Singapore. 
There  were  twenty-two  American  ships  there — large  India- 
men —  almost  all  of  which  were  dismantled  and  laid  up  !  The 
burning  of  our  first  ship  in  these  seas,  the  Amanda,  off  the 
Strait  of  Sunda,  had  sent  a  thrill  of  terror  through  all  the 
Yankee  shipping,  far  and  near,  and  it  had  hastened  to  port,  to 
get  out  of  harm's  way.  We  had  recent  news  here  from  all 
parts  of  the  China  seas,  by  vessels  passing  constantly  through 
the  Strait  of  Malacca,  and  touching  at  Singapore  for  orders  or 
refreshments.  There  were  two  American  ships  laid  up  in  Ban- 
kok;  in  Siam ;  one  or  two  at  Canton ;  two  or  three  at  Shang- 

708 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  709 

hai ;  one  at  the  Phillippine  Islands ;  and  one  or  two  more  in 
Japanese  waters.  These,  besides  the  twenty -two  ships  laid  up 
in  Singapore,  comprised  all  of  the  enemy's  once  numerous 
Chinese  fleet !  No  ship  could  get  a  freight,  and  the  commerce 
of  the  enemy  was  as  dead,  for  the  time  being,  as  if  every  ship 
belonging  to  him  had  been  destroyed.  We  had  here  the  key 
to  the  mystery,  that  the  Alabama  had  encountered  no  Amer 
ican  ship,  in  the  China  Sea,  since  she  had  burned  the  Contest. 
The  birds  had  all  taken  to  cover,  and  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  flushing  them.  This  state  of  things  decided  my  future 
course.  I  had,  at  first,  thought  of  running  up  the  China  Sea, 
as  far  as  Shanghai,  but  if  there  were  no  more  than  half  a 
dozen  of  the  enemy's  ships  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  sea, 
and  these  had  all  fled  to  neutral  ports  for  protection,  cui  lono? 
It  would  be  far  better  to  return  to  the  western  hemisphere, 
where  the  enemy  still  had  some  commerce  left.  Indeed,  my 
best  chance  of  picking  up  these  very  ships,  that  were  now  an 
chored  under  my  guns  in  Singapore,  and  disconsolate  for  want 
of  something  to  do,  would  be  to  waylay  them  on  their  home 
ward  voyages.  They  would  not  venture  out  in  a  close  sea  like 
that  of  China,  so  long  as  I  remained  in  it.  After  I  should 
have  departed,  and  they  had  recovered  somewhat  from  their 
panic,  they  might  pick  up  partial  cargoes,  at  reduced  rates,  and 
once  more  spread  their  wings  for  flight. 

I  had  another  powerful  motive  influencing  me.  My  ship  was 
getting  very  much  out  of  repair.  The  hard  usage  to  which 
she  had  been  subjected  since  she  had  been  commissioned 
had  very  much  impaired  her  strength,  and  so  constantly  had 
she  been  under  way,  that  the  attrition  of  the  water  had  worn 
the  copper  on  her  bottom  so  thin  that  it  was  daily  loosening 
and  dropping  off  in  sheets.  Her  speed  had,  in  consequence, 
been  much  diminished.  The  fire  in  her  furnaces,  like  that  of 
the  fire-worshipping  Persian,  had  never  been  permitted  to  go 
out,  except  for  a  few  hours  at  rare  intervals,  to  enable  the  en 
gineer  to  clink  his  bars,  and  remove  the  incrustations  of  salt 
from  the  bottoms  of  his  boilers.  This  constant  action  of  fire 
and  salt  had  nearly  destroyed  them.  I  resolved,  therefore,  to 
turn  my  ship's  head  westward  from  Singapore,  run  up  into  the 
Bay  of  Bengal,  along  the  coast  of  Hindostan  to  Bombay, 


710  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

through  the  Seychelle  Islands  to  the  mouth  of  the  Eed  Sea, 
thence  to  the  Comoro  Islands ;  from  these  latter  to  the  Strait 
of  Madagascar,  and  from  the  latter  Strait  to  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  —  thus  varying  my  route  back  to  the  Cape. 

We  were  received  with  great  cordiality  by  the  people  of 
Singapore,  and,  as  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  much  curiosity 
was  manifested  to  see  the  ship.  After  she  had  hauled  along 
side  of  the  coaling  wharf,  crowds  gathered  to  look  curiously 
upon  her,  and  compare  her  appearance  with  what  they  had 
read  of  her.  These  crowds  were  themselves  a  curiosity  to 
look  upon,  formed,  as  they  were,  of  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  from  the  remote  East  and  the  remote  West.  Singapore 
being  a  free  port,  and  a  great  centre  of  trade,  there  is  always 
a  large  fleet  of  shipping  anchored  in  its  waters,  and  its  streets 
and  other  marts  of  commerce  are  constantly  thronged  with  a 
promiscuous  multitude.  The  canal  —  there  being  one  leading 
to  the  rear  of  the  town — is  filled  with  country  boats  from  the 
surrounding  coasts,  laden  with  the  products  of  the  different 
countries  from  which  they  come.  There  is  the  pepper-boat 
from  Sumatra,  and  the  coaster  of  larger  size  laden  with  tin- 
ore  ;  the  spice-boats  from  the  spice  islands ;  boats  with  tin-ore, 
hides,  and  mats  from  Borneo ;  boats  from  Siam,  with  gums, 
hides,  and  cotton ;  boats  from  different  parts  of  the  Malay 
peninsula,  with  canes,  gutta-percha,  and  India-rubber.  In  the 
bay  are  ships  from  all  parts  of  the  East  —  from  China,  with 
silks  and  teas ;  from  Japan,  with  lacker- ware,  raw  silk,  and 
curious  manufactures  of  iron,  steel,  and  paper ;  from  the  PhiL 
lippine  Islands,  with  sugar,  hides,  tobacco,  and  spices.  Inter 
mixed  with  these  are  the  European  and  American  ships,  with 
the  products  of  their  various  countries.  As  a  consequence,  all 
the  races  and  all  the  religions  of  the  world  were  represented 
in  the  throngs  that  crowded  the  coaling  jetty,  to  look  upon 
the  Alabama,  wearing  the  new  flag  of  a  new  nation,  mysterious 
for  its  very  distance  from  them.  We  were  to  their  eastern 
eyes  a  curious  people  of  the  antipodes. 

The  physical  aspect  of  the  throng  was  no  less  curious  than 
its  moral.  There  was  the  Malay,  the  Chinese,  the  Japanese, 
the  Siamese,  the  Hindoo,  the  Persian,  the  wild  Tartar,  the  Bor- 
nese,  the  Sumatran,  the  Javanese,  and  even  the  New  Zealander 


DURING    THE     WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     711 

— all  dressed,  or  undressed,  as  the  case  might  be,  in  the  garb 
of  their  respective  tribes  and  countries.  Some  of  the  most 
notable  objects  among  the  crowd,  were  jet-black  Africans,  with 
the  amplest  of  petticoat  trousers  gathered  at  the  knee,  san 
dalled  feet,  and  turbaned  heads —  the  more  shining  the  jet  of 
the  complexion,  the  whiter  the  turban.  The  crowd,  so  far  from 
diminishing,  increased  daily,  so  that  it  was  at  times  difficult  to 
pass  into  and  out  of  the  ship  ;  and  it  was  some  time  before 
we  could  learn  what  had  excited  all  this  curiosity  among  those 
simple  inhabitants  of  the  isles  and  continents.  Some  of  these 
wonder-mongers  actually  believed,  that  we  kept  chained  in  the 
hold  of  the  Alabama,  several  negro  giants  —  they  had  heard 
something  about  the  negro  and  slavery  having  something  to 
do  with  the  war  —  whom  we  armed  with  immense  weapons 
and  let  loose,  in  time  of  battle,  as  they  were  wont  to  do  their 
elephants !  They  waited  patiently  for  hours,  under  their  paper 
umbrellas,  hoping  to  catch  a  sight  of  these  monsters. 

Singapore,  which  was  a  fishing  village  half  a  century  ago, 
contains  a  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  under  the  free- 
port  system  has  become,  as  before  remarked,  a  great  centre  of 
trade.  It  concentrates  nearly  all  the  trade  of  the  southern 
portion  of  the  China  Sea.  There  are  no  duties  on  exports  or 
imports ;  and  the  only  tonnage  due  paid  by  the  shipping,  is 
three  cents  per  ton,  register,  as  a  lighthouse  tax.  The  cur 
rency  is  dollars  and  cents;  Spanish,  Mexican,  Peruvian,  and 
Bolivian  dollars  are  current.  Great  Britain,  with  an  infinite 
forecaste,  not  only  girdles  the  seas  with  her  ships,  but  the  land 
with  her  trading  stations.  In  her  colonization  and  commerce 
consists  her  power.  Lop  off  these,  and  she  would  become  as 
insignificant  as  Holland.  And  so  beneficent  is  her  rule,  that 
she  binds  her  colonies  to  her  with  hooks  of  steel.  A  senseless 
party  in  that  country  has  advocated  the  liberation  of  all  her 
colonies.  No  policy  could  be  more  suicidal.  Colonization  is 
as  much  of  a  necessity  for  Great  Britain  as  it  was  for  the  Gre 
cian  States  and  for  Rome,  when  they  became  overcrowded  with 
population.  Probably,  in  the  order  of  nature,  colonies,  as  they 
reach  maturity,  may  be  expected  to  go  off  to  themselves,  but 
for  each  colony  which  thus  puts  on  the  toga  virilis,  Great  Bri 
tain  should  establish  another,  if  she  would  preserve  her  em 
pire,  and  her  importance  with  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


712  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

The  most  notable  feature  about  Singapore  is  its  Chinese 
population.  I  consider  these  people,  in  many  respects,  the 
most  wonderful  people  of  the  earth.  They  are  essentially  a 
people  of  the  arts,  and  of  trade,  and  in  the  changing  aspect  of 
the  world  must  become  much  more  important  than  they  have 
hitherto  been.  It  is  little  more  than  half  a  century  since 
Napoleon  twitted  the  English  people  with  being  a  nation  of 
"shop-keepers."  So  rapid  have  been  the  changes  since,  that 
other  nations  besides  Great  Britain  are  beginning  to  covet  the 
designation  as  one  of  honor.  Even  military  France,  the  very 
country  which  bestowed  the  epithet  in  scorn,  is  herself  becom 
ing  a  nation  of  mechanics  and  shop-keepers.  Industrial  Con 
gresses,  and  Palaces  of  Industry  attract  more  attention,  in  that 
once  martial  country,  than  military  reviews,  and  the  marching 
and  countermarching  of  troops  on  the  Campus  Martius.  An 
Emperor  of  France  has  bestowed  the  cordon  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor  on  a  Yankee  piano-maker !  These  are  some  of  the  signs 
of  the  times  in  which  we  live.  And  they  are  signs  which  the 
wise  statesman  will  not  ignore.  A  nation  chooses  wisely  and 
well,  which  prefers  the  pursuits  of  peace  to  those  of  war ;  and 
that  nation  is  to  be  envied,  which  is  better  constituted  by  the 
nature  of  its  people  for  peaceful,  than  for  warlike  pursuits. 
This  is  eminently  the  case  with  the  Chinese.  Nature  has 
kindly  cast  them  in  a  mould,  gentle  and  pacific.  They  are 
human,  and  have,  therefore,  had  their  wars,  but  compared  with 
the  western  nations,  their  wars  have  been  few.  The  Taeping 
rebellion  of  our  day,  which  has  lasted  so  long,  had  its  origin  in 
the  brigandage  of  an  idle  and  leprous  soldiery,  who  sought  to 
live  at  ease,  at  the  expense  of  the  honest  producer. 

It  is  only  lately  that  we  have  been  able  to  obtain  an  interior 
view  of  these  people.  A  few  years  back,  and  China  was  a 
sealed  book  to  us.  Our  merchants  were  confined  to  certain 
"  factories  "  outside  of  the  walls  of  Canton,  and  we  were  per 
mitted  to  trade  at  no  other  points.  But  since  we  have  gotten  a 
glimpse  of  these  wonderful  people,  we  have  been  astonished  at 
the  extraordinary  productiveness  and  vitality  of  Chinese  com 
merce.  We  have  been  amazed  whilst  we  have  looked  upon 
the  wonderful  stir  and  hum  and  bustle  of  so  immense  a  hive 
of  human  beings,  all  living  and  prospering  by  the  mechanic 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     713 

arts  and  commerce.  The  Chinaman  is  born  to  industry,  as 
naturally  as  the  negro  is  to  sloth.  He  is  the  cheapest  producer 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  because  his  habits  are  simple  and 
frugal.  The  proof  of  this  is,  that  no  western  nation  can  sell 
its  goods  in  the  Chinese  market.  We  are  all  compelled  to 
purchase  whatever  we  want  from  them,  for  cash.  When  we  can 
work  cheaper  than  the  Chinese,  we  may  hope  to  exchange  our 
manufactured  goods  with  them,  but  not  until  then. 

Singapore  is  a  miniature  Canton,  and  the  visitor,  as  he  passes 
through  its  streets,  has  an  excellent  opportunity  of  comparing 
the  industry  of  the  Chinese  with  that  of  other  nations.  As  a 
free  port,  Singapore  is  open  to  immigration  from  all  parts  of 
the  earth,  on  equal  terms.  There  are  no  jealous  laws,  guilds, 
or  monopolies,  to  shackle  the  limbs,  or  dampen  the  energy  or 
enterprise  of  any  one.  Free  competition  is  the  presiding  genius 
of  the  place.  The  climate  is  healthy  —  the  English  call  it  the 
Madeira  of  the  East — and  the  European  artisan  can  labor  in 
it  as  well  as  the  East  Indian  or  the  Chinese.  All  nations  flock 
hither  to  trade,  as  has  already  been  remarked.  Now  what  is 
the  result  ?  Almost  all  the  business  of  every  description  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  Chinese.  Large  Chinese  houses  monopolize 
the  trade,  and  the  Chinese  artisan  and  day-laborer  have  driven 
out  all  others.  Ninety  thousand  of  the  one  hundred  thousand 
of  the  population  are  Chinese. 

Now  that  the  exclusiveness  of  China  has  been  broken  in 
upon,  and  emigration  permitted,  what  a  destiny  awaits  such  a 
people  in  the  workshops  and  fields  of  the  western  world! 
Already  they  are  filling  up  the  States  on  the  Pacific  coast,  and 
silently,  but  surely,  possessing  themselves  of  all  the  avenues 
of  industry  in  those  States,  thrusting  aside  the  more  expensive 
European  and  American  laborers.  They  will  cross  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  effect,  in  course  of  time,  a  similar  revolution 
in  the  Western  and  Southern  States.  In  the  latter  States  their 
success  will  be  most  triumphant ;  for  in  these  States,  where 
the  negro  is  the  chief  laborer,  the  competition  will  be  between 
frugality,  forecast,  and  industry  on  the  one  hand,  and  wasteful 
ness,  indifference  to  the  future,  and  laziness  on  the  other.  The 
negro  must,  of  necessity,  disappear  in  such  a  conflict.  Cheap 
labor  must  and  will  drive  out  dear  labor.  This  law  is  as  inex- 


714  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

orable  as  any  other  of  Nature's  laws.  This  is  the  probable 
fate,  which  the  Puritan  has  prepared  for  his  friend  the  negro, 
on  the  American  continent.  Our  system  of  slavery  might 
have  saved  his  race  from  destruction — nothing  else  can. 

The  Governor  of  Singapore  was  a  colonel  in  the  British 
army.  He  had  a  small  garrison  of  troops  —  no  more,  I  believe, 
than  a  couple  of  companies — to  police  this  large  population. 
I  sent  an  officer,  as  usual,  to  call  on  him  and  acquaint  him 
with  my  wants  and  intention  as  to  time  of  stay.  Mr.  Beaver, 
of  the  firm  of  Gumming,  Beaver  &  Co.,  a  clever  English  mer 
chant,  came  on  board,  and  offered  to  facilitate  us  all  in  his 
power,  in  the  way  of  procuring  supplies.  I  accepted  his  kind 
offer,  and  put  him  in  communication  with  the  paymaster,  and 
the  next  day  rode  out,  and  dined,  and  spent  a  night  with  him 
at  his  country-seat.  He  lived  in  luxurious  style,  as  do  most 
European  merchants  in  the  East.  The  drive  out  took  us 
through  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  which  I  found  to  be 
laid  out  and  built  with  great  taste — the  edifices  having  a  semi- 
English,  semi-Oriental  air.  The  houses  of  the  better  classes 
were  surrounded  by  lawns  and  flower-gardens,  and  cool  veran 
dahs  invited  to  repose.  Mr.  Beaver's  grounds  were  extensive, 
and  well  kept,  scarcely  so  much  as  a  stray  leaf  being  visible 
on  his  well- mown  lawns.  His  household  —  the  lady  was  absent 
in  England  —  was  a  pattern  of  neatness  and  comfort.  His 
bath-rooms,  bed-rooms,  library,  and  billiard-room — all  showed 
signs  of  superintendence  and  care,  there  being  an  air  of  clean 
liness  and  neatness  throughout,  which  one  rarely  ever  sees  in 
a  bachelor  establishment.  His  servants  were  all  Chinese,  and 
males.  Chi-hi,  and  Hu-chin,  and  the  rest  of  them,  ploughed 
his  fields,  mowed  his  hay,  stabled  his  horses,  cooked  his  din 
ners,  waited  on  his  guests,  washed  his  linen,  made  his  beds, 
and  marked  his  game  of  billiards ;  and  all  at  a  ridiculously 
low  rate  of  hire.  'If  there  had  been  a  baby  to  be  nursed,  it 
would  have  been  all  the  same. 

On  my  return  to  the  city,  next  day,  I  lunched,  by  invitation, 
at  the  officers'  mess.  English  porter,  ale,  and  cheese,  cold 
meats,  and  a  variety  of  wines  were  on  the  table.  An  English 
officer  carries  his  habits  all  over  the  world  with  him,  without 
stopping  to  consider  climates.  No  wonder  that  so  many  of 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      715 

them  return  from  the  east  with  disordered  hepatic  arrange 
ments. 

When  I  returned  to  the  ship,  in  the  evening,  I  found  that 
Kell  and  Gait  had  made  such  good  use  of  their  time,  that 
everything  was  on  board,  and  we  should  be  ready  for  sea  on 
the  morrow.  Our  coaling  had  occupied  us  but  ten  hours  — 
so  admirable  are  the  arrangements  of  the  P.  and  0.  Steamship 
Company,  at  whose  wharf  we  had  coaled.  A  pilot  was  en 
gaged,  and  all  the  preparations  made  for  an  early  start.  There 
was  nothing  more  to  be  done  except  to  arrange  a  little  settlement 
between  the  Queen  and  myself,  similar  to  the  one  which  had 
taken  place  at  the  Cape  of  Grood  Hope.  As  we  were  obliged  to 
lie  alongside  of  the  wharf,  for  the  convenience  of  coaling,  it  had 
been  found  impossible,  in  the  great  press  and  throng  of  the 
people  who  were  still  anxious  to  get  a  sight  of  my  black 
giants,  to  prevent  the  sailors  from  having  grog  smuggled  to 
them.  When  an  old  salt  once  gets  a  taste  of  the  forbidden 
nectar,  he  is  gone  — he  has  no  more  power  of  resistance  than  a 
child.  The  consequence  on  the  present. occasion  was,  that  a 
number  of  my  fellows  "  left  "  on  a  frolic.  We  tracked  most 
of  them  up,  during  the  night,  and  arrested  them  —  without 
asking  any  aid  of  the  police,  this  time  —  and  brought  them  on 
board.  One  of  the  boozy  fellows  dived  under  the  wharf,  and 
played  mud-turtle  for  some  time,  but  we  finally  fished  him 
out.  When  we  came  to  call  the  roll,  there  were  half  a  dozen 
still  missing.  A  number  of  applications  had  been  made  to  us 
by  sailors  who  wanted  to  enlist,  but  we  had  hitherto  resisted 
them  all.  We  were  full,  and  desired  no  more.  Now,  how 
ever,  the  case  was  altered,  and  the  applications  being  renewed 
after  the  deserters  had  run  off — for  sailors  are  a  sort  of  Free 
masons,  and  soon  learn  what  is  going  on  among  their  craft  — 
we  permitted  half  a  dozen  picked  fellows  to  come  on  board,  to 
be  shipped  as  soon  as  we  should  get  out  into  the  Strait. 

The  next  morning,  bright  and  early,  the  Alabama  was 
under  way,  steaming  through  the  Strait  of  Malacca.  At  half- 
past  eleven  A.  M.,  "sail  ho!"  was  cried  from  the  mast,  and  about 
one  P.  M.,  we  came  up  with  an  exceedingly  American-looking 
ship,  which,  upon  being  hove  to  by  a  gun,  hoisted  the  English 
colors.  Lowering  a  boat,  I  sent  Master's  Mate  Fullam,  one 


716  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

of  the  most  intelligent  of  my  boarding-officers,  and  who  was 
himself  an  Englishman,  on  board  to  examine  her  papers. 
These  were  all  in  due  form  —  were  undoubtedly  genuine,  and 
had  been  signed  by  the  proper  custom-house  officers.  The 
register  purported  that  the  stranger  was  the  British  ship  Mar- 
taban,  belonging  to  parties  in  Maulmaiu,  a  rice  port  in  India. 
Manifest  and  clearance  corresponded  with  the  register ;  the 
ship  being  laden  with  rice,  and  having  cleared  for  Singapore 
—  of  which  port,  as  the  reader  sees,  she  was  within  a  few  hours' 
sail.  Thus  far,  all  seemed  regular  and  honest  enough,  but 
the  ship  was  American  —  having  been  formerly  known  as  the 
Texan  Star — and  her  transfer  to  British  owners,  if  made  at  all, 
had  been  made  within  the  last  ten  days,  after  the  arrival  of 
the  Alabama  in  these  seas  had  become  known  at  Maulmain. 
Mr.  Fullam,  regarding  these  circumstances  as  at  least  suspi 
cious,  requested  the  master  of  the  ship  to  go  on  board  the  Ala 
bama  with  him,  that  I  might  have  an  opportunity  of  inspect 
ing  his  papers  in  person.  This  the  master  declined  to  do.  I 
could  not,  of  course,  compel  an  English  master  to  come  on 
board  of  me,  and  so  I  was  obliged  to  go  on  board  of  him — 
and  I  may  state,  by  the  way,  that  this  was  the  only  ship  I  ever 
boarded  personally  during  all  my  cruises. 

I  could  not  but  admire  the  beautiful,  "bran  new"  English 
flag,  as  I  pulled  on  board,  but,  as  before  remarked,  every  line 
of  the  ship  was  American  —  her  long,  graceful  hull,  with  flaring 
bow,  and  rounded  stem,  taunt  masts  with  sky-sail  poles,  and 
square  yards  for  spreading  the  largest  possible  quantity  of  can 
vas.  Passing  up  the  side,  I  stepped  upon  deck.  Here  every 
thing  was,  if  possible,  still  more  American,  even  to  the  black, 
greasy  cook,  who,  with  his  uncovered  woolly  head,  naked 
breast,  and  uprolled  sleeves  in  the  broiling  sun,  was  peeling 
his  Irish  potatoes  for  his  codfish.  I  have  before  remarked 
upon  the  national  features  of  ships.  These  features  are  as  well 
marked  in  the  interior  organism,  as  in  the  exterior.  The 
master  received  me  at  the  gangway,  and,  after  I  had  paused 
to  take  a  glance  at  things  on  deck,  I  proceeded  with  him  into 
his  cabin,  where  his  papers  were  to  be  examined.  His  mates 
were  standing  about  the  companion-way,  anxious,  of  course, 
to  know  the  fate  of  their  ship.  If  I  had  had  any  doubts 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      717 

before,  the  unmistakable  persons  of  these  men  would  have  re 
moved  them.  In  the  person  of  the  master,  the  long,  lean, 
angular-featured,  hide-bound,  weather-tanned  Yankee  skipper 
stood  before  me.  Puritan,  May-Flowery  Plymouth  Rock,  were 
all  written  upon  the  well-known  features.  No  amount  of 
English  custom-house  paper,  or  sealing-wax  could,  by  any 
possibility,  convert  him  into  that  rotund,  florid,  jocund  Briton 
who  personates  the  English  shipmaster.  His  speech  was  even 
more  national  —  taking  New  England  to  be  the  Yankee  nation 
— than  his  person;  and  when  he  opened  his  mouth,  a  mere 
novice  might  have  sworn  that  he  was  from  the  "State  of 
Maine"  —  there,  or  thereabouts.  "When  he  told  me  that  1 
"  hadn't-ought-to"  burn  his  ship,  he  pronounced  the  shibboleth 
which  condemned  her  to  the  flames. 

The  shrift  was  a  short  one.  When  the  papers  were  pro 
duced,  I  found  among  them  no  bill  of  sale  or  other  evidence 
of  the  transfer  of  the  property  —  the  register  of  an  English 
ship,  as  every  seaman  knows,  not  being  such  evidence.  His 
crew  list,  which  had  been  very  neatly  prepared,  was  a  mute 
but  powerful  witness  against  him.  It  was  written,  throughout, 
signatures  and  all,  in  the  same  hand — the  signatures  all  being 
as  like  as  two  peas.  After  glancing  at  the  papers,  and  making 
these  mental  observations  as  I  went  along,  I  asked  the  master 
a  few  questions.  As  well  as  I  recollect,  he  was  from  Hallo- 
well,  Maine.  His  ship  had  been  two  years  in  the  East  Indies, 
trading  from  port  to  port ;  and,  as  before  remarked,  had  only 
been  transferred  within  a  few  days.  The  freshly  painted  as 
sumed  name  on  her  stern  was  scarcely  dry.  The  master  had 
sat  with  comparative  composure  during  this  examination,  and 
questioning,  evidently  relying  with  great  confidence  upon  his 
English  flag  and  papers ;  but  when  I  turned  to  him,  and  told 
him  that  I  should  burn  his  ship,  he  sprang  from  his  chair,  and 
said  with  excited  manner  and  voice — "You  dare  not  do  it, 
sir;  that  flag  —  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  and  pointing 
with  his  long,  bony  finger  up  the  companion-way  to  the  flag 
flying  from  his  peak  —  won't  stand  it ! "  "  Keep  cool,  captain," 
I  replied,  "the  weather  is  warm,  and  as  for  the  flag,  I  shall 
not  ask  it  whether  it  will  stand  it  or  not — the  flag  that  ought 
to  be  at  your  peak,  will  have  to  stand  it,  though  "  In  half 


718  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

an  hour,  or  as  soon  as  the  crew  could  pack  their  duds,  and  be 
transferred  to  the  Alabama,  the  Texan  Star — alias  the  Marta- 
lan  —  was  in  flames;  the  beautiful,  new  English  ensign  being 
marked  with  the  clay,  and  latitude  and  longitude  of  the  cap 
ture,  and  stowed  away  carefully  by  the  old  signal-quartermas 
ter,  in  the  bag  containing  his  Yankee  flags. 

The  cargo  was  bona  fide  English  property,  and  if  the  owner 
of  it,  instead  of  combining  with  the  master  of  the  ship  to  per 
petrate  a  fraud  upon  my  belligerent  rights,  had  contented  him 
self  with  putting  it  on  board  under  the  American  flag,  prop 
erly  documented  as  British  property,  he  might  have  saved  it, 
and  along  with  it,  the  ship ;  as,  in  that  case,  I  should  have  been 
obliged  to  bond  her.  But  when  I  had  stripped  off*  the  dis 
guise,  and  the  ship  stood  forth  as  American,  unfortunately  for 
the  owner  of  the  cargo,  no  document  could  be  presented  to 
show  that  it  was  English ;  for  the  very  attempt  to  document  it 
would  have  exposed  the  fraud.  Unfortunate  Englishman! 
He  had  lost  sight  of  the  "  copy "  he  had  been  used  to  tran 
scribe  at  school  —  "Honesty  is  the  best  policy." 

It  was  still  early  in  the  afternoon  when  we  resumed  our 
course,  and  gave  the  ship  steam.  After  a  few  hours  had 
elapsed,  and  Captain  Pike — for  this  was  the  name  of  the  mas 
ter  of  the  captured  ship  —  had  realized  that  his  ship  was  no 
more,  I  sent  for  him,  into  my  cabin,  and  directing  my  clerk  to 
produce  writing  materials,  we  proceeded  to  take  his  formal 
deposition;  preliminary  to  which,  my  clerk  administered  to 
him  the  usual  oath.  I  felt  pretty  sure  now  of  getting  at  the 
truth,  for  I  had  resorted  to  a  little  arrangement  for  this  pur 
pose  quite  common  in  the  courts  of  law  —  I  had  released  the 
interest  of  the  witness.  As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  witness 
was  put  upon  the  stand,  I  said  to  him :  —  "  Now,  captain,  when 
you  and  I  had  that  little  conversation  in  your  cabin,  you  had 
hopes  of  saving  your  ship,  and,  moreover,  what  you  said  to 
me  was  not  under  oath.  You  were,  perhaps,  only  practising 
a  pardonable  ruse  de  guerre.  But  now  the  case  is  altered. 
Your  ship  being  destroyed,  you  have  no  longer  any  possible 
interest  in  misstating  the  truth.  You  are,  besides,  under  oath. 
Be  frank ;  was,  or  was  not,  the  transfer  of  your  ship  a  bona 
fide  transaction  ?  "  After  a  moment's  reflection  he  replied :  — 


DURING    THE   WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      719 

•f  I  will  be  frank  with  you,  captain.  It  was  not  a  bona  fide 
transaction.  I  was  alarmed  when  I  heard  of  your  arrival  in 
the  East  Indies,  and  I  resorted  to  a  sham  sale  in  the  hope  of 
saving  my  ship."  Upon  this  answer  being  recorded,  the  court 
adjourned. 

At  a  late  hour  in  the  night,  the  moon  shining  quite  brightly, 
we  ran  in  past  some  islands,  and  anchored  off  the  little  town 
of  Malacca — formerly  a  Portuguese  settlement,  but  now,  like 
Singapore,  in  the  possession  of  the  English.  My  object  was 
to  land  my  prisoners,  and  at  early  dawn  we  dispatched  them 
for  the  shore,  with  a  note  to  the  military  commander  asking 
the  requisite  permission.  It  was  Christmas-day,  and  as  the 
sun  rose,  we  could  see  many  signs  of  festive  preparation  on 
shore.  The  little  town,  with  its  white  houses  peeping  out  of 
a  wilderness  of  green,  was  a  pretty  picture  as  it  was  lighted 
up  by  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun.  Back  of  the  town,  on  an 
isolated  hill,  stood  the  lighthouse,  whose  friendly  beacon  had 
guided  us  into  our  anchorage  over  night,  and  near  by  was 
the  barrack,  from  whose  flag- staff  floated,  besides  the  proud 
old  flag  of  our  fatherland,  a  number  of  gay  streamers.  Our 
ship  in  the  offing,  and  our  boats  in  the  harbor,  created  quite 
a  stir  in  this  quiet  Malay-English  town ;  and  forthwith  a 
couple  of  boats  filled  with  officers  and  citizens — ladies  in 
cluded — came  off  to  visit  us.  It  was  still  very  early,  and  the 
excitement  of  the  morning's  row,  and  the  novelty  of  the 
presence  of  the  Alabama  seemed  greatly  to  excite  our  new 
friends.  The  males  grasped  our  hands  as  though  they  had 
been  our  brothers,  and  the  ladies  smiled  their  sweetest  smiles 
— and  no  one  knows  how  sweet  these  can  be,  better  than  the 
sailor  who  has  been  a  long  time  upon  salt  water,  looking  upon 
nothing  but  whiskers  and  mustachios.  They  were  very  press 
ing  that  we  should  remain  a  day,  and  partake  of  their  Christ 
mas  dinner  with  them.  But  we  excused  ourselves,  telling 
them  that  war  knows  no  holidays.  They  left  us  after  a  short 
visit,  and  at  half-past  nine  A.  M.,  our  boats  having  returned,  we 
were  again  under  steam.  Bartelli  was  seen  lugging  a  basket- 
full  of  fine  Malacca  oranges  into  the  cabin,  soon  after  the  re 
turn  of  our  boats  —  a  gift  from  some  of  our  lady  friends  who 
had  visited  us. 
46 


720  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

I  have  observed  by  Mr.  Seward's  "little  bill,"  before  referred 
to,  that  Pike,  having  been  foiled  in  that  game  of  flags  which 
he  had  attempted  to  play  with  me,  has  put  in  his  claim,  along 
with  other  disconsolate  Yankees,  for  the  destruction  of  his 
ship.  When  will  naughty  England  pay  that  little  bill  ? 

After  a  good  day's  run  —  during  which  we  overhauled  an 
English  bark,  from  Singapore,  for  Madras — we  anchored  at 
night-fall  near  Parceelar  Hill,  in  twenty-five  fathoms  of  water. 
The  only  Christmas  kept  by  the  Alabama  was  the  usual 
"splicing  of  the  main-brace"  by  the  crew.  We  were  under 
way  again,  the  next  morning  at  six  o'clock ;  the  weather  was 
clear,  with  a  few  passing  clouds,  and  the  look-out  had  not  been 
long  at  the  mast-head  before  he  cried  "sail  ho !"  twice,  in 
quick  suggestion.  Upon  being  questioned,  he  reported  two 
large  ships  at  anchor,  that  looked  "  sort  o'  Yankee."  We  soon 
began  to  raise  these  ships  from  the  deck,  and  when  we  got  a 
good  view  of  them  through  our  powerful  glasses,  we  were  of 
the  same  opinion  with  the  look-out.  They  were  evidently 
Yankee.  As  they  were  at  anchor,  and  helpless  —  waiting  for 
a  fair  wind  with  which  to  run  out  of  the  Strait  —  we  had  noth 
ing  to  gain  by  a  concealment  of  our  character,  and  showed 
them  at  once  the  Confederate  flag.  That  flag  —  beautiful 
though  it  was  —  must  have  been  a  terrible  wet  blanket  upon 
the  schemes  of  these  two  Yankee  skippers.  It  struck  them 
dumb,  for  they  refused  to  show  me  any  bunting  in  return.  1 
captured  them  both,  with  the  "flaunting  lie"  stowed  away 
snugly  in  their  cabins.  They  were  monster  ships,  both  of 
them,  being  eleven  or  twelve  hundred  tons  burden.  In  their 
innocence  —  supposing  the  Alabama  had  gone  up  the  China 
Sea  —  they  had  ventured,  whilst  lying  at  Singapore,  to  take 
charter-parties  for  cargoes  of  rice  to  be  laden  at  Akyab,  for 
Europe;  and  were  now  on  their  way  to  Akyab  in  ballast. 
They  had  left  Singapore  several  days  before  our  arrival  there, 
and  had  been  delayed  by  head-winds. 

Both  were  Massachusetts  ships  —  one  the  Sonora  of  JSTew- 
buryport,  and  the  other,  the  Highlander  of  Boston.  The  mas 
ter  of  one  of  these  ships,  when  he  was  brought  on  board,  came 
up  to  me  good-humoredly  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  offering 
me  his  hand,  which  I  accepted,  said  :  "  Well,  Captain  Semmes, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       721 

I  have  been  expecting  every  day  for  the  last  three  years,  to 
fall  in  with  you,  and  here  I  am  at  last !  "  I  told  him  I  was 
glad  he  had  found  me  after  so  long  a  search.  "  Search  !  "  said 
he ;  "  it  is  some  such  search  as  the  Devil  may  be  supposed  to 
make  after  holy  water.  The  fact  is,"  continued  he,  "  I  have 
had  constant  visions  of  the  Alabama,  by  night  and  by  day; 
she  has  been  chasing  me  in  my  sleep,  and  riding  me  like  a 
night-mare,  and  now  that  it  is  all  over,  I  feel  quite  relieved."  I 
permitted  the  masters  and  crews  of  both  these  ships  to  hoist 
out,  and  provision  their  own  boats,  and  depart  in  them  for 
Singapore.  The  ships  when  overhauled  were  lying  just  inside 
of  the  light-ship,  at  the  western  entrance  of  the  Strait  of  Ma 
lacca,  and  it  was  only  pleasant  lake  or  river  sailing  to  Singa 
pore.  Having  fired  the  ships,  we  steamed  out  past  the  light 
ship,  and  were  once  more  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  We  found  on 
board  one  of  the  prizes  a  copy  of  the  Singapore  "  Times,"  of 
the  9th  of  December,  1863,  from  which  I  give  the  following 
extract.  At  the  date  of  the  paper,  we  were  at  Pulo  Condore, 
and  the  Yankee  ships  were  still  flocking  into  Singapore:  — 

"  From  our  to-day's  shipping-list  it  will  be  seen  that  there  are  no 
fewer  than  seventeen  American  merchantmen  at  present  in  our 
harbor,  and  that  they  include  some  of  the  largest  ships  at  present 
riding  there.  Their  gross  tonnage  may  be  roughly  set  down  at 
12,000  tons.  Some  of  these  have  been  lying  here  now  for  upward 
of  three  months,  and  most  of  them  for  at  least  half  that  period. 
And  all  this,  at  a  time  when  there  is  no  dulness  in  the  freight  mar 
ket  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  an  active  demand  for  tonnage  to  all  parts 
of  the  world.  It  is,  indeed,  to  us,  a  home  picture — the  only  one 
we  trust  to  have  for  many  years  to  come  —  of  the  wide-spread  evils 
of  war  in  these  modern  days.  But  it  is  a  picture  quite  unique  in 
its  nature  ;  for  the  nation  to  which  these  seventeen  fine  ships  belong 
has  a  Navy  perhaps  second  only  to  that  of  Great  Britain,  and  the 
enemy  with  which  she  has  to  cope,  is  but  a  schism  from  herself, 
possessed  of  no  port  that  is  not  blockaded,  and  owning  not  more 
than  five  or  six  vessels  no  the  high  seas  ;  and  yet  there  is  no  apathy 
and  nothing  to  blame  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  Na^y.  The 
tactics  with  which  the  Federals  have  to  combat  are  withe  (it  prece 
dent,  and  the  means  to  enable  them  successfully  to  do  so  have  not 
yet  been  devised." 


CHAPTEE     LI. 

ALABAMA    CROSSES     THE     BAY     OF     BENGAL THE     PIL 
GRIMS   :0   MECCA   AND    THE  BLACK    GIANTS BURNING 

OF     THIJ   EMMA   JANE THE    TOWN   OF    AUJENGA,    AND 

THE     HINDOOS THE    GEEAT      DESERTS     OF    CENTRAL 

ASIA,  AND  THE  COTTON  CROP  OF  HINDOSTAN ALA 
BAMA  CROSSES  THE  ARABIAN  SEA THE  ANIMALCULE 

OF   THE   SEA THE  COMORO    ISLANDS JOHANNA   AND 

ITS  ARAB  POPULATION THE  YANKEE  WHALERS  AT  JO 
HANNA —  ALABAMA  PASSES  THROUGH  THE  MOZAMBIQUE 
CHANNEL,  AND  ARRIVES  AT  THE  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE. 

ON  the  afternoon  after  leaving  the  Strait  of  Malacca,  we 
overhauled  another  American  ship  under  neutral  colors 
—  the  Bremen  ship  Ottone.  The  transfer  had  been  made  at 
Bremen,  in  the  previous  May ;  the  papers  were  genuine,  and 
the  master  and  crew  all  Dutchmen,  there  being  no  Yankee  on 
board.  The  change  of  property,  in  this  case,  having  every 
appearance  of  being  bona  fide,  I  permitted  the  ship  to  pass  on 
her  voyage,  which  was  to  Eangoon  for  rice.  For  the  next  few 
days  we  coasted  the  island  of  Sumatra — taking  a  final  leave 
of  the  North  end  of  that  island  on  the  last  day  of  the  year 
1863.  A  court-martial  had  been  in  session  several  days,  set 
tling  accounts  with  the  runaways  at  Singapore,  whom  we  had 
arrested  and  brought  back.  Having  sentenced  the  prisoners, 
and  gotten  through  with  its  labors,  it  was  dissolved  on  this 
last  day  of  the  old  year,  that  we  might  turn  over  a  new  leaf. 

Clearing  the  Sumatra  coast,  we  stretched  across  to  the  Bay 
of  Bengal,  toward  Ceylon,  overhauling  a  number  of  neutral 
ships  by  the  way.  Among  others,  we  boarded  a  large  English 
ship,  which  had  a  novel  lot  of  passengers  on  board.  She  was 

722 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     723 

from  Singapore,  bound  for  Jiddah  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  was 
filled  with  the  faithful  followers  of  Mohammed,  on  a  pilgrim 
age  to  Mecca — Jiddah  being  the  nearest  seaport  to  that  re 
nowned  shrine.  My  boarding-officer  was  greeted  with  great 
cordiality  by  these  devotees,  who  exchanged  salaams  with  him, 
in  the  most  reverential  manner,  and  entered  into  conversation 
with  him.  They  wanted  to  know,  they  said,  about  those  black 
giants  we  had  on  board  the  Alabama,  and  whether  we  fed  them 
on  live  Yankees,  as  they  had  heard.  The  boarding-officer,  who 
was  a  bit  of  a  wag,  told  them  that  we  had  made  the  experiment, 
but  that  the  Yankee  skippers  were  so  lean  and  tough,  that  the 
giants  refused  to  eat  them.  Whereupon  there  was  a  general 
grunt,  and  as  near  an  approach  to  a  smile  as  a  Mohammedan 
ever  makes.  They  then  said  that  they  "had  heard  that  we  were 
in  favor  of  a  plurality  of  wives."  They  had  heard  of  Brigham 
Young  and  Salt  Lake.  The  officer  said,  "  Yes,  we  had  a  few ; 
three  or  four  dozen  a  piece."  They  now  insisted  upon  his 
smoking  with  them,  and  plied  him  with  other  questions,  to 
which  they  received  equally  satisfactory  answers ;  and  when 
he  got  up  to  depart,  they  crowded  around  him  at  the  gangway, 
and  salaamed  him  over  the  side,  more  reverentially  than  ever. 
I  have  no  doubt  that  when  these  passengers  arrived  at  Mecca, 
and  discussed  learnedly  the  American  war,  half  the  pilgrims 
at  that  revered  shrine  became  good  Confederates. 

Having  doubled  the  island  of  Ceylon,  and  hauled  up  on  the 
coast  of  Malabar,  we  captured  on  the  14th  of  January,  the 
Emma  Jane,  of  Bath,  Maine,  from  Bombay,  bound  to  Amherst. 
Having  removed  from  her  such  articles  of  provisions  as  we 
required,  and  transferred  her  crew  to  the  Alabama,  we  burned 
her.  She  was  in  ballast,  seeking  a  cargo,  and  there  was,  there 
fore,  no  claim  of  neutral  property.  The  master  had  his  wife 
on  board.  Being  not  a  great  distance  from  the  land,  we  ran 
in  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  our  prisoners;  and  descried 
the  Ghaut  mountains  the  next  day.  Coasting  along  a  short 
distance  to  the  eastward,  we  made  the  small  Hindoo-Portuguese 
town  of  Anjenga,  where  we  came  to  anchor  at  about  four  p.  M. 
The  town  lies  on  the  open  coast,  having  a  roadstead,  but  no 
harbor.  We  ran  in  and  anchored  without  a  pilot.  We  were 
soon  surrounded  by  native  boats — large  canoes  capable  of 


726 


MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 


GREAT  DESERTS   V 


INDIAN  OCEAN 


w- 


v 


\ 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        727 

it  may  have  evaporated  from  the  lakes  and  rivers  over  which 
it  has  passed.  When  it  reaches  the  extensive  plains  between 
the  Himalayas  and  Ghauts,  which  are  the  great  cotton  region 
of  Hindostan,  it  has  not  a  drop  of  water  with  which  to  nour 
ish  vegetation ;  and  if  it  were  to  prevail  all  the  year  round, 
those  plains  would  speedily  become  parched  and  waste  deserts. 

Let  us  see,  now,  how  this  catastrophe  is  avoided.  When  the 
sun  is  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  that  is,  during  the  winter 
season,  the  north-east  monsoon  prevails  in  Hindostan.  When 
he  is  in  the  northern  hemisphere,  the  south-west  monsoon, 
which  is  the  rainy  monsoon,  or  crop  monsoon,  prevails.  This 
change  of  monsoons  is  produced  as  follows :  Soon  after  the 
sun  crosses  the  equator  into  the  northern  hemisphere,  he  be 
gins  to  pour  down  his  fierce  rays  upon  Hindostan,  and,  passing 
farther  and  farther  to  the  north,  in  the  latter  part  of  April,  or 
the  beginning  of  May,  he  is  nearly  perpendicularly  over  the 
Great  Deserts  marked  in  the  sketch.  These  deserts  are  inter 
minable  wastes  of  sand,  in  which  there  is  not  so  much  as  a 
blade  of  grass  to  be  found.  They  absorb  heat  very  rapidly, 
and  in  a  short  time  become  like  so  many  fiery  furnaces.  The 
air  above  them  rarefies  and  ascends,  a  comparative  vacuum  of 
great  extent  is  formed,  and  a  great  change  begins  now  to  take 
place  in  the  atmospheric  phenomena.  This  vacuum  being  in 
the  rear  of  the  arrow  A,  or  the  north-east  monsoon  blowing 
over  Hindostan,  first  slackens  the  force  of  this  wind — drawing 
it  back,  as  it  were.  It  becomes  weaker  and  weaker,  as  the  fur 
naces  become  hotter  and  hotter.  Calms  ensue,  and  after  a  long 
struggle,  the  wind  is  finally  turned  back,  and  the  south-west 
monsoon  has  set  in. 

If  the  reader  will  cast  his  eye  on  the  series  of  arrows,  B,  C, 
D,  E,  and  F,  he  will  see  how  this  gradual  change  is  effected.  I 
say  gradual,  for  it  is  not  effected  per  saltum,  but  occupies  several 
weeks.  The  arrow  F  represents  the  south-east  trade-wind,  blow 
ing  toward  the  equator.  As  this  wind  nears  the  equator,  it  be 
gins  to  feel  the  influence  of  the  deserts  spoken  of.  The  calm 
which  I  have  described  as  beginning  at  the  arrow  A,  is 
gradually  extended  to  the  equator.  As  the  south-east  wind 
approaches  that  great  circle,  it  finds  nothing  to  oppose  its  pas 
sage.  Pretty  soon,  it  not  only  finds  nothing  to  oppose  its  pas 
sage,  but  something  to  invite  it  over ;  for  the  calm  begins 


728  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

now  to  give  place  to  an  indraught  toward  the  Great  Deserts. 
The  south-east  wind,  thus  encouraged,  changes  its  course,  first 
to  the  north,  and  then  to  the  north-east,  and  blows  stronger 
and  stronger  as  the  season  advances,  and  the  heat  accumulates 
over  the  deserts ;  until  at  last  the  south-east  trade- wind  of  the 
southern  hemisphere  has  become  the  south-west  monsoon  of 
the  northern  hemisphere  !  This  monsoon  prevails  from  about 
the  1st  of  May  to  the  1st  of  November,  when  the  sun  has  again 
passed  into  the  southern  hemisphere,  and  withdrawn  his  heat 
from  the  great  deserts.  The  normal  condition  of  things  being 
thus  restored,  the  vanquished  north-east  trade-wind  regains  its 
courage,  and,  chasing  back  the  south-west  monsoon,  resumes 
its  sway. 

If  the  reader  will  again  cast  his  eye  upon  the  sketch,  he  will 
see  that  the  south-west  winds  which  are  now  blowing  over 
Hindostan,  instead  of  being  dry  winds,  must  be  heavily  laden 
with  moisture.  They  have  had  a  clean  sweep  from  the  tropic 
of  Capricorn,  with  no  land  intervening  between  them  arid  the 
coast  of  Hindostan.  They  have  followed  the  sun  in  his  course, 
and  under  the  influence  of  his  perpendicular  rays  have  lapped 
up  the  waters  like  a  thirsty  wolf.  The  evaporation  in  these 
seas  is  enormous.  It  has  been  stated,  on  the  authority  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  Bombay,  that  it  has 
been  found  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal  to  exceed  an  inch  daily. 
From  having  too  little  water  during  the  winter  months  in 
Hindostan,  we  are  now,  in  the  summer  months,  in  danger  of 
having  too  much.  The  young  cotton  crop  will  be  drowned 
out.  What  is  to  prevent  it  ?  Here  we  have  another  beautiful 
provision  at  hand.  The  reader  has  observed  the  Ghaut  Moun 
tains  stretching  along  parallel  with  the  west  coast  of  Hindos 
tan.  These  mountains  protect  the  plains  from  inundation. 
They  have,  therefore,  equally  important  functions  to  perform 
with  the  deserts.  The  south-west  monsoon  blows  square 
across  these  mountains.  As  the  heavily  laden  wind  begins 
to  ascend  the  first  slopes,  it  commences  to  deposit  its  moisture. 
Incessant  rains  set  in,  and  immense  quantities  of  water  fall 
before  the  winds  have  passed  the  mountains.  The  precipita 
tion  has  been  known  to  be  as  great  as  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  in  a 
single  day!  The  winds,  thus  deprived  of  their  excess  of  water 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      729 

are  now  in  a  proper  condition  to  fertilize,  without  drowning 
the  immense  plains  that  lie  between  the  Ghauts  and  the  Him 
alayas —  which,  as  before  remarked,  is  the  cotton  region  of 
India.  It  is  thus  that  the  Great  Deserts  of  Central  Asia  produce 
the  cotton  crop  of  Hindostan.  To  the  ignorant  Tartar  who  ven 
tures  across  the  margins  of  these  deserts,  all  seems  dreary, 
desolate,  and  death-like,  and  he  is  at  a  loss  to  conceive  for  what 
purpose  they  were  created.  Clothe  these  deserts  with  verdure, 
and  intersperse  them  with  rivers  and  mountains,  and  forthwith 
the  fertile  plains  of  Hindostan  would  become  a  great  desert, 
and  its  two  hundred  millions  of  inhabitants  perish. 

"We  captured  on  board  the  last  prize  a  batch  of  Bombay 
newspapers  —  large  "  dailies,"  edited  with  ability,  and  filled 
with  news  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  It  is  the  press,  more 
than  anything  else,  that  indicates  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  a  country.  One  only  needed  to  look  at  the  long  columns 
of  these  immense  dailies,  filled  with  advertisements,  to  realize 
the  fact  that  Bombay  was  a  bee-hive,  containing  its  three  hun 
dred  thousand  inhabitants.  We  were,  indeed,  in  the  midst  of 
a  great  empire,  of  which,  in  the  western  world,  we  read,  it  is 
true,  but  of  which  we  have  no  just  conception  until  we  visit 
it.  The  British  empire  in  India,  stretching  from  the  Persian 
Gulf  to  the  Strait  of  Malacca,  is  a  creation  which  does  honor 
to  our  race  and  language.  I  had  coasted  nearly  its  whole 
extent,  and  everywhere  I  found  evidences  of  contentment, 
thrift,  and  prosperity.  A  constant  stream  of  British  shipping 
was  passing  to  and  fro,  developing  its  immense  commerce,  and 
pouring  its  untold  millions  into  the  British  exchequer.  Pow 
erful  and  swift  steamships  bring  the  home  mails  to  three  or 
four  prominent  points  along  the  coast,  as  Aden,  Ceylon,  Singa 
pore,  Hong  Kong,  and  from  these  points  other  steamers  spread 
it  broadcast  over  the  empire.  Railroads  are  pushed  in  every 
direction,  there  being  as  many  as  three  thousand  miles  in 
operation,  and  the  navigation  of  the  coast  districts  of  Hindos 
tan  has  been  carried,  by  means  of  a  series  of  lagoons  and 
canals,  from  Cape  Comorin,  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  north 
ward.  These  railroads  and  canals  have  opened  up  new  fields 
of  industry,  and  have  been  of  especial  service  in  developing 
that  pet  idea  of  England,  the  production  of  cotton. 


730  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Up  to  the  breaking  out  of  our  war,  the  cultivation  of  this 
valuable  staple  in  India  was  a  mere  experiment.  It  is  now 
an  assured  success.  Those  great  fields  lying  between  the 
Ghauts  and  the  Himalayas  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
are  being  brought  into  connection  with  the  sea-board,  by  lines 
of  easy  and  cheap  transportation.  They  have  been  found  equal 
to  our  Southern  plantations  in  the  production  of  the  article, 
and  labor  is  a  hundred  per  cent,  cheaper,  at  least,  than  with 
us.  Here  are  all  the  elements  of  cheap  production.  Our 
Yankee  brethren  have  talked  a  good  deal  of  what  they  "con 
quered"  in  the  war,  and  have  been  quarrelling  ever  since  over 
the  fruits  of  their  victory.  Here  is  one  of  their  conquests 
which  no  one  can  doubt  —  the  transfer  of  the  cotton  supply  of 
the  world,  from  these  Southern  States  to  British  India.  The 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  Yankee  spindles  and  looms  will 
be  spinning  and  weaving  India  cotton  for  the  supply  of  their 
own  people. 

The  moral  conquest  of  India,  by  the  British  people,  is  even 
more  remarkable  and  more  admirable  than  its  physical  con 
quest.  Since  their  last  Indian  war,  the  whole  country,  from 
one  end  of  it  to  the  other,  has  settled  down  in  the  most  pro 
found  peace.  Nor  is  this  the  peace  of  despotism,  for  in  com 
parison  with  the  extent  of  territory,  and  the  two  hundred  mil 
lions  of  people  to  be  governed,  the  number  of  troops  is  ridicu 
lously  small.  The  conquest  is  one  of  arts  and  civilization, 
and  not  of  arms.  The  railroad,  the  canal,  the  ship,  the  print 
ing  press,  and  above  all,  a  paternal  and  beneficent  government, 
have  worked  out  the  wonderful  problem  of  the  submission  of 
teeming  millions  to  the  few.  It  is  the  conquest  of  race  and 
of  intellect.  The  docile  Hindoo,  not  devoid  of  letters  himself, 
has  realized  the  fact  that  a  superior  people  has  come  to  settle 
in  his  country,  to  still  domestic  broils,  strip  former  despots  of 
their  ill-gotten  and  much-abused  power,  and  to  rule  him  with 
humanity  and  justice.  The  torch  of  civilization  has  shone  in 
dark  places,  dispelled  many  prejudices,  and  brought  to  light 
and  broken  up  many  hideous  practices.  Schools  and  colleges 
have  sprung  up  everywhere,  and  the  natural  taste  of  the  native 
population  for  letters  has  been  cultivated.  In  the  very  news 
papers  which  we  are  reviewing  are  to  be  found  long  disserta- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      731 

tions  and  criticisms,  by  Hindoo  scholars,  on  various  matters  of 
morals,  science,  and  literature. 

A  government  whose  foundations  are  thus  laid  will  be  dur 
able.  In  Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  other  colonies,  where 
the  white  population,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  will  greatly 
preponderate  over  the  native,  mere  adolescence  will  bring 
about  independence.  But  India  will  never  become  adolescent 
in  this  sense.  She  will  remain  indefinitely  a  prosperous  ward 
in  chancery — the  guardian  and  the  ward  living  amicably  to 
gether,  and  each  sharing  the  prosperity  of  the  other. 

On  the  day  after  leaving  the  Malabar  coast,  we  spoke  a 
Portuguese  bark,  from  Kio  Janeiro  bound  to  Goa,  a  short  dis 
tance  to  the  northward  of  us.  This  was  the  only  Portuguese  we 
met  in  these  seas,  of  which  they  were,  at  one  period  of  their  his 
tory,  entire  masters.  Yasco  de  Gama  had  made  the  seas  classic 
by  his  adventures,  and  his  countrymen,  following  in  his  track, 
had  studded  the  coast  with  towns,  of  which  Goa  was  one  of 
the  most  ancient  and  important.  As  between  the  Hindoo  and 
the  Portuguese,  the  latter  would  probably  long  have  main 
tained  his  ascendency,  but  there  came  along  that  superior  race 
—  that  white  race  which  has  never  submitted  to  any  admix 
ture  of  its  blood  —  of  which  we  have  just  been  speaking,  and 
nature,  with  her  unvarying  laws,  had  done  the  rest.  The 
Portuguese  gave  place  to  the  Englishman,  as  naturally  as  the 
African,  and  afterward  the  Hindoo,  had  given  place  to  the 
Portuguese. 

Passing  through  the  chain  of  islands  which  extends  parallel 
with  the  Malabar  coast  for  some  distance,  we  stretched  across 
the  Arabian  Sea  in  the  direction  of  the  east  coast  of  Africa. 
We  were  now  in  the  height  of  the  season  of  the  north-east 
monsoon,  which  was  a  fair  wind  for  us,  and  the  weather  was 
as  delightful  as  I  have  ever  experienced  it  in  any  part  of  the 
globe — not  even  excepting  our  own  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  coasts 
of  Alabama,  and  Florida,  in  the  summer  season.  For  twelve 
successive  days,  we  did  not  have  occasion  to  lower  a  studding 
sail,  day  or  night !  We  had  a  constant  series  of  clear  skies, 
and  gentle  breezes.  The  nights  were  serene,  and  transparent, 
and  the  sunsets  were  magnificent  beyond  description.  The 
trade  wind  is,  par  excellence,  the  wind  of  beautiful  sunsets. 


732  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

Bright,  gauzy  clouds,  float  along  lazily  before  it,  and  some 
times  the  most  charming  cumuli  are  piled  up  on  the  western 
horizon  while  the  sun  is  going  down.  Stately  cathedrals,  with 
their  domes  and  spires  complete,  may  be  traced  by  the  eye  of 
fancy,  and  the  most  gorgeous  of  golden,  violet,  orange,  purple, 
green,  and  other  hues,  light  up  now  a  colonnade,  now  a  dome, 
and  now  a  spire  of  the  aerial  edifice.  And  then  came  on  the 
twilight,  with  its  gray  and  purple  blended,  and  with  the  twi 
light,  the  sounds  of  merriment  on  board  the  Alabama — for  we 
had  found  a  successor  for  Michael  Mahoney,  the  Irish  fiddler,  and 
the  usual  evening  dances  were  being  held.  We  had  been  now 
some  time  at  sea,  since  leaving  Singapore ;  the  "jail  had  been 
delivered,"  the  proper  punishments  administered,  and  Jack, 
having  forgotten  both  his  offences,  and  their  punishment,  had 
again  become  a  "good  boy,"  and  was  as  full  of  fun  as  ever. 

We  had  some  fine  fishing  while  passing  through  the  Arabian 
Sea.  The  dolphin  came  around  us  in  schools,  and  a  number 
of  them  were  struck  with  the  "  grains,"  and  caught  with  lines 
—  the  bait  being  a  piece  of  red  flannel  rag.  And  some  of  the 
seamen  resorted  to  an  ingenious  device  for  entrapping  the 
flying  fish  by  night.  A  net  being  spread,  with  out-riggers,  un 
der  the  bow  of  the  ship,  and  a  light  being  held  just  above  it, 
the  fish,  as  they  would  rise  in  coveys — being  flushed  from  time 
to  time  by  the  noise  of  the  ship  through  the  water  —  would 
rush  at  the  light,  and  striking  against  the  bow  of  the  ship, 
tumble  into  the  net  beneath.  Bartelli,  on  several  mornings, 
spread  my  breakfast-table  with  them. 

On  the  29th  of  January,  we  observed  in  latitude  2°  43'  north, 
and  longitude  51°  east ;  and  on  the  following  evening  passed 
through  a  remarkable  patch  of  the  sea.  At  about  eight  p.  M., 
there  being  no  moon,  but  the  sky  being  clear,  and  the  stars 
chining  brightly,  we  suddenly  passed  from  the  deep  blue  water 
in  which  we  had  been  sailing,  into  a  patch  of  water  so  white 
that  it  startled  me ;  so  much  did  it  appear  like  a  shoal.  To 
look  over  the  ship's  side,  one  would  have  sworn  that  she  was 
in  no  more  than  five  or  six  fathoms  of  water.  The  ofiicer  of 
the  deck  became  evidently  alarmed,  and  reported  the  fact  to 
me,  though  I  myself  had  observed  it.  There  was  no  shoal 
laid  down,  within  several  hundred  miles  of  our  position,  on 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      733 

the  chart,  and  yet  here  was  so  manifestly  one,  that  I  shortened 
sail  —  we  were  running  seven  or  eight  knots  per  hour  at  the 
time,  with  a  fresh  breeze — hove  the  ship  to,  and  got  a  cast  of 
the  deep-sea  lead.  The  line  ran  out,  and  out,  until  a  hundred 
fathoms  had  been  taken  by  the  lead,  and  still  we  found  no  bot 
tom.  We  now  checked  the  line,  and  hauling  in  the  lead, 
made  sail  again.  My  fears  thus  quieted,  I  observed  the  phe 
nomenon  more  at  leisure.  The  patch  was  extensive.  We 
were  several  hours  in  running  through  it.  Around  the  horizon 
there  was  a  subdued  glare,  or  flush,  as  though  there  were  a 
distant  illumination  going  on,  whilst  overhead  there  was  a 
lurid,  dark  sky,  in  which  the  stars  paled.  The  whole  face  of 
nature  seemed  changed,  and  with  but  little  stretch  of  the 
imagination,  the  Alabama  might  have  been  conceived  to  be  a 
phantom  ship,  lighted  up  by  the  sickly  and  unearthly  glare 
of  a  phantom  sea.  and  gliding  on  under  the  pale  stars  one 
knew  not  whither. 

Upon  drawing  a  bucket  of  this  water,  it  appeared  to  be  full 
of  minute  luminous  particles  ;  the  particles  being  instinct  with 
life,  and  darting,  and  playing  about  in  every  direction ;  but 
upon  a  deck-lantern  being  brought,  and  held  over  the  bucket, 
the  little  animals  would  all  disappear,  and  nothing  but  a  bucket 
full  of  grayish  water  would  be  left.  Here  was  an  area  of 
twenty  miles  square,  in  which  Nature,  who  delights  in  life, 
was  holding  one  of  her  starlight  revels,  with  her  myriads  upon 
myriads  of  living  creatures,  each  rejoicing  in  the  life  given  it 
by  its  Creator,  and  dying  almost  as  soon  as  born.  The  sun 
would  rise  on  the  morrow,  over  a  sea  as  blue  as  usual,  with 
only  some  motes  in  the  pelluced  waters  glinting  back  his 
rays ;  and  this  twenty  miles  square  of  life  would  be  no  longer 
distinguishable  from  the  surrounding  waters. 

We  crossed  the  equator  on  the  30th  of  January.  The  winds 
had  now  become  light,  and  frequent  calms  ensued,  though  the 
bright  weather  continued.  On  the  9th  of  February  we  made 
the  Comoro  islands,  that  lie  not  a  great  way  from  the  coast  of 
Africa,  and,  getting  up  steam,  ran  in,  and  anchored  at  Johanna. 
This  island  is  the  most  frequented  of  the  group ;  ships  bound 
to  and  from  the  East  Indies,  by  the  way  of  the  Mozambique 
channel,  frequently  stopping  here  for  refreshments.  All  these 


734  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

islands  are  volcanic  in  origin.  They  are  of  small  extent,  rise 
abruptly  out  of  the  sea,  with  deep  water  around  them,  and  are 
mountainous.  They  are  not  claimed  by  any  European  nation ; 
nor  do  any  of  the  chiefs  on  the  neighboring  coast  of  Africa 
attempt  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  them.  They  are  inhab 
ited  by  a  mixed  race  of  Arabs,  Africans,  and  East  Indians,  and 
each  has  its  separate  government,  which  is  always  a  govern 
ment  of  force,  and  is  frequently  overthrown  by  revolutions. 
Johanna,  at  the  time  we  visited  it,  was  under  the  rule  of  an 
Arab,  who  styled  himself,  the  "  Sultan  Abdallah."  From  the 
circumstance  that  English  ships  frequently  stop  here,  most  of 
the  inhabitants  who  live  on  the  sea-coast  speak  a  little  Eng 
lish,  and  we  were  surprised,  when  we  anchored,  to  find  our 
selves  quite  well  known.  The  name  of  our  ship  was  familiar 
to  the  dusky  inhabitants,  and  they  were  evidently  much  de 
lighted  at  our  arrival.  The  "  Sultan  "  did  not  come  on  board 
—he  was  busy,  he  said,  putting  up  a  sugar- mill — but  he  sent 
his  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  Commander-in -Chief  of 
his  Army  to  see  me ;  and  with  these,  Gait,  my  paymaster,  had 
no  difficulty  in  contracting  for  the  regular  supply  of  bullocks 
and  vegetables,  to  be  sent  off  to  us  during  our  stay. 

I  had  come  in  solely  for  the  purpose  of  refreshing  my  crew, 
and  for  this  purpose  we  remained  a  week.  During  this  time 
we  became  quite  friendly  with  the  Johannese  —  receiving  fre 
quent  visits  from  them,  and  visiting  them  at  their  houses  in 
return.  We  were  quite  surprised  a.t  the  intelligence  and  civ 
ilization  which  characterized  them.  They  nearly  all  read  and 
write,  and  the  better  classes  set  up  some  pretensions  to  litera 
ture.  They  are  Mohammedans  in  faith,  and  I  found  some  of 
their  priests,  who  were  fond  of  visiting  me,  sprightly,  well  in 
formed,  and  liberal  men,  acknowledging  both  Moses  and  Christ 
to  have  been  prophets,  and  entertaining  a  respect  for  the 
Christian  religion ;  doubtless  the  result  of  their  intercourse 
with  the  English. 

I  visited  the  houses  of  some  of  my  friends  with  the  hope  of 
getting  a  glimpse  at  their  domestic  life,  but  was  disappointed. 
They  received  me  with  all  cordiality  and  respect,  but  the 
females  of  their  families  were  carefully  kept  out  of  sight.  A 
female  slave  would  fan  me,  and  hand  me  my  coffee  and  sher- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      735 

bet,  but  that  was  all.  Their  slavery  appeared  to  be  of  a  miti 
gated  form,  the  slaves  being  on  easy  and  even  familiar  terms 
with  their  masters.  The  houries  who  fanned  me  could  have 
been  bought  for  twenty  dollars  each.  The  price  of  a  slave 
fresh  from  the  coast,  is  not  more  than  half  that  sum. 

I  gave  my  sailors  a  run  on  shore,  but  this  sort  of  "  liberty  " 
was  awful  hard  work  for  Jack.  There  was  no  such  thing 
as  a  glass  of  grog  to  be  found  in  the  whole  town,  and  as  for  a 
fiddle,  and  Sal  for  a  partner  —  all  of  which  would  have  been  a 
matter  of  course  in  civilized  countries — there  were  no  such 
luxuries  to  be  thought  of.  They  found  it  a  difficult  matter  to 
get  through  with  the  day,  and  were  all  down  at  the  beach  long 
before  sunset  —  the  hour  appointed  for  their  coming  off — 
waiting  for  the  approach  of  the  welcome  boat.  I  told  Kell  to 
let  them  go  on  shore  as  often  as  they  pleased,  but  no  one  made 
a  second  application. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  having  received  on  board  a  sup 
ply  of  half  a  dozen  live  bullocks,  and  some  fruits  and  vegeta 
bles,  we  got  under  way,  and  again  turned  our  head  to  the  south 
west.  The  winds  were  light,  but  we  were  much  assisted  by 
the  currents ;  for  we  were  now  approaching  the  Mozambique 
Channel,  and  the  south-west  current,  of  which  I  spoke  when 
we  left  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  for  our  run  before  the  "brave 
west  winds,"  to  the  eastward,  was  hurrying  us  forward,  some 
times  at  the  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  a  day.  As  we  pro 
gressed,  the  wind  freshened,  and  by  the  time  we  had  entered 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  channel  between  Madagascar  and  the 
African  coast,  which  lies  in  about  15°  south  latitude,  we  lost 
the  fine  weather  and  clear  skies,  which  we  had  brought  all  the 
way  across  the  Arabian  Sea.  We  now  took  several  gales  of 
wind.  Rain-squalls  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  As  we  ap 
proached  the  south-west  end  of  Madagascar,  which  lies  just 
without  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn,  we  encountered  one  of  the 
most  sublime  storms  of  thunder  and  lightning  I  ever  witnessed. 
It  occurred  at  night.  Black  rain-clouds  mustered  from  every 
quarter  of  the  compass,  and  the  heavens  were  soon  so  densely 
and  darkly  overcast,  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  across  the 
ship's  deck.  Sometimes  the  most  terrific  squalls  of  wind  ac 
company  these  storms,  and  we  furled  most  of  the  sails,  and 
47 


736  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

awaited  in  silence  the  denouement.  The  thunder  rolled  and 
crashed,  as  if  the  skies  were  falling  in  pieces ;  and  the  light 
ning —  sheet  lightning,  streaked  lightning,  forked  lightning  — 
kept  the  firmament  almost  constantly  ablaze.  And  the  rain  ! 
I  thought  I  had  seen  it  rain  before,  but  for  an  hour,  Madagas 
car  beat  the  Ghaut  Mountains.  It  came  down  almost  literally 
by  the  bucketfull.  Almost  a  continual  stream  of  lightning 
ran  down  our  conductors,  and  hissed  as  it  leaped  into  the  sea. 
There  was  not  much  wind,  but  all  the  other  meteorological  ele 
ments  were  there  in  perfection.  Madagascar  is,  perhaps,  above 
all  other  countries,  the  bantling  and  the  plaything  of  the 
storm,  and  thunder  and  lightning.  Its  plains,  heated  to  nearly 
furnace-heat,  by  a  tropical  sun,  its  ranges  of  lofty  mountains, 
the  currents  that  sweep  along  its  coasts,  and  its  proximity  to 
equatorial  Africa,  all  point  it  out  as  being  in  a  region  fertile  of 
meteorological  phenomena.  Cyclones  of  small  diameter  are 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Mozambique  Channel.  They 
travel  usually  from  south-east  to  north-west,  or  straight  across 
the  channel.  We  took  one  of  these  short  gales,  which  lasted 
us  the  greater  part  of  a  day. 

Leaving  the  channel,  and  pursuing  our  way  toward  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  we  sounded  on  the  Agulhas  Bank  on  the  7th 
of  March  —  our  latitude  being  35°  10',  and  longitude  24°  08'. 
This  bank  is  sometimes  the  scene  of  terrible  conflicts  of  the 
elements  in  the  winter  season.  Stout  ships  are  literally 
swamped  here,  by  the  huge,  wall-like  seas ;  and  the  frames  of 
others  so  much  shaken  and  loosened  in  every  knee  and  joint, 
as  to  render  them  unsea worthy.  The  cause  of  these  terrible, 
short,  racking  seas,  is  the  meeting  of  the  winds  and  currents. 
Whilst  the  awful,  wintry  gale  is  howling  from  the  west  and 
north-west,  the  Mozambique,  or  Agulhas  current,  as  it  is  now 
called,  is  setting  in  its  teeth,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  two  or 
three  knots  per  hour.  A  struggle  ensues  between  the  billows 
lashed  into  fury  by  the  winds,  and  the  angry  current  which  is 
opposing  them.  The  ground-swell  contributes  to  the  turmoil 
of  the  elements,  and  the  stoutest  mariner  sometimes  stands 
appalled  at  the  spectacle  of  seas  with  nearly  perpendicular 
walls,  battering  his  ship  like  so  many  battering-rams,  and 
threatening  her  with  instant  destruction.  Hence  the  name  of 
the  "  stormy  cape,"  applied  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       737 

Arriving  on  our  old  cruising  ground  off  the  pitch  of  the 
Cape,  we  held  ourselves  here  a  few  days,  overhauling  the  vari 
ous  ships  that  passed.  But  American  commerce,  which,  as  the 
reader  has  seen,  had  fled  this  beaten  track  before  we  left  for 
the  East  Indies,  had  not  returned  to  it.  The  few  ships  of  the 
enemy  that  passed,  still  gave  the  Cape  a  wide  berth,  and 
winged  their  flight  homeward  over  the  by-ways,  instead  of  the 
highways  of  the  ocean.  We  found  the  coast  clear  again  of  the 
enemy's  cruisers.  That  huge  old  coal-box,  the  Vanderbilt, 
having  thought  it  useless  to  pursue  us  farther,  had  turned  back, 
and  was  now  probably  doing  a  more  profitable  business,  by 
picking  up  bockade-runners  on  the  American  coast.  This 
operation  paid — the  captain  might  grow  rich  upon  it.  Chasing 
the  Alabama  did  not.  Finding  that  it  was  useless  for  us  to 
cruise  longer  off  the  Cape,  we  ran  into  Cape  Town,  and  came 
to  anchor  at  half-past  four,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  of 
March.  We  had  gone  to  sea  from  Simon's  Town,  on  our  way 
to  the  East  Indies,  on  the  24th  of  the  preceding  September, — 
our  cruise  had  thus  lasted  within  a  day  or  two  of  six  months. 


736  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

awaited  in  silence  the  denouement.  The  thunder  rolled  and 
crashed,  as  if  the  skies  were  falling  in  pieces ;  and  the  light 
ning sheet  lightning,  streaked  lightning,  forked  lightning  — 

kept  the  firmament  almost  constantly  ablaze.  And  the  rain  ! 
I  thought  I  had  seen  it  rain  before,  but  for  an  hour,  Madagas 
car  beat  the  Ghaut  Mountains.  It  came  down  almost  literally 
by  the  bucketfull.  Almost  a  continual  stream  of  lightning 
ran  down  our  conductors,  and  hissed  as  it  leaped  into  the  sea. 
There  was  not  much  wind,  but  all  the  other  meteorological  ele 
ments  were  there  in  perfection.  Madagascar  is,  perhaps,  above 
all  other  countries,  the  bantling  and  the  plaything  of  the 
storm,  and  thunder  and  lightning.  Its  plains,  heated  to  nearly 
furnace-heat,  by  a  tropical  sun,  its  ranges  of  lofty  mountains, 
the  currents  that  sweep  along  its  coasts,  and  its  proximity  to 
equatorial  Africa,  all  point  it  out  as  being  in  a  region  fertile  of 
meteorological  phenomena.  Cyclones  of  small  diameter  are 
of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Mozambique  Channel.  They 
travel  usually  from  south-east  to  north-west,  or  straight  across 
the  channel.  We  took  one  of  these  short  gales,  which  lasted 
us  the  greater  part  of  a  day. 

Leaving  the  channel,  and  pursuing  our  way  toward  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  we  sounded  on  the  Agulhas  Bank  on  the  7th 
of  March  —  our  latitude  being  35°  10',  and  longitude  24°  08'. 
This  bank  is  sometimes  the  scene  of  terrible  conflicts  of  the 
elements  in  the  winter  season.  Stout  ships  are  literally 
swamped  here,  by  the  huge,  wall-like  seas ;  and  the  frames  of 
others  so  much  shaken  and  loosened  in  every  knee  and  joint, 
as  to  render  them  unseaworthy.  The  cause  of  these  terrible, 
short,  racking  seas,  is  the  meeting  of  the  winds  and  currents. 
Whilst  the  awful,  wintry  gale  is  howling  from  the  west  and 
north-west,  the  Mozambique,  or  Agulhas  current,  as  it  is  now 
called,  is  setting  in  its  teeth,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  two  or 
three  knots  per  hour.  A  struggle  ensues  between  the  billows 
lashed  into  fury  by  the  winds,  and  the  angry  current  which  is 
opposing  them.  The  ground-swell  contributes  to  the  turmoil 
of  the  elements,  and  the  stoutest  mariner  sometimes  stands 
appalled  at  the  spectacle  of  seas  with  nearly  perpendicular 
walls,  battering  his  ship  like  so  many  battering-rams,  and 
threatening  her  with  instant  destruction.  Hence  the  name  of 
the  "stormy  cape,"  applied  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       737 

Arriving  on  our  old  cruising  ground  off  the  pitch  of  the 
Cape,  we  held  ourselves  here  a  few  days,  overhauling  the  vari 
ous  ships  that  passed.  But  American  commerce,  which,  as  the 
reader  has  seen,  had  fled  this  beaten  track  before  we  left  for 
the  East  Indies,  had  not  returned  to  it.  The  few  ships  of  the 
enemy  that  passed,  still  gave  the  Cape  a  wide  berth,  and 
winged  their  flight  homeward  over  the  by-ways,  instead  of  the 
highways  of  the  ocean.  We  found  the  coast  clear  again  of  the 
enemy's  cruisers.  That  huge  old  coal-box,  the  Vanderbilt, 
having  thought  it  useless  to  pursue  us  farther,  had  turned  back, 
and  was  now  probably  doing  a  more  profitable  business,  by 
picking  up  bockade-runners  on  the  American  coast.  This 
operation  paid — the  captain  might  grow  rich  upon  it.  Chasing 
the  Alabama  did  not.  Finding  that  it  was  useless  for  us  to 
cruise  longer  off  the  Cape,  we  ran  into  Cape  Town,  and  came 
to  anchor  at  half-past  four,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  20th  of 
March.  We  had  gone  to  sea  from  Simon's  Town,  on  our  way 
to  the  East  Indies,  on  the  24th  of  the  preceding  September, — 
our  cruise  had  thus  lasted  within  a  day  or  two  of  six  months. 


CHAPTER    LII. 

ALABAMA  AGAIN  IN  CAPE   TOWN THE   SEIZURE   OF    THE 

TUSCALOOSA,  AND  THE  DISCUSSION  WHICH  GEEW  OUT  OF 

IT CORRESPONDENCE     BETWEEN     THE    AUTHOR     AND 

ADMIRAL  WALKER FINAL  ACTION  OF  THE  HOME  GOV 
ERNMENT,  AND  RELEASE  OF  THE  TUSCALOOSA. 

AFTER  our  long  absence  in  the  East  Indies,  we  felt  like 
returning  home  when  we  ran  into  Table  Bay.  Familiar 
faces  greeted  us,  and  the  same  welcome  was  extended  to  us  as 
upon  our  first  visit.  An  unpleasant  surprise  awaited  me,  how 
ever,  in  the  course  the  British  Government  had  recently  pur 
sued  in  regard  to  my  tender,  the  Tuscaloosa.  The  reader  will 
recollect,  that  I  had  dispatched  this  vessel  from  Angra  Pe- 
queila,  back  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  to  make  a  cruise  on  that 
coast.  Having  made  her  cruise,  she  returned  to  Simon's  Town, 
in  the  latter  part  of  December,  in  want  of  repairs  and  supplies. 
Much  to  the  astonishment  of  her  commander,  she  was  seized, 
a  few  days  afterward,  by  Admiral  Sir  Baldwin  Walker,  under 
orders  from  the  Home  Government.  Since  I  had  left  the  Cape, 
a  correspondence  had  ensued  between  the  Governor,  Sir  Philip 
Wodehouse,  and  the  Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  the  Duke  of 
Newcastle ;  the  latter  disapproving  of  the  conduct  of  the  for 
mer,  in  the  matter  of  the  reception  of  the  Tuscaloosa.  It  was 
insisted  by  the  Duke,  that  inasmuch  as  the  Tuscaloosa  was  an 
uncondemned  prize,  she  was  not  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  a 
ship  of  war ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  having  been  brought 
into  British  waters,  in  violation  of  the  Queen's  orders  of  neu 
trality,  she  should  have  been  detained,  and  handed  over  to  her 
original  owners.  Under  these  instructions,  the  Tuscaloosa  was 
seized  upon  her  return  to  the  Cape.  This  correspondence  be 
tween  the  Governor  and  the  Duke  had  not  yet  been  made  pub- 

738 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  739 

lie,  and  it  was  supposed  that  the  seizure  had  been  made  by 
order  of  Lord  John  Russell.  Under  this  impression  I  sat 
down,  and  addressed  the  following  letter  to  Sir  Balwin  Walker, 
the  Admiral,  on  the  subject :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  ALABAMA,    "> 
TABLE  BAY,  March  22,  1864.  ) 

SIR:  —  I  was  surprised  to  learn,  upon  my  arrival  at  this  port,  of 
the  detention,  by  your  order,  of  the  Confederate  States  bark  Tus- 
caloosa,  a  tender  to  this  ship.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  you  de 
tained  her  by  order  of  the  Home  Government,  as  no  other  supposi 
tion  is  consistent  with  my  knowledge  of  the  candor  of  your  char 
acter —  the  Tuscaloosa  having  been  formerly  received  by  you  as  a 
regularly  commissioned  tender,  and  no  new  facts  appearing  in  the 
case  to  change  your  decision.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  shall 
not  demand  of  you  the  restoration  of  that  vessel,  with  which  de 
mand  you  would  not  have  the  power  to  comply,  but  will  content 
myself  with  putting  this,  my  protest,  on  record,  for  the  future  con 
sideration  of  our  respective  Governments.  Earl  Russell,  in  reach 
ing  the  decision  which  he  has  communicated  to  you,  must  surely 
have  misapprehended  the  facts ;  for  if  he  had  correctly  understood 
them,  he  could  not  have  been  capable  of  so  grossly  misapplying 
the  law.  The  facts  are  briefly  these :  First,  The  Tuscaloosa  was 
formerly  the  enemy's  ship  Conrad,  lawfully  captured  by  me  on  the 
high  seas,  in  my  recognized  character  of  a  belligerent.  %dly,  She 
was  duly  commissioned  by  me,  as  a  tender  to  the  Confederate 
States  steamer  Alabama,  then,  as  now,  under  my  command. 
3dly,  In  this  character  she  entered  British  waters,  was  received 
with  the  courtesy  and  hospitality  due  to  a  ship  of  war  of  a  friendly, 
power,  and  was  permitted  to  repair  and  refit,  and  depart  on  a 
cruise. 

These  were  the  facts  up  to  the  time  of  Earl  Russell's  issuing  to 
you  the  order  in  the  premises.  Let  us  consider  them  for  a  moment, 
and  see  if  they  afford  his  lordship  any  ground  for  the  extraordinary 
conclusion  at  which  he  has  arrived.  My  right  to  capture,  and  the 
legality  of  the  capture,  will  not  be  denied.  Nor  will  you  deny,  in 
your  experience  as  a  naval  officer,  my  right  to  commission  this,  or 
any  other  ship  lawfully  in  my  possession,  as  a  tender  to  my  princi 
pal  ship.  British  Admirals  do  this  every  day,  on  distant  stations  ; 
and  the  tender,  from  the  time  of  her  being  put  in  commission,  wears 
a  pennant,  and  is  entitled  to  all  the  immunities  and  privileges  of  a 
ship  of  war,  the  right  of  capturing  enemy's  ships  included.  Numer 
ous  decisions  are  to  be  found  in  your  own  prize  law  to  this  effect. 
In  other  words,  this  is  one  of  the  recognized  modes  of  commission 
ing  a  ship  of  war,  which  has  grown  out  of  the  convenience  of  the 
thing,  and  become  a  sort  of  naval  common  law  of  the  sea,  as  indis 
putable  as  the  written  law  itself.  The  only  difference  between  the 
commission  of  such  a  ship,  and  that  of  a  ship  commissioned  by  the 


740  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

sovereign  authority  at  home  is,  that  the  word  "  tender"  appears  ill 
the  former  commission,  and  not  in  the  latter. 

The  Tuscaloosa  having,  then,  been  commissioned  by  me,  in  ac 
cordance  with  the  recognized  practice  of  all  civilized  nations  that 
have  a  marine,  can  any  other  government  than  my  own  look  into 
her  antecedents?  Clearly  not.  The  only  thing  which  can  be  looked 
at,  upon  her  entering  a  foreign  port,  is  her  commission.  If  this  be 
issued  by  competent  authority,  you  cannot  proceed  a  step  further. 
The  ship  then  becomes  a  part  of  the  territory  of  the  country  to 
which  she  belongs,  and  you  can  exercise  no  more  jurisdiction  over 
her,  than  over  that  territory.  The  self-respect,  and  the  indepen 
dence  of  nations  require  this ;  for  it  would  be  a  monstrous  doctrine, 
to  admit,  that  one  nation  may  inquire  into  the  title  by  which  an 
other  nation  holds  her  ships  of  war.  And  there  can  be  no  differ 
ence,  in  this  respect,  between  tenders,  and  ships  originally  commis 
sioned.  The  flag  and  the  pennant  fly  over  them  both,  and  they  are 
both  withdrawn  from  the  local  jurisdiction  by  competent  commis 
sions.  On  principle  you  might  as  well  have  undertaken  to  inquire 
into  the  antecedents  of  the  Alabama  as  of  the  Tuscaloosa.  Indeed, 
you  had  a  better  reason  for  inquiring  into  the  antecedents  of  the 
former,  than  of  the  latter ;  it  having  been  alleged  that  the  former 
escaped  from  England  in  violation  of  your  Foreign  Enlistment  Act. 
Mr.  Adams,  the  United  States  Minister  at  London,  did,  in  fact,  set 
up  this  pretension,  and  demand  that  the  Alabama  should  be  seized 
in  the  first  British  port  into  which  she  should  enter ;  but  Earl  Rus 
sell,  in  pointed  contradiction  of  his  recent  conduct  in  the  case  of 
the  Tuscaloosa,  gave  him  the  proper  legal  reply,  viz. :  that  the  Ala 
bama  being  now  a  ship  of  war,  he  was  estopped  from  looking  into  her 
antecedents. 

A  simple  illustration  will  suffice  to  show  you  how  untenable  your 
position  is  in  this  matter.  If  the  Tuscaloosa' s  commission  be  admit 
ted  to  have  been  issued  by  competent  authority,  and  in  due  form  — 
and  I  do  not  understand  this  to  be  denied  —  she  is  as  much  a  ship 
of  war  as  the  Narcissus,  your  flag-ship.  Suppose  you  should  visit 
a  French  port,  under  circumstances  similar  to  those  under  which 
the  Tuscaloosa  visited  Simon's  Town,  and  the  French  Government 
should  threaten  you  with  seizure,  unless  you  satisfied  it  as  to  the 
antecedents  of  your  ship,  what  would  you  think  of  the  pretension  ? 
Suppose  your  late  war  with  Russia  was  still  progressing  —  France 
being  neutral  —  and  your  ship  had  been  captured  from  the  Rus 
sians,  and  commissioned  by  your  Government,  without  having  first 
been  condemned  by  a  prize  court,  would  this  make  any  difference? 
You  see  that  it  would  not.  The  pretension  would  be  an  insult  to 
your  Government.  And  in  what  does  the  supposed  proceeding  dif 
fer  from  the  one  in  hand  ?  In  both  it  is  a  pretension  on  the  part 
of  a  foreign  power,  to  look  into  the  antecedents  of  a  ship  of  war — 
neither  more  nor  less  in  the  one  case  than  in  the  other. 

I  will  even  put  the  case  stronger.  If  I  had  seized  a  ship  belong 
ing  to  a  power  with  which  my  Government  was  at  peace,  and  com- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      741 

missioned  her,  you  could  not  undertake  to  inquire  into  the  fact. 
You  would  have  no  right  to  know,  but  that  I  had  the  orders  of  my 
Government  for  the  seizure.  In  short,  you  would  have  no  right  to 
inquire  into  the  matter  at  all.  My  ship  being  regularly  commis 
sioned,  I  am  responsible  to  my  Government  for  my  acts,  and  that 
Government,  in  the  case  supposed,  would  be  responsible  to  the 
friendly  power  whose  ship  had  been  seized,  and  not  to  you.  Nay, 
the  case  may  be  put  stronger  still.  The  Federal  States  have  cap 
tured  a  number  of  British  vessels,  in  the  act  of  attempting  to  run 
the  blockade  of  the  ports  of  the  Confederate  States.  Suppose  the 
Federal  States  had  commissioned  one  of  these  ships,  without  her 
having  been  first  condemned  by  a  prize-court,  and  she  had  after 
ward  come  into  British  waters,  could  you  have  seized  her,  even 
though  you  might  know  her  capture  to  have  been  wrongful  ?  Cer 
tainly  not.  It  would  be  a  matter  which  you  could  inquire  into  in 
another  form,  but  not  in  this.  The  ship  would  have  become  a  ship 
of  war,  exempt  from  your  jurisdiction,  and  you  could  not  touch  her. 
If  this  reasoning  be  correct — and  w^ith  all  due  submission  to  his 
lordship,  I  think  it  is  sustained  by  the  plainest  principles  of  the 
International  Code  —  it  follows  that  the  condemnation  of  a  prize  in 
a  prize-court,  is  not  the  only  mode  of  changing  the  character  of  a 
captured  ship.  When  the  sovereign  of  the  captor  puts  his  commis 
sion  on  board  such  a  ship,  this  is  a  condemnation  in  its  most  solemn 
form ;  and  is  notice  to  all  the  world. 

Further,  as  to  this  question  of  adjudication.  Your  letter  to  Lieu 
tenant  Low,  the  late  commander  of  the  Tuscaloosa,  assumes  that 
as  that  ship  was  not  condemned,  she  was  the  property  of  the  enemy 
from  whom  she  had  been  taken.  On  what  ground  can  you  under 
take  to  make  this  decision?  Condemnation  is  intended  for  the 
benefit  of  neutrals,  and  to  quiet  the  titles  of  purchasers,  but  is 
never  necessary  as  against  the  enemy.  He  has,  and  can  have  no 
rights  in  a  prize-court  at  all.  He  cannot  appear  there,  either  in 
person  or  by  attorney.  He  is  divested  of  his  property  by  force, 
and  not  by  any  legal  process.  The  possession  of  his  property  by 
his  enemy,  is  all  that  is  required  as  against  him.  What  right,  then, 
has  the  British  Government  to  step  in  between  me  and  my  right 
of  possession  —  waiving,  for  the  present,  the  question  of  the  com 
mission,  and  supposing  the  Tuscaloosa  to  be  nothing  more  than  a 
prize-ship?  Does  the  fact  of  my  prize  being  in  British  waters,  in 
violation  of  the  Queen's  proclamation,  give  it  this  right  ?  Clearly 
not ;  for  we  are  speaking  now  of  rights  under  the  laws  of  nations, 
and  a  mere  municipal  order  cannot  abrogate  these.  The  prize  may  be 
ordered  out  of  the  port,  but  my  possession  is  as  firm  in  port,  as  out. 

There  is  but  a  single  class  of  cases  that  I  am  aware  of,  in  which 
a  neutral  power  can  undertake  to  adjudicate  a  prize-case,  and  that 
is,  where  it  is  alleged  that  the  capture  has  been  made  in  neutral 
waters,  in  violation  of  the  neutral  jurisdiction.  In  that  case  a  neu 
tral  Court  of  Admiralty  may,  in  case  the  prize  be  afterward  brought 
infra  presidia  of  the  neutral  country,  inquire  into  the  facts,  and 


742  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

may  even  restore  the  prize  to  the  enemy,  if  it  should  appear  that 
the  neutral  jurisdiction  has  been  violated.  But  this  restoration  of 
the  property  to  the  enemy  depends  upon  an  entirely  different  prin 
ciple.  The  right  of  capture  does  not  exist  within  the  marine  league. 
There  was,  therefore,  no  capture ;  and  there  having  been  no  cap 
ture,  as  a  matter  of  course,  the  property  belongs  to  the  enemy,  and 
must  be  restored  to  him.  To  show  the  irrefragable  nature  of  my 
possession,  permit  me  to  quote  to  your  Excellency,  one  of  your  own 
authorities.  On  page  forty-two  of  the  first  volume  of  "  Phillimore 
on  International  Law,"  you  will  find  the  following  passage  :  —  "  In 
1654  a  treaty  was  entered  into  between  England  and  Portugal,  by 
which,  among  other  things,  both  countries  mutually  bound  them 
selves  not  to  suffer  the  ships  and  goods  of  the  other,  taken  by  ene 
mies  and  carried  into  the  ports  of  the  other,  to  be  conveyed  away 
from  the  original  owners  or  proprietors."  Here  two  powers  bound 
themselves,  by  treaty,  to  do  what  the  British  Government  is  now 
attempting  to  do  ;  that  is,  to  interpose  between  the  captor  and  his 
prize,  undo  his  possession,  and  hand  the  prize  back  to  its  original 
owners.  Great  Britain  said  to  Portugal,  "  I  will  not  permit  your 
enemies  to  bring  any  ships  they  may  capture  from  you,  into  my 
ports,  and  if  they  do,  I  will  restore  them  to  you."  In  1798,  in  a 
case  before  Lord  Stowell,  that  great  admiralty  judge  had  occasion 
to  comment  on  this  treaty,  and  used  the  following  language  in  re 
lation  to  it:  —  "Now  I  have  no  scruple  in  saying,  that  this  is  an 
article  incapable  of  being  carried  into  literal  execution,  according  to 
the  modern  understanding  of  the  laws  of  nations ;  for  no  neutral 
country  can  intervene  to  wrest  from  a  belligerent  prizes  lawfully 
taken.  This  is,  perhaps,  the  strongest  instance  that  could  be  cited  of 
what  civilians  call  the  consuetudo  obrogatoria."  The  cus/om,  in 
the  law  of  nations,  abrogated  even  a  treaty,  in  that  case.  The  prize 
being  once  lawfully  made,  an  English  Court  of  Admiralty  could 
not  intervene  to  wrest  it  from  the  captor,  even  though  commanded  so 
to  do  by  a  treaty.  Will  Lord  Russell  undertake,  in  face  of  this 
decision,  and  of  his  own  mere  motion,  without  even  the  formality 
of  process  from  an  Admiralty  Court,  to  wrest  my  prize  from  me, 
and  hand  it  over  to  the  enemy  ?  My  Government  cannot  fail,  I 
think,  to  view  this  matter  in  the  light  in  which  I  have  placed  it; 
and  it  is  deeply  to  be  regretted,  that  a  weaker  people,  struggling 
against  a  stronger  for  very  existence,  should  have  so  much  cause  to 
complain  of  the  unfriendly  disposition  of  a  Government,  from  which, 
if  it  represents  truly  the  generous  instincts  of  Englishmen,  we  had 
the  right  to  expect,  at  least,  a  manly  disposition  to  do  us  justice. 

Governor  Wodehouse  was,  from  the  first,  very  clearly  of 
the  opinion  that  the  Tuscaloosa  was  entitled  to  be  considered 
and  treated  as  a  ship  of  war,  and  in  his  correspondence  with 
the  Duke  of  Newcastle,  before  referred  to,  he  maintained  this 
opinion  with  great  force  and  clearness.  He  was,  besides,  for 
tified  by  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney-General  of  the  Colony. 


BUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    743 

The  seizure  of  the  Tuscaloosa  made  some  stir  among  the 
politicians  in  England.  The  subject  was  brought  to  the  notice 
of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  information  asked  for.  The 
Cabinet  took  it  up,  and  were  obliged  to  reverse  the  decision 
of  the  Duke  of  Newcastle.  On  the  4th  of  March,  1864,  the 
Duke  wrote  to  Governor  Wodehouse  as  follows:  "I  have  re 
ceived  your  despatches  of  the  llth  and  19th  of  January,  re 
porting  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  seizure  of  the 
Confederate  prize-vessel  Tuscaloosa,  under  the  joint  authority 
of  the  naval  commander-in-chief  and  yourself.  I  have  to  in 
struct  you  to  restore  the  Tuscaloosa  to  the  lieutenant  of  the 
Confederate  States,  who  lately  commanded  her,  or  if  he  should 
have  left  the  Cape,  then  to  retain  her  until  she  can  be  handed 
over  to  some  person  who  may  have  authority  from  Captain 
Semmes,  of  the  Alabama,  or  from  the  Government  of  the  Con 
federate  States,  to  receive  her." 

The  London  "Times,"  of  the  8th  of  March,  1864,  in  report 
ing  the  proceedings  of  the  House  of  Commons  for  the  pre 
ceding  day,  contained  the  following  paragraph  :  — 

"The  Tuscaloosa.  —  Mr.  Peacocke  asked  on  what  grounds  the 
Tuscaloosa  had  been  seized  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Lord 
Palmerston  said,  that  it  was  in  conformity  with  the  instructions 
received,  that  the  authorities  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  had  seized 
this  vessel,  but  on  representations  that  had  been  made  to  the  Govern 
ment,  and  on  full  consideration  of  the  case,  it  had  been  determined 
that  there  had  been  no  proper  ground  for  the  seizure  of  the  vessel, 
and  its  release  had  been  ordered." 

The  order  to  restore  the  Tuscaloosa  did  not  reach  the  Cape 
until  after  both  Lieutenant  Low  and  myself  had  left,  and  the 
war  drew  so  speedily  to  a  close,  that  possession  of  her  was 
never  resumed.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  she  fell,  along  with 
other  Confederate  property,  into  the  hands  of  the  Federals. 
Besides  embalming  the  beautiful  name  "  Tuscaloosa"  in  history, 
this  prize-ship  settled  the  law  point  I  had  been  so  long  contest 
ing  with  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Adams,  to  wit :  that  "  one  na 
tion  cannot  inquire  into  the  antecedents  of  the  ships  of  war 
of  another  nation;"  and  consequently  that  when  the  Alabama 
escaped  from  British  waters  and  was  commissioned,  neither 
the  United  States  nor  Great  Britain  could  object  to  her  status 
as  a  ship  of  war. 


CHAPTER  LIU. 

THE  ALABAMA  AT  THE  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE LEAVES  ON 

HER  RETURN  TO  EUROPE CAPTURE  OF  THE  ROCKING- 

HAM  AND  OF  THE  TYCOON CROSSES  THE  EQUATOR 

INTO  THE  NORTHERN  HEMISPHERE,  AND  ARRIVES  AND 
ANCHORS  AT  CHERBOURG  ON  THE  llTH  OF  JUNE,  1864 

THE  COMBAT  BETWEEN  THE  ALABAMA  AND  THE 

KEARSARGE. 

WE  entered  Table  Bay  on  the  20th  of  March,  and  on  the 
next  day  we  had  the  usual  equinoctial  gale.  The  wind 
was  from  the  south-east,  and  blew  very  heavily  for  twenty-four 
hours.  We  let  go  a  second  anchor,  and  veered  to  ninety 
fathoms  on  the  riding-chain.  The  usual  phenomena  accom 
panied  this  south-east  gale,  viz.,  a  clear  sky  and  a  high  barom 
eter.  The  D — 1  kept  his  table-cloth  spread  on  the  top  of  the 
mountain  during  the  whole  of  the  gale,  and  it  was  wonderful 
to  watch  the  unvarying  size  and  shape  of  this  fleecy  cloud, 
every  particle  of  which  was  being  changed  from  moment  to 
moment.  Some  boats  visited  us,  notwithstanding  the  gale,  and 
brought  us  off  some  of  the  delightful  grapes  and  figs  of  the 
Cape.  We  were  in  the  midst  of  the  fruit  season.  Our  old 
friend,  Mr.  William  Anderson,  of  the  firm  of  Anderson,  Saxon 
&  Co.,  who  had  acted  as  our  agent,  on  the  occasion  of  our  for 
mer  visit,  so  much  to  our  satisfaction,  also  came  off  to  arrange 
for  further  supplies.  There  was  no  occasion  any  longer  for 
him  to  draw  upon  our  public  chest,  the  proceeds  of  the  mer 
chandise  shipped  by  him  to  Europe,  on  our  account,  being 
sufficient  to  pay  all  bills. 

The  gale  having  moderated  the  next  day,  lighters  came 
alongside,  and  we  began  coaling,  and  receiving  such  supplies  of 
provisions  as  we  needed.  Visitors  again  thronged  on  board, 

744 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT.  745 

and  the  energies  and  address  of  Bartelli  were  freshly  taxed. 
For  a  phlegmatic,  impassible  people,  the  English  are,  per 
haps,  the  greatest  sight-seekers  in  the  world ;  and  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  being,  as  before  remarked,  a  relay  station  on 
the  principal  highway  of  travel,  is  always  rilled  with  new 
comers.  Military  and  naval  officers,  governors,  judges,  super 
intendents  of  boards  of  trade,  attorney-generals,  all  on  their 
way  to  their  missions  in  the  Far  East,  came  to  see  the  Alabama. 
Though  we  were  sometimes  incommoded  by  the  crowd,  in  the 
midst  of  our  coaling  and  provisioning  ship,  scraping  masts 
and  tarring  down  rigging,  we  received  everybody  politely,  and 
answered  patiently  their  curious  questions.  *  When  we  were 
here  last,  we  had  had  occasion  to  notice  an  American  bark  called 
the  Urania,  a  trader  between  Boston  and  the  Cape,  which  took 
every  opportunity  to  display  a  very  large  and  very  bright 
"  old  flag,"  during  our  stay.  The  Urania  had  made  a  voyage 
to  Boston  and  back,  during  our  absence,  and  now  came  in, 
tricked  out  so  finely  in  her  "bran-new"  English  flag  that  we 
hardly  knew  her ! 

In  three  days  we  were  ready  for  sea.  On  the  morning  of 
the  2.5th,  we  got  up  steam,  and  moved  out  of  Table  Bay  for  the 
last  time,  amidst  lusty  cheers,  and  the  waving  of  handkerchiefs 
from  the  fleet  of  boats  by  which  we  were  surrounded.  As  we 
were  going  out,  it  so  happened  that  a  Yankee  steamer  was 
coming  in.  The  Quang  Tung,  a  fast  steamer,  recently  built  for 
the  China  trade,  and  now  on  her  way  to  the  Flowery  Land,  not 
dreaming  that  the  Alabama  was  at  the  Cape,  had  made  Table 
Mountain  that  morning,  and  now  came  steaming  into  the  har 
bor.  Both  ships  being  within  the  marine  league,  we  could  not 
touch  her,  which  was  a  sore  trial,  for  the  Quang  Tung  was  a 
beauty,  and  passed  so  close  under  our  guns,  that  the  Confed 
erate  and  United  States  flags  nearly  touched  each  other ;  the 
crews  of  the  two  ships  looking  on  in  silence.  Half  an  hour 
more,  and  the  capture  of  the  Sea-Bride  would  have  been  re 
peated,  to  the  gratification  of  our  many  friends  at  the  Cape. 
Beaching  the  offing,  we  permitted  our  fires  to  go  down,  and 
put  the  ship,  as  usual,  under  sail.  My  intention  now  was,  to 
make  the  best  of  my  way  to  England  or  France,  for  the  pur 
pose  of  docking,  and  thoroughly  overhauling  and  repairing 
my  ship,  in  accordance  with  my  previously  expressed  desisrn. 


746  MEMOIRS    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

I  had  been  so  much  occupied  with  business  and  visitors,  at 
the  Cape,  that  I  had  not  even  had  time  to  read  the  newspapers. 
But  my  friends  had  brought  me  off  a  bountiful  supply  for  sea, 
and  I  now  had  a  little  leisure  to  look  at  them.  The  news  was 
not  encouraging.  Our  people  were  being  harder  and  harder 
pressed  by  the  enemy,  and  post  after  post  within  our  territory 
was  being  occupied  by  him.  The  signs  of  weakness,  on  our 
part,  which  I  mentioned  as  becoming,  for  the  first  time, 
painfully  apparent,  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  the 
surrender  of  Yicksburg,  were  multiplying.  The  blockade  of 
the  coast,  by  reason  of  the  constantly  increasing  fleets  of  the 
enemy,  was  becoming  more  and  more  stringent.  Our  finances 
were  rapidly  deteriorating,  and  a  general  demoralization,  in 
consequence,  seemed  to  be  spreading  among  our  people.  From 
the  whole  review  of  the  "  situation,"  I  was  very  apprehensive 
that  the  cruises  of  the  Alabama  were  drawing  to  a  close.  As 
for  ourselves,  we  were  doing  the  best  we  could,  with  our  lim 
ited  means,  to  harass  and  cripple  the  enemy's  commerce,  that 
important  sinew  of  war ;  but  the  enemy  seemed  resolved  to 
let  his  commerce  go,  rather  than  forego  his  purpose  of  subju 
gating  us  ;  rendering  it  up  a  willing  sacrifice  on  the  profane 
altar  of  his  fanaticism,  and  the  devilish  passions  which  had 
been  engendered  by  the  war.  Probably,  if  the  alternative  had 
been  presented  to  him,  in  the  beginning  of  the  war,  "  Will  you 
lose  your  commerce,  or  permit  the  Southern  States  to  go  free?  " 
he  would  have  chosen  the  latter.  But  he  seemed,  in  the  earlier 
stages  of  the  war,  to  have  had  no  thought  of  losing  his  com 
merce  ;  and  when  it  became  apparent  that  this  misfortune  would 
befall  him,  he  was,  as  before  remarked,  too  deeply  engaged  in 
the  contest  to  heed  it. 

Among  the  speeches  that  met  my  eye,  in  the  English  papers, 
was  another  from  rny  friend,  Mr.  Milner  Gibson,  President  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  —  him  of  the  "harn  and  eggs,"  whom  I  quoted 
some  chapters  back.  Mr.  Gibson  had  risen  above  ham  and 
eggs,  this  time,  and  was  talking  about  English  and  American 
shipping.  As  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  he  was  good 
authority,  and  I  was  glad  to  learn  from  him,  the  extent  to 
which,  in  conjunction  with  other  Confederate  cruisers,  I  had 
damaged  the  enemy's  commerce.  His  speech  was  delivered  at 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      747 

Ashton-under-Lyne,  on  the  20th  of  January,  1864,  and  among 
other  things  he  said  :  — 

"  The  number  of  British  ships  entering  in,  and  clearing  out  with 
cargoes  in  the  United  Kingdom,  has  increased  in  the  present  year 
to  an  amount  of  something  like  fourteen  million  of  tons  and  upward, 
against  seven  million  tons  of  foreign  shipping ;  thus  showing,  that 
with  a  great  increase  altogether,  British  shipping  has  kept  gradu 
ally  in  advance  of  foreign  shipping  in  the  trade  with  the  United 
Kingdom.  But  it  would  not  be  fair  to  take  credit  for  this  improve 
ment  in  shipping,  as  due  to  any  policy  in  this  country.  I  am  afraid 
that  some  of  it  is  due  to  the  transference  of  the  carrying-trade  from 
American  ships  to  British  ships.  And  why  this  transference  from 
American  ships  to  British  ships  ?  No  doubt,  partially  in  conse 
quence  of  the  war  that  prevails  in  America,  there  may  not  be  the  same 
power  in  manning  and  fitting  out  merchant  vessels.  But  I  am 
afraid  there  is  something  more  than  that.  There  is  the  fear  among 
the  American  merchant  shipping  of  attacks  by  certain  armed  ves 
sels  that  are  careering  over  the  ocean,  and  that  are  burning  and 
destroying  all  United  States  merchant  ships  that  they  find  upon  the 
high  seas.  The  fear,  therefore,  of  destruction  by  these  cruisers,  has 
caused  a  large  transfer  of  American  carrying  to  British  ships. 
Now  the  decrease  in  the  employment  of  American  shipping  is  very 
great  in  the  trade  between  England  and  the  United  States.  It  is 
something  like  46  or  4t  per  cent.  I  mention  these  facts  to  show 
you  that  it  is  right  that  the  attention  of  this  great  commercial 
nation  should  be  seriously  turned  to  those  laws  which  govern  the 
action  of  belligerents  upon  the  high  seas  —  (hear!  hear!) — for  if 
some  two  or  three  armed  steamers,  which  a  country  with  no  preten 
sions  to  a  navy,  can  easily  send  upon  the  ocean,  armed  with  one 
or  two  guns,  can  almost  clear  the  seas  of  the  merchant  shipping 
of  a  particular  nation,  what  might  happen  to  this  country,  with  her 
extensive  commerce  over  the  seas,  if  she  went  to  war  with  some 
nation  that  availed  herself  of  the  use  of  similar  descriptions  of 
vessels.  (Hear!  hear!)" 

Though  the  subject  was  done  up  in  a  new  form,  it  was  still 
"ham  and  eggs" — British  interests  —  as  the  reader  sees.  Mr. 
Milner  Gibson  was  not  over-stating  the  damage  we  had  done 
the  enemy.  He  was  unfriendly  to  us,  and  therefore  inclined 
to  under-state  it.  According  to  his  statistics,  we  had  destroyed, 
or  driven  for  protection  under  the  English  flag,  in  round  num 
bers,  one  half  of  the  enemy's  ships  engaged  in  the  English 
trade.  We  did  even  greater  damage  to  the  enemy's  trade  with 
other  powers.  We  broke  up  almost  entirely  his  trade  with 
Brazil,  and  the  other  South  American  States,  greatly  crippled 


748  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

bis  Pacific  trade,  and  as  for  his  East  India  trade,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  refer  the  reader  to  the  spectacle  presented  at  Sin 
gapore,  to  show  him  what  had  become  of  that. 

I  threw  my  ship,  now,  into  the  "  fair  way,"  leading  from  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  to  the  equatorial  crossing,  east  of  our  old 
trysting-place,  Fernando  de  Noronha ;  shortening  sail,  from 
time  to  time,  and  see-sawing  across  the  highway,  to  give  any 
Yankee  ships  that  might  be  travelling  it,  the  opportunity  to 
come  up  with  me.  I  held  myself  in  check,  a  day  or  two,  in 
the  vicinity  of  St.  Helena,  experiencing  all  the  vicissitudes  of 
weather,  so  feelingly  complained  of  by  the  "Great  Captive  "  on 
that  barren  rock.  Leaving  St.  Helena,  we  jogged  along  lei 
surely  under  topsails,  the  stream  of  commerce  flowing  past  us, 
but  there  being  no  Yankee  ships  in  the  stream. 

'*  Howl,  ye  ships  of  Tarshish, 
For  your  strength  is  laid  waste." 

On  the  22d  of  April,  having  reached  the  track  of  the  home 
ward-bound  Pacific  ships  of  the  enemy,  we  descried  an  un 
lucky  Yankee,  to  whom  we  immediately  gave  chase.  The 
chase  continued  the  whole  night,  the  moon  shining  brightly, 
the  breeze  being  gentle,  and  the  sea  smooth.  The  Yankee 
worked  like  a  good  fellow  to  get  away,  piling  clouds  of  can 
vas  upon  his  ship,  and  handling  her  with  the  usual  ski]],  but 
it  was  of  no  use.  When  the  day  dawned  we  were  within  a 
couple  of  miles  of  him.  It  was  the  old  spectacle  of  the  panting, 
breathless  fawn,  and  the  inexorable  stag-hound.  A  gun 
brought  his  colors  to  the  peak,  and  his  main-yard  to  the  mast. 
The  prize  proved  to  be  the  ship  Rockingham,  from  Callao, 
bound  to  Cork  for  orders.  Her  cargo  consisted  of  guano  from 
the  Chincha  Islands,  and  there  was  an  attempt  to  protect  it  It 
was  shipped  by  the  "Guano  Consignment  Company  of  Great 
Britain."  Among  the  papers  was  a  certificate,  of  which  the 
following  is  the  purport:  One  Joseph  A.  Danino,  who  signs 
for  Danino  &  Moscosa,  certifies  that  the  guano  belongs  to  the 
Peruvian  Government ;  and  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Consul  at 
Lima,  certifies  that  the  said  Joseph  A.  Danino  appeared  before 
him,  and  "voluntarily  declared,  that  the  foregoing  signature 
is  of  his  own  handwriting,  and  also,  that  the  cargo  above  men- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     749 

tioned  is  truly  and  verily  the  property  of  the  Peruvian  Gov 
ernment."  This  was  about  equal  to  some  of  the  Yankee 
attempts,  that  have  been  noticed,  to  cover  cargoes.  With  the 
most  perfect  unconcern  for  the  laws  of  nations,  no  one  swore 
to  anything.  Mr.  Danino  certified,  and  the  Consul  certified 
that  Mr.  Danino  had  certified.  Voila  tout!  We  transferred 
to  the  Alabama  such  stores  and  provisions  as  we  could  make 
room  for,  and  the  weather  being  fine,  we  made  a  target  of  the 
prize,  firing  some  shot  and  shell  into  her  with  good  effect ; 
and  at  five  P.  M.  we  burned  her,  and  filled  away  on  our  course. 

A  few  days  afterward  —  on  the  27th  of  April  —  being  in 
latitude  11°  16'  S.  and  longitude  32°  07'  W.,  the  weather  being 
fine,  and  the  wind  light  from  the  south-east,  we  descried,  at 
three  P.  M.,  a  large  ship  standing  directly  for  us.  Neither  ship 
changed  tack  or  sheet  until  we  were  within  speaking  distance. 
Nor  had  we  shown  the  stranger  any  colors.  We  now  hailed, 
and  ordered  him  to  heave  to,  whilst  we  should  send  aboard  of 
him,  hoisting  our  colors  at  the  same  time.  We  had  previously 
seen  the  Yankee  colors  in  the  hands  of  one  of  his  seamen, 
ready  to  be  hoisted.  The  whole  thing  was  done  so  quietly, 
that  one  would  have  thought  it  was  two  friends  meeting.  The 
prize  proved  to  be  the  Tycoon,  from  New  York,  for  San  Fran 
cisco.  She  had  the  usual  valuable  and  assorted  cargo.  There 
was  no  claim  of  neutral  property  among  the  papers.  The  ship 
being  only  thirty-six  days  from  New  York,  we  received  from 
her  a  batch  of  late  newspapers ;  and  a  portion  of  her  cargo 
consisting  of  clothing,  the  paymaster  was  enabled  to  replenish 
his  store-rooms  with  every  variety  of  wearing  apparel.  We 
applied  the  torch  to  her  soon  after  nightfall. 

On  the  2d  of  May,  we  recrossed  the  equator  into  the  northern 
hemisphere,  took  the  north-east  trade-wind,  after  the  usual  inter 
val  of  calm,  and  the  usual  amount  of  thunder,  lightning,  and 
rain,  and  with  it,  ran  up  to  our  old  toll-gate,  at  the  crossing  of 
the  30th  parallel,  where,  as  the  reader  will  recollect,  we  halted, 
on  our  outward  passage,  and  vised  the  passports  of  so  many  trav 
ellers.  The  poor  old  Alabama  was  not  now  what  she  had  been 
then.  She  was  like  the  wearied  fox-hound,  limping  back  after 
a  long  chase,  foot-sore,  and  longing  for  quiet  and  repose.  Her 
commander,  like  herself,  was  well-nigh  worn  down.  Vigils  by 


750  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

night  and  by  day,  the  storm  and  the  drenching  rain,  the  fre 
quent  and  rapid  change  of  climate,  now  freezing,  now  melting 
or  broiling,  and  the  constant  excitement  of  the  chase  and  cap 
ture,  had  laid,  in  the  three  years  of  war  he  had  been  afloat,  a 
load  of  a  dozen  years  on  his  shoulders.  The  shadows  of  a 
sorrowful  future,  too,  began  to  rest  upon  his  spirit.  The  last 
batch  of  newspapers  captured  were  full  of  disasters.  Might  it 
not  be,  that,  after  all  our  trials  and  sacrifices,  the  cause  for 
which  we  were  struggling  would  be  lost?  Might  not  our 
federal  system  of  government  be  destroyed,  and  State  inde 
pendence  become  a  phrase  of  the  past ;  the  glorious  fabric  of 
our  American  liberty  sinking,  as  so  many  others  had  done 
before  it,  under  a  new  invasion  of  Brennuses  and  Attilas? 
The  thought  was  hard  to  bear. 

We  passed  through  our  old  cruising-ground,  the  Azores, 
sighting  several  of  the  islands  which  called  up  reminiscences 
of  the  christening  of  our  ship,  and  of  the  sturdy  blows  she  had 
struck  at  the  enemy's  whaling  fleet,  in  the  first  days  of  her 
career.  Thence  we  stretched  over  to  the  coasts  of  Spain  and 
Portugal,  and  thence  to  the  British  Channel,  making  the 
Lizard  on  the  10th  of  June,  and  being  fortunate  enough  to  get 
a  channel  pilot  on  board,  just  as  night  was  setting  in,  with  a 
thick  south-wester  brewing.  By  eleven  p.  M.,  we  were  up 
with  the  "Start"  light,  and  at  ten  the  next  morning,  we  made 
Cape  La  Hague,  on  the  coast  of  France.  We  were  now 
boarded  by  a  French  pilot,  and  at  thirty  minutes  past  noon, 
we  let  go  our  anchor  in  the  port  of  Cherbourg. 

This  was  to  be  the  Alabama's  last  port.  She  had  run  her 
career,  her  record  had  been  made  up,  and  in  a  few  days  more, 
she  would  lay  her  bones  beneath  the  waters  of  the  British 
Channel,  and  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  I  had  brought  back  with 
me  all  my  officers,  except  the  paymaster,  whom  I  had  dis 
charged  at  the  island  of  Jamaica,  as  related  in  a  former  chapter; 
and  the  young  engineer,  who  had  been  accidentally  killed  at 
Saldanha  Bay.  Many  changes  had  taken  place,  of  course, 
among  my  crew,  as  is  always  the  case  with  sailors,  but  still 
a  large  proportion  of  my  old  men  had  come  back  with  me. 
These  were  faithful  and  true,  and  took  more  than  an  ordi 
nary  interest  in  their  ship  and  their  flag.  There  were  har 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     751 

mony  and  mutual  confidence  between  officers  and  men.  Our 
discipline  had  been  rigid,  but  mercy  had  always  tempered 
justice,  and  the  sailors  understood  and  appreciated  this.  I 
had  been  successful  with  the  health  of  my  men  beyond  prece 
dent.  In  my  two  ships,  the  Sumter  and  Alabama,  I  had  had, 
first  and  last,  say  five  hundred  men  under  my  command.  The 
ships  were  small  and  crowded.  As  many  as  two  thousand  pris 
oners  were  confined,  for  longer  or  shorter  periods,  on  board 
the  two  ships ;  and  yet,  out  of  the  total  of  twenty-five  hun 
dred  men,  /  had  not  lost  a  single  man  by  disease.  I  had  skilful 
and  attentive  surgeons,  I  gave  them  carte  blanche  with  regard 
to  medicines  and  diet,  and  my  first  lieutenant  understood  it  to 
be  an  important  part  of  his  duty  to  husband  the  strength  of  his 
men.  The  means  which  were  resorted  to  by  all  these  officers, 
for  preserving  the  health  of  the  crew,  have  been  detailed.  The 
reader  has  seen,  not  only  how  their  clothing  was  changed  as  we 
changed  our  latitude,  but  how  it  was  changed  every  evening, 
when  we  were  in  warm  climates.  He  has  seen  how  sedulously 
we  guarded  against  intemperance,  at  the  same  time  that  we 
gave  the  sailor  his  regular  allowance  of  grog.  And  last,  though 
by  no  means  least,  he  has  seen  how  we  endeavored  to  promote 
a  cheerful  and  hilarious  spirit  among  them,  being  present  at, 
and  encouraging  them  in  their  diversions. 

Immediately  upon  anchoring,  I  sent  an  officer  to  call  on  the 
Port  Admiral,  and  ask  leave  to  land  my  prisoners  from  the 
two  last  ships  captured.  This  was  readily  granted,  and  the 
next  day  I  went  on  shore  to  see  him  myself,  in  relation  to  dock 
ing  and  repairing  my  ship.  My  arrival  had,  of  course,  been 
telegraphed  to  Paris,  and  indeed,  by  this  time,  had  been  spread 
all  over  Europe.  The  Admiral  regretted  that  I  had  not  gone 
into  Havre,  or  some  other  commercial  port,  where  I  would 
have  found  private  docks.  Cherbourg  being  exclusively  a 
naval  station,  the  docks  all  belonged  to  the  Government,  and 
the  Government  would  have  preferred  not  to  dock  and  repair 
a  belligerent  ship.  No  positive  objection  was  made,  however, 
and  the  matter  was  laid  over,  until  the  Emperor  could  be 
communicated  with.  The  Emperor  was  then  at  Biarritz,  a 
small  watering-place  on  the  south  coast,  and  would  not  be  back 
in  Paris  for  several  days.  It  was  my  intention,  if  I  had  been 
48 


752  MEMOIRS    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

admitted  promptly  into  dock,  to  give  my  crew  a  leave  of 
absence  for  a  couple  of  months.  They  would  have  been  dis 
charged,  and  dispersed,  in  the  first  twenty-four  hours  after  my 
arrival,  but  for  this  temporary  absence  of  the  Emperor.  The 
combat,  therefore,  which  ensued,  may  be  said  to  be  due  to  the 
Emperor's  accidental  absence  from  Paris. 

When  the  Alabama  arrived  in  Cherbourg,  the  enemy's 
steamer  Kearsarge  was  lying  at  Flushing.  On  the  14th  of 
June,  or  three  days  after  our  arrival,  she  steamed  into  the  har 
bor  of  Cherbourg,  sent  a  boat  on  shore  to  communicate  with 
the  authorities,  and,  without  anchoring,  steamed  out  again,  and 
took  her  station  off  the  breakwater.  "We  had  heard,  a  day  or 
two  before,  of  the  expected  arrival  of  this  ship,  and  it  was 
generally  understood  among  my  crew  that  I  intended  to  en 
gage  her.  Her  appearance,  therefore,  produced  no  little  ex 
citement  on  board.  The  object  which  the  Kearsarge  had  in  view, 
in  communicating  with  the  authorities,  was  to  request  that  the 
prisoners  I  had  sent  on  shore  might  be  delivered  up  to  her. 
To  this  I  objected,  on  the  ground,  that  it  would  augment  her 
crew,  which  she  had  no  right  to  do,  in  neutral  waters,  and 
especially  in  the  face  of  her  enemy.  Captain  Winslow's  re 
quest  was  refused,  and  the  prisoners  were  not  permitted  to  go 
on  board  of  him.  I  now  addressed  a  note  to  Mr.  Bonfils,  our 
agent,  requesting  him  to  inform  Captain  Winslow,  through  the 
United  States  Consul,  that  if  he  would  wait  until  I  could  re 
ceive  some  coal  on  board  —  my  supply  having  been  nearly 
exhausted,  by  my  late  cruising — I  would  come  out  and  give 
him  battle.  This  message  was  duly  conveyed,  and  the  defi 
ance  was  understood  to  have  been  accepted. 

We  commenced  coaling  ship  immediately,  and  making  other 
preparations  for  battle ;  as  sending  down  all  useless  yards  and 
top-hamper,  examining  the  gun  equipments,  and  overhauling 
the  magazine  and  shell-rooms.  My  crew  seemed  not  only 
willing,  but  anxious  for  the  combat,  and  I  had  every  confi 
dence  in  their  steadiness  and  drill;  but  they  labored  under  one 
serious  disadvantage.  They  had  had  but  very  limited  oppor 
tunities  of  actual  practice  at  target-firing,  with  shot  and  shell. 
The  reason  is  obvious.  I  had  no  means  of  replenishing  either 
shot  or  shell,  and  was  obliged,  therefore,  to  husband  the  store 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       753 

I  had  on  hand,  for  actual  conflict.  The  stories  that  ran  the 
round  of  the  Federal  papers  at  the  time,  that  my  crew  was 
composed  mainly  of  trained  gunners  from  the  British  practice- 
ship  Excellent,  were  entirely  without  foundation.  I  had  on 
board  some  half  dozen  British  seamen,  who  had  served  in 
ships  of  war  in  former  years,  but  they  were  in  no  respect  su 
perior  to  the  rest  of  the  crew.  As  for  the  two  ships,  though  the 
enemy  was  superior  to  me,  both  in  size,  stanchness  of  construc 
tion,  and  armament,  they  were  of  force  so  nearly  equal,  that  I 
cannot  be  charged  with  rashness  in  having  offered  battle.  The 
Kearsarge  mounted  seven  guns: — two  eleven-inch  Dahlgrens, 
four  32-pounders,  and  a  rifled  28-pounder.  The  Alabama 
mounted  eight:  —  one  eight-inch,  one  rifled  100-pounder,  and 
six  32-pounders.  Though  the  Alabama  carried  one  gun  more 
than  her  antagonist,  it  is  seen  that  the  battery  of  the  latter 
enabled  her  to  throw  more  metal  at  a  broadside — there  being 
a  difference  of  three  inches  in  the  bore  of  the  shell-guns  of  the 
two  ships. 

Still  the  disparity  was  not  so  great,  but  that  I  might  hope 
to  beat  my  enemy  in  a  fair  fight.  But  he  did  not  show  me  a 
fair  fight,  for,  as  it  afterward  turned  out,  his  ship  was  iron-clad. 
It  was  the  same  thing,  as  if  two  men  were  to  go  out  to  fight  a 
duel,  and  one  of  them,  unknown  to  the  other,  were  to  put  a 
shirt  of  mail  under  his  outer  garment.  The  days  of  chivalry 
being  past,  perhaps  it  would  be  unfair  to  charge  Captain  Wins- 
low  with  deceit  in  withholding  from  me  the  fact  that  he  meant 
to  wear  armor  in  the  fight.  He  may  have  reasoned  that  it  was 
my  duty  to  find  it  out  for  myself.  Besides,  if  he  had  disclosed 
this  fact  to  me,  and  so  prevented  the  engagement,  the  Federal 
Secretary  of  the  Navy  would  have  cut  his  head  off  to  a  cer 
tainty.  A  man  who  could  permit  a  ship  of  war,  which  had 
surrendered,  to  be  run  off  with,  by  her  crew,  after  they  had  been 
paroled — see  the  case  of  the  Mercedita  described  in  a  former 
chapter — and  who  could  contrive,  or  connive  at  the  sinking 
of  the  Florida,  to  prevent  the  making  of  a  reparation  of  honor 
to  Brazil,  would  not  be  likely  to  be  very  complacent  toward  an 
officer  who  showed  any  signs  of  weakness  on  the  score  of  honor 
or  honesty.  Judging  from  the  tone  of  the  Yankee  press,  too, 
when  it  came  afterward  to  describe  the  engagement,  Winslow 


754  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

seemed  to  have  gauged  his  countrymen  correctly,  when  he 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  not  do  to  reveal  his 
secret  to  me.  So  far  from  having  any  condemnation  to  offer, 
the  press,  that  chivalrous  exponent  of  the  opinions  of  a  chiv 
alrous  people,  was  rather  pleased  at  the  "  Yankee  trick."  It 
was  characteristic,  "  cute,"  "  smart." 

"  Appleton's  Encyclopedia  of  the  War,"  much  more  liberal 
and  fair  than  some  of  its  congeners,  thus  speaks  of  Winslow's 
device: —  "Availing  himself  of  an  ingenious  expedient  for  the 
protection  of  his  machinery,  first  adopted  by  Admiral  Farragut, 
in  running  past  the  rebel  forts  on  the  Mississippi  in  1862,  Cap 
tain  Winslow  had  hung  all  his  spare  anchor  cable  over  the 
midship  section  of  the  Kearsarge,  on  either  side ;  and  in  order 
to  make  the  addition  less  unsightly,  the  chains  were  boxed 
over  with  inch  deal  boards,  forming  a  sort  of  case,  which  stood 
out  at  right-angles  to  the  side  of  the  vessel."  One  sees  a 
twinge  of  honesty  in  this  paragraph.  The  boxing  stood  out 
at  right-angles  to  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  therefore  the  Ala- 
lama  ought  to  have  seen  it.  But  unfortunately  for  the  Ala- 
lama,  the  right-angles  were  not  there.  The  forward  and  after 
ends  of  the  "  boxing,"  went  off  at  so  fine  a  point,  in  accordance 
with  the  lines  of  the  ship,  that  the  telescope  failed  to  detect 
the  cheat.  Besides,  when  a  ship  is  preparing  for  a  fight,  she 
does  not  care  much  about  show.  It  is  a  fight,  and  not  a  review 
that  she  has  on  hand.  Hence,  we  have  another  twinge,  when 
the  paragraphist  remarks  that  the  boxing  was  resorted  to,  to 
make  the  armor  appear  "  less  unsightly!"  And,  then,  what 
about  the  necessity  for  protecting  the  machinery  at  all?  The 
machinery  of  all  the  enemy's  new  sloops  was  below  the  water- 
line.  Was  the  Kearsarge  an  exception?  The  plain  fact  is, 
without  any  varnish,  the  Kearsarge,  though  as  effectually  pro 
tected  as  if  she  had  been  armored  with  the  best  of  iron  plates, 
was  to  all  appearance  a  wooden  ship  of  war.  But,  to  admit 
this,  would  spoil  the  eclat  of  the  victory,  and  hence  the  effort 
to  explain  away  the  cheat,  as  far  as  possible. 

In  the  way  of  crew,  the  Kearsarge  had  162,  all  told — the  Ala- 
lama,  149.  I  had  communicated  my  intention  to  fight  this  battle 
to  Flag-Officer  Barron,  my  senior  officer  in  Paris,  a  few  days 
before,  and  that  officer  had  generously  left  the  matter  to  my  own 


DUEING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      755 

discretion.  I  completed  my  preparations  on  Saturday  evening, 
the  18th  of  June,  and  notified  the  Port- Admiral  of  my  inten 
tion  to  go  out  on  the  following  morning.  The  next  day 
dawned  beautiful  and  bright.  The  cloudy,  murky  weather  of 
some  days  past  had  cleared  off,  and  a  bright  sun,  a  gentle 
breeze,  and  a  smooth  sea,  were  to  be  the  concomitants  of  the 
battle.  Whilst  I  was  still  in  my  cot,  the  Admiral  sent  an  of 
ficer  off  to  say  to  me  that  the  iron-clad  frigate  Couronne  would 
accompany  me  a  part  of  the  way  out,  to  see  that  the  neutrality 
of  French  waters  was  not  violated.  My  crew  had  turned  in 
early,  and  gotten  a  good  night's  rest,  and  I  permitted  them  to 
get  their  breakfasts  comfortably  —  not  turning  them  to  until 
nine  o'clock  —  before  any  movement  was  made  toward  getting 
under  way,  beyond  lighting  the  fires  in  the  furnaces.  I  ought 
to  mention  that  Midshipman  Sinclair,  the  son  of  Captain  Terry 
Sinclair,  of  the  Confederate  Navy,  whom  I  had  sent  with  Low, 
as  his  first  lieutenant  in  the  Tuscaloosa,  being  in  Paris  when 
we  arrived,  had  come  down  on  the  eve  of  the  engagement  — 
accompanied  by  his  father  —  and  endeavored  to  rejoin  me,  but 
was  prevented  by  the  French  authorities.  It  is  opportune 
also  to  state,  that  in  view  of  possible  contingencies,  I  had  di 
rected  Gait,  my  acting  paymaster,  to  send  on  shore  for  safe* 
keeping,  the  funds  of  the  ship,  and  complete  pay-rolls  of  the 
crew,  showing  the  state  of  the  account  of  each  officer  and 
man. 

The  day  being  Sunday,  and  the  weather  fine,  a  large  con 
course  of  people  —  many  having  come  all  the  way  from  Paris 
—  collected  on  the  heights  above  the  town,  in  the  upper  stories 
of  such  of  the  houses  as  commanded  a  view  of  the  sea,  and  on 
the  walls  and  fortifications  of  the  harbor.  Several  French  lug 
gers  employed  as  pilot-boats  went  out,  and  also  an  English 
steam-yacht,  called  the  Deerhound.  Everything  being  in 
readiness  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock,  we  got  under  way,  and 
proceeded  to  sea,  through  the  western  entrance  of  the  harbor; 
the  Couronne  following  us.  As  we  emerged  from  behind  the 
mole,  we  discovered  the  Kearsarge  at  a  distance  of  between 
six  and  seven  miles  from  the  land.  She  had  been  apprised  of 
our  intention  of  coming  out  that  morning,  and  was  awaiting  us. 
The  Couronne  anchored  a  short  distance  outside  of  the  harbor. 


756  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

We  were  three  quarters  of  an  hour  in  running  out  to  the  Kear- 
sarge,  during  which  time  we  had  gotten  our  people  to  quarters, 
cast  loose  the  battery,  and  made  all  the  other  necessary  prep 
arations  for  battle.  The  yards  had  been  previously  slung  in 
chains,  stoppers  prepared  for  the  rigging,  and  preventer  braces 
rove.  It  only  remained  to  open  the  magazine  and  shell-rooms, 
sand  down  the  decks,  and  fill  the  requisite  number  of  tubs 
with  water.  The  crew  had  been  particularly  neat  in  their 
dress  on  that  morning,  and  the  officers  were  all  in  the  uniforms 
appropriate  to  their  rank.  As  we  were  approaching  the  ene 
my's  ship,  I  caused  the  crew  to  be  sent  aft,  within  convenient 
reach  of  my  voice,  and  mounting  a  gun-carriage,  delivered 
them  the  following  brief  address.  I  had  not  spoken  to  them 
in  this  formal  way  since  I  had  addressed  them  on  the  memo 
rable  occasion  of  commissioning  the  ship. 

"OFFICERS   AND   SEAMEN   OF   THE   ALABAMA! — You    have, 

at  length,  another  opportunity  of  meeting  the  enemy — the 
first  that  has  been  presented  to  you,  since  you  sank  the  Hat- 
teras !  In  the  meantime,  you  have  been  all  over  the  world, 
and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  you  have  destroyed,  and 
driven  for  protection  under  neutral  flags,  one  half  of  the 
enemy's  commerce,  which,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  covered 
every  sea.  This  is  an  achievement  of  which  you  may  well  be 
proud;  and  a  grateful  country  will  not  be  unmindful  of  it. 
The  name  of  your  ship  has  become  a  household  word  wher 
ever  civilization  extends.  Shall  that  name  be  tarnished  by 
defeat?  The  thing  is  impossible!  Eemember  that  you  are 
in  the  English  Channel,  the  theatre  of  so  much  of  the 
naval  glory  of  our  race,  and  that  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are 
at  this  moment,  upon  you.  The  flag  that  floats  over  you 
is  that  of  a  young  Republic,  who  bids  defiance  to  her  enemies, 
whenever,  and  wherever  found.  Show  the  world  that  you 
know  how  to  uphold  it !  Go  to  your  quarters." 

The  utmost  silence  prevailed  during  the  delivery  of  this 
address,  broken  only  once,  in  an  enthusiastic  outburst  of  Never  ! 
never  !  when  I  asked  my  sailors  if  they  would  permit  the  name 
of  their  ship  to  be  tarnished  by  defeat.  My  official  report  of 
the  engagement,  addressed  to  Flag-Officer  Barron,  in  Paris,  will 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      757 

describe  what  now  took  place.     It  was  written  at  Southampton, 
England,  two  days  after  the  battle. 

SOUTHAMPTON,  June  21,  1864. 

SIR: —  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you,  that,  in  accordance  with 
my  intention  as  previously  announced  to  you,  I  steamed  out  of  the 
harbor  of  Cherbourg  between  nine  and  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  19th  of  June,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  the  enemy's 
steamer  Kearsarge,  which  had  been  lying  off,  and  on  the  port,  for 
several  days  previously.  After  clearing  the  harbor,  we  descried  the 
enemy,  with  his  head  off  shore,  at  the  distance  of  about  seven  miles. 
We  were  three  quarters  of  an  hour  in  coming  up  with  him.  I  had 
previously  pivotted  my  guns  to  starboard,  and  made  all  prepara 
tions  for  engaging  the  enemy  on  that  side.  When  within  about  a 
mile  and  a  quarter  of  the  enemy,  he  suddenly  wheeled,  and,  bring 
ing  his  head  in  shore,  presented  his  starboard  battery  to  me.  By 
this  time,  we  were  distant  about  one  mile  from  each  other,  when  I 
opened  on  him  with  solid  shot,  to  which  he  replied  in  a  few  minutes, 
and  the  action  became  active  on  both  sides.  The  enemy  now 
pressed  his  ship  under  a  full  head  of  steam,  and  to  prevent  our 
passing  each  other  too  speedily,  and  to  keep  our  respective  broad 
sides  bearing,  it  became  necessary  to  fight  in  a  circle;  the  two 
ships  steaming  around  a  common  centre,  and  preserving  a  distance 
from  each  other  of  from  three  quarters  to  half  a  mile.  When  we  got 
within  good  shell  range,  we  opened  upon  him  with  shell.  Some 
ten  or  fifteen  minutes  after  the  commencement  of  the  action,  our 
spanker-gaff  was  shot  away,  and  our  ensign  came  down  by  the 
run.  This  was  immediately  replaced  by  another  at  the  mizzen-mast- 
head.  The  firing  now  became  very  hot,  and  the  enemy's  shot,  and 
shell  soon  began  to  tell  upon  our  hull,  knocking  down,  killing,  and 
disabling  a  number  of  men,  at  the  same  time,  in  different  parts  of 
the  ship.  Perceiving  that  our  shell,  though  apparently  exploding 
against  the  enemy's  sides,  were  doing  him  but  little  damage,  I  re 
turned  to  solid-shot  firing,  and  from  this  time  onward  alternated 
with  shot,  and  shell. 

After  the  lapse  of  about  one  hour  and  ten  minutes,  our  ship  was 
ascertained  to  be  in  a  sinking  condition,  the  enemy's  shell  having 
exploded  in  our  side,  and  between  decks,  opening  large  apertures 
through  which  the  water  rushed  with  great  rapidity.  For  some 
few  minutes  I  had  hopes  of  being  able  to  reach  the  French  coast, 
for  which  purpose  I  gave  the  ship  all  steam,  and  set  such  of  the 
fore-and-aft  sails  as  were  available.  The  ship  filled  so  rapidly, 
however,  that  before  we  had  made  much  progress,  the  fires  were 
extinguished  in  the  furnaces,  and  we  were  evidently  on  the  point 
of  sinking.  I  now  hauled  down  my  colors,  to  prevent  the  further 
destruction  of  life,  and  dispatched  a  boat  to  inform  the  enemy  of 
our  condition.  Although  we  were  now  but  400  yards  from  each 
other,  the  enemy  fired  upon  me  five  times  after  my  colors  had  been 
struck.  It  is  charitable  to  suppose  that  a  ship  of  war  of  a  Chris- 


758  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

tian  nation  could  not  have  done  this,  intentionally.    We  now  directed 
all  our  exertions  toward  saving  the  wounded,  and  such  of  the  boys 
of  the  ship  as  were  unable  to  swim.     These  were  dispatched  in  my 
quarter-boats,  the  only  boats  remaining  to  me ;  the  waist-boats  having 
been  torn  to  pieces.     Some  twenty  minutes  after  my  furnace-fires 
had  been  extinguished,  and  when  the  ship  was  on  the  point  of  set 
tling,  every  man,  in  obedience  to  a  previous  order  which  had  been 
given  the  crew,  jumped  overboard,  and  endeavored  to  save  himself. 
There  was  no  appearance  of  any  boat  coming  to  me  from  the  enemy, 
until  after  my  ship  went  down.     Fortunately,  however,  the  steam- 
yacht  Deerhound,  owned  by  a  gentleman  of  Lancashire,  England 
—  Mr.  John  Lancaster — who  was  himself  on  board,  steamed  up 
in  the  midst  of  my  drowning  men,  and  rescued  a  number  of  both 
officers  and  men  from  the  water.     I  was  fortunate  enough  myself 
thus  to  escape  to  the  shelter  of  the  neutral  flag,  together  with  about 
forty  others,  all  told.    About  this  time,  the  Kearsarge  sent  one,  and 
then,  tardily,  another  boat.     Accompanying,  you  will  find  lists  of 
the  killed  and  wounded,  and  of  those  who  were  picked  up  by  the 
Deerhound;  the  remainder,  there  is  reason  to  hope,  were  picked  up 
by  the  enemy,  and  by  a  couple  of  French  pilot  boats,  which  were 
also  fortunately  near  the  scene  of  action.     At  the  end  of  the  en 
gagement,  it  was  discovered  by  those  of    our  officers  who  went 
alongside  of  the  enemy's  ship,  with  the  wounded,  that  her  mid-ship 
section,  on  both   sides,  was  thoroughly  iron-coated ;    this  having 
been  done  with  chains,  constructed  for  the  purpose,  placed  perpen 
dicularly,  from  the  rail  to  the  water's  edge,  the  whole  covered  over 
by  a  thin  outer  planking,  which  gave  no  indication  of  the  armor 
beneath.     This  planking  had  been  ripped  off,  in  every  direction,  by 
our  shot  and  shell,  the  chain  broken,  and  indented  in  many  places, 
and  forced  partly  into  the  ship's  side.    She  was  effectually  guarded, 
however,  in  this  section,  from  -penetration.     The  enemy  was  much 
damaged,  in  other  parts,  but  to  what  extent  it  is  now  impossible  to 
say.     It  is  believed  he  is  badly  crippled.     My  officers  and   men 
behaved  steadily  and  gallantly,  and  though  they  have  lost  their  ship, 
they  have  not  lost  honor      Where  all  behaved  so  well,  it  would  be 
invidious  to  particularize,  but  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of 
saying  that  Mr.  Kell,  my  first  lieutenant,  deserves  great  credit  for 
the  fine  condition  in  which  the  ship  went  into  action,  with  regard  to 
her  battery,  magazine  and  shell-rooms,  and  that  he  rendered  me 
great  assistance,  by  his  coolness,  and  judgment,  as  the  fight  pro 
ceeded.     The  enemy  was  heavier  than  myself,  both  in  ship,  battery, 
and  crew ;  but  I  did  not  know  until  the  action  was  over,  that  she 
was  also  iron-clad.     Our  total  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  is  30,  to 
wit :  9  killed,  and  21  wounded. 

It  was  afterward  ascertained,  that  as  many  as  ten  were 
drowned.  As  stated  in  the  above  despatch,  I  had  the  satisfac 
tion  of  saving  all  my  wounded  men.  Every  one  of  them  was 
passed  carefully  into  a  boat,  and  sent  off  to  the  enemy's  ship, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      759 

before  the  final  plunge  into  the  sea  was  made  by  the  unhurt 
portion  of  the  crew.  Here  is  the  proper  place  to  drop  a  tear 
over  the  fate  of  a  brave  officer.  My  surgeon,  D.  II.  Llewellyn, 
of  Wiltshire,  England,  a  grandson  of  Lord  Herbert,  lost  his 
life  by  drowning.  It  was  his  privilege  to  accompany  the 
wounded  men,  in  the  boats,  to  the  Kearsarge,  but  he  did  not 
do  so.  He  remained  and  took  his  chance  of  escape,  with  the 
rest  of  his  brethren  in  arms,  and  perished  almost  in  sight  of 
his  home,  after  an  absence  of  two  years  from  the  dear  ones 
who  were  to  mourn  his  loss.  With  reference  to  the  drowning 
of  my  men,  I  desire  to  present  a  contrast  to  the  reader.  I  sank 
the  Hatteras  off  Galveston,  in  a  night  engagement.  When  the 
enemy  appealed  to  me  for  assistance,  telling  me  that  his  ship 
was  sinking,  I  sent  him  all  my  boats,  and  saved  every  officer 
and  man,  numbering  more  than  a  hundred  persons.  The 
Alabama  was  sunk  in  open  daylight — the  enemy's  ship  being 
only  400  yards  distant  —  and  ten  of  my  men  were  permitted 
to  drown.  Indeed,  but  for  the  friendly  interposition  of  the 
Deerhound,  there  is  no  doubt  that  a  great  many  more  would 
have  perished. 

Captain  Winslow  hgfe  stated,  in  his  despatch  to  his  Govern 
ment,  that  he  desired  to  board  the  Alabama.  He  preserved  a 
most  respectful  distance  from  her,  even  after  he  saw  that  she 
was  crippled.  He  had  greatly  the  speed  of  me,  and  could 
have  laid  me  alongside,  at  any  moment,  but,  so  far  from  doing 
so,  he  was  shy  of  me  even  after  the  engagement  had  ended. 
In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Federal  Navy,  published  by 
Mr.  Adams,  in  London,  a  few  days  after  the  engagement,  he 
says:  —  "I  have  the  honor  to  report  that,  toward  the  close  of 
the  action  between  the  Alabama  and  this  vessel,  all  available 
sail  was  made  on  the  former,  for  the  purpose  of  regaining 
Cherbourg.  When  the  object  was  apparent,  the  Kearsarge 
was  steered  across  the  bow  of  the  Alabama,  for  a  raking  fire, 
but  before  reaching  this  point,  the  Alabama  struck.  Uncer 
tain  whether  Captain  Semmes  was  not  making  some  ruse,  the 
Kearsarge  was  stopped."  This  is  probably  the  explanation  of 
the  whole  of  Captain  Winslow's  strange  conduct  at  the  time. 
He  was  afraid  to  approach  us  because  of  some  ruse  that  we 
might  be  practising  upon  him.  Before  he  could  recover  from 


760 


MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 


his  bewilderment,  and  make  up  his  mind  that  we  were  really 
beaten,  my  ship  went  down.  I  acquit  him,  therefore,  entirely, 
of  any  intention  of  permitting  my  men  to  drown,  or  even  of 
gross  negligence,  which  would  be  almost  as  criminal.  It  was 
his  judgment  which  was  entirely  at  fault.  I  had  known,  and 
sailed  with  him,  in  the  old  service,  and  knew  him  then  to  be  a 
humane  and  Christian  gentleman.  What  the  war  may  have 
made  of  him,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  It  has  turned  a  great 
deal  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness  to  gall  and  wormwood. 


CHAPTER   LIY. 

OTHER  INCIDENTS  OF  THE  BATTLE  BETWEEN  THE  ALA 
BAMA  AND  THE  KEARSARGE THE  RESCUE  OF  OFFI 
CERS  AND  SEAMEN  BY  THE  ENGLISH  STEAM- YACHT 
DEERHOUND THE  UNITED  STATES  GOVERNMENT  DE 
MANDS  THAT  THEY  BE  GIVEN  UP BRITISH  GOVERN 
MENT  REFUSES  COMPLIANCE THE  RESCUED  PERSONS 

NOT  PRISONERS THE  INCONSISTENCY  OF  THE  FEDERAL 

SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  my  enemy  went  out  chivalrously 
armored,  to  encounter  a  ship  whose  wooden  sides  were 
entirely  without  protection,  I  should  have  beaten  him  in  the 
first  thirty  minutes  of  the  engagement,  but  for  the  defect  of 
my  ammunition,  which  had  been  two  years  on  board,  and  be 
come  much  deteriorated  by  cruising  in  a  variety  of  climates. 
I  had  directed  my  men  to  fire  low,  telling  them  that  it  was 
better  to  fire  too  low  than  too  high,  as  the  ricochet  in  the  for 
mer  case  —  the  water  being  smooth  —  would  remedy  the  defect 
of  their  aim,  whereas  it  was  of  no  importance  to  cripple  the 
masts  and  spars  of  a  steamer.  By  Captain  Winslow's  own  ac 
count,  the  Kearsarge  was  struck  twenty-eight  times ;  but  his 
ship  being  armored,  of  course,  my  shot  and  shell,  except  in  so 
far  as  fragments  of  the  latter  may  have  damaged  his  spars  and 
rigging,  fell  harmless  into  the  sea.  The  Alabama  was  not  mor 
tally  wounded,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  until  after  the  Kearsarge 
had  been  firing  at  her  an  hour  and  ten  minutes.  In  the  mean 
time,  in  spite  of  the  armor  of  the  Kearsarge,  I  had  mortally 
wounded  that  ship  in  the  first  thirty  minutes  of  the  engage 
ment.  I  say,  "mortally  wounded  her,"  because  the  wound 
would  have  proved  mortal,  but  for  the  defect  of  my  ammuni 
tion  above  spoken  of.  I  lodged  a  rifled  percussion  shell  near 

761 


762  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

her  stern  post — where  there  were  no  chains  —  which  failed  to 
explode  because  of  the  defect  of  the  cap.  If  the  cap  had 
performed  its  duty,  and  exploded  the  shell,  I  should  have  been 
called  upon  to  save  Captain  Winslow's  crew  from  drowning, 
instead  of  his  being  called  upon  to  save  mine.  On  so  slight 
an  incident  —  the  defect  of  a  percussion-cap  —  did  the  battle 
hinge.  The  enemy  were  very  proud  of  this  shell.  It  was  the 
only  trophy  they  ever  got  of  the  Alabama!  We  fought  her  until 
she  would  no  longer  swim,  and  then  we  gave  her  to  the  waves. 
This  shell,  thus  imbedded  in  the  hull  of  the  ship,  was  carefully 
cut  out,  along  with  some  of  the  timber,  and  sent  to  the  Navy 
Department  in  Washington,  to  be  exhibited  to  admiring  Yan 
kees.  It  should  call  up  the  blush  of  shame  to  the  cheek  of 
every  Northern  man  who  looks  upon  it.  It  should  remind 
him  of  his  ship  going  into  action  with  concealed  armor;  it 
should  remind  him  that  his  ship  fired  into  a  beaten  antagonist 
jive  times,  after  her  colors  had  been  struck  and  when  she  was 
sinking ;  and  it  should  remind  him  of  the  drowning  of  help 
less  men,  struggling  in  the  water  for  their  lives ! 

Perhaps  this  latter  spectacle  was  something  for  a  Yankee  to 
gloat  upon.  The  Alabama  had  been  a  scourge  and  a  terror  to 
them  for  two  years.  She  had  destroyed  their  property  !  Yan 
kee  property!  Curse  upon  the  "pirates,"  let  them  drown  !  At 
least  this  was  the  sentiment  uttered  by  that  humane  and  Chris 
tian  gentleman,  to  whom  I  have  before  had  occasion  to  allude 
in  these  pages — Mr.  William  H.  Seward — one  of  the  chief 
Yandals,  who  found  themselves  in  the  possession  and  control  of 
the  once  glorious  "Government  of  the  States,"  during  the  war. 
This  gentleman,  in  one  of  his  despatches  to  Mr.  Adams, 
prompting  him  as  to  what  he  should  say  to  the  English  Gov 
ernment,  on  the  subject  of  the  rescue  of  my  men  by  the  Deer- 
hound,  remarks:  "I  have  to  observe,  upon  these  remarks  of 
Earl  Eussell,  that  it  was  the  right  of  the  Kearsarge  that  the 
pirates  should  drown,  unless  saved  by  humane  exertions  of  the 
officers  and  crew  of  that  vessel,  or  by  their  own  efforts,  without 
the  aid  of  the  Deerhound.  The  men  were  either  already  actually 
prisoners,  or  they  were  desperately  pursued  by  the  Kearsarge. 
If  they  had  perished  [by  being  permitted  to  be  drowned,  in 
cold  blood  after  the  action],  the  Kearsarge  would  have  had  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      763 

advantage  of  a  lawful  destruction  of  so  many  enemies  ;  if  they  had 
been  recovered  by  the  Kearsarge,  with  or  without  the  aid  of  the 
Deerhound,  then  the  voluntary  surrender  of  those  persons  would 
have  been  perfected,  and  they  would  have  been  prisoners.  In 
neither  case  would  they  have  remained  hostile  Confederates." 

ISTo  one  who  is  not  a  seaman  can  realize  the  blow  which  falls 
upon  the  heart  of  a  commander,  upon  the  sinking  of  his  ship. 
It  is  not  merely  the  loss  of  a  battle  —  it  is  the  overwhelming 
of  his  household,  as  it  were,  in  a  great  catastrophe.  The  Ala- 
lama  had  not  only  been  my  battle-field,  but  my  home,  in  which 
I  had  lived  two  long  years,  and  in  which  I  had  experienced 
many  vicissitudes  of  pain  and  pleasure,  sickness  and  health. 
My  officers  and  crew  formed  a  great  military  family,  every 
face  of  which  was  familiar  to  me  ;  and  when  I  looked  upon  my 
gory  deck,  toward  the  close  of  the  action,  and  saw  so  many 
manly  forms  stretched  upon  it,  with  the  glazed  eye  of  death, 
or  agonizing  with  terrible  wounds,  I  felt  as  a  father  feels  who 
has  lost  his  children  —  his  children  who  had  followed  him  to 
the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth,  in  sunshine  and  storm,  and 
been  always  true  to  him. 

A  remarkable  spectacle  presented  itself  on  the  deck  of  the 
sinking  ship,  after  the  firing  had  ceased,  and  the  boats  contain 
ing  the  wounded  had  been  shoved  off.  Under  the  order,  which 
had  been  given,  "  Every  man  save  himself  who  can  ! "  all 
occupations  had  been  suspended,  and  all  discipline  relaxed. 
One  man  was  then  as  good  as  another.  The  Kearsarge  stood 
sullenly  at  a  distance,  making  no  motion,  that  we  could  see,  to 
send  us  a  boat.  The  Deerhound  and  the  French  pilot-boats 
were  also  at  a  considerable  distance.  Meantime,  the  water  was 
rushing  and  roaring  into  the  ship's  side,  through  her  ghastly 
death-wound,  and  she  was  visibly  settling  —  lower  and  lower. 
There  was  no  panic,  no  confusion,  among  the  men.  Each 
stood,  waiting  his  doom,  with  the  most  perfect  calmness.  The 
respect  and  affection  manifested  for  their  officers  was  touching 
in  the  extreme.  Several  gathered  around  me,  and  seemed 
anxious  for  my  safety.  One  tendered  me  this  little  office  of 
kindness,  and  another,  that.  Kell  was  near  me,  and  my  faith 
ful  steward,  Bartelli,  also,  was  at  my  side.  Poor  Bartelli !  he 
could  not  swim  a  stroke — which  I  did  not  know  at  the  time, 


764  MEMOIRS    OF    SEBVICE    AFLOAT 

or  I  should  have  saved  him  in  the  boats  —  and  yet  he  was 
calm  and  cheerful  •  seeming  to  think  that  no  harm  could  befall 
him,  so  long  as  he  was  at  my  side.  He  asked  me  if  there  were 
not  some  papers  I  wanted,  in  the  cabin.  I  told  him  there  were, 
and  sent  him  to  bring  them.  He  had  to  wade  to  my  state 
room  to  get  them.  He  brought  me  the  two  small  packages  I 
had  indicated ;  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  told  me  how  the 
cabin  had  been  shattered  by  the  enemy's  shot  —  our  fine  paint 
ing  of  the  Alabama,  in  particular,  being  destroyed.  Poor  fel 
low  !  he  was  drowned  in  ten  minutes  afterward. 

Two  of  the  members  of  my  boat's  crew  being  around  me, 
when  the  papers  were  brought,  insisted  that  I  should  give 
them  to  them  to  take  care  of.  They  were  good  swimmers, 
they  said,  and  would  be  sure  to  preserve  them  for  me.  I  gave 
each  a  package  —  put  up  tightly  between  small  slats  —  and 
they  thrust  them  in  the  bosoms  of  their  shirts.  One  of  them 
then  helped  me  off  with  my  coat,  which  was  too  well  laden 
with  buttons,  to  think  of  retaining,  and  I  sat  down  whilst  the 
other  pulled  off  my  boots.  Kell  stripped  himself  in  like  man 
ner.  The '  men  with  the  papers  were  both  saved.  One  swam 
to  a  French  pilot-boat,  and  the  other  to  the  Deerhound.  I  got 
both  packages  of  papers.  The  seaman  who  landed  on  the 
French  coast  sought  out  Captain  Sinclair,  who  was  still  at 
Cherbourg,  and  delivered  them  to  him.  A  writer  in  the 
London  "Times"  thus  describes  how  I  got  the  other  pack 
age  :  "  When  the  men  came  on  board  the  Deerhound,  they  had 
nothing  on  but  their  drawers  and  shirts,  having  been  stripped 
to  fight ;  and  one  of  them,  with  a  sailor's  devotedness,  insisted 
on  seeing  his  Captain,  who  was  then  lying  in  Mr.  Lancaster's 
cabin,  in  a  very  exhausted  state,  as  he  had  been  intrusted  by 
Captain  Semmes  with  the  ship's  papers,  and  to  no  one  else 
would  he  give  them  up.  The  men  were  all  very  anxious 
about  their  Captain,  and  were  rejoiced  to  find  that  he  had  been 
saved.  They  appeared  to  be  a  set  of  first-rate  fellows,  and  to 
act  well  together,  in  perfect  union,  under  the  most  trying  cir 
cumstances." 

The  ship  settled  by  the  stern,  and  as  the  taffarel  was  about 
to  be  submerged,  Kell  and  myself  threw  ourselves  into  the 
sea,  and  swam  out  far  enough  from  the  sinking  ship  to  avoid 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      765 

being  drawn  down  into  the  vortex  of  waters.  We  then  turned 
to  get  a  last  look  at  her,  and  see  her  go  down.  Just  before 
she  disappeared,  her  main -topmast,  which  had  been  wounded, 
went  by  the  board;  and,  like  a  living  thing  in  agony,  she 
threw  her  bow  high  out  of  the  water,  and  then  descended 
rapidly,  stern  foremost,  to  her  last  resting-place.  A  noble 
Roman  once  stabbed  his  daughter,  rather  than  she  should  be 
polluted  by  the  foul  embrace  of  a  tyrant.  It  was  with  a  similar 
feeling  that  Kell  and  I  saw  the  Alabama  go  down.  We  had 
buried  her  as  we  had  christened  her,  and  she  was  safe  from 
the  polluting  touch  of  the  hated  Yankee ! 

Great  rejoicing  was  had  in  Yankeedom,  when  it  was  known 
that  the  Alabama  had  been  beaten.  Shouts  of  triumph  rent 
the  air,  and  bonfires  lighted  every  hill.  But  along  with  the 
rejoicing  there  went  up  a  howl  of  disappointed  rage,  that  I  had 
escaped  being  made  a  prisoner.  The  splendid  victory  of  their 
iron-clad  over  a  wooden  ship  was  shorn  of  half  its  brilliancy. 
Mr.  Seward  was  in  a  furor  of  excitement ;  and  as  for  poor  Mr. 
Adams,  he  lost  his  head  entirely.  He  even  conceived  the 
brilliant  idea  of  demanding  that  I  should  be  delivered  up  to 
him  by  the  British  Government.  Two  days  after  the  action, 
he  wrote  to  his  chief  from  London  as  follows :  — 

"  The  popular  excitement  attending  the  action  between  the  Ala 
bama  and  the  Kearsarge  has  been  considerable.  I  transmit  a  copy 
of  the  "  Times,"  of  this  morning,  containing  a  report  made  to  Mr. 
Mason,  by  Captain  Semmes.  It  is  evidently  intended  for  this  me 
ridian.  The  more  I  reflect  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Deerhound,  the 
more  grave  do  the  questions  to  be  raised  with  this  Government  ap 
pear  to  be.  I  do  not  feel  it  my  duty  to  assume  the  responsibility 
of  demanding,  without  instructions,  the  surrender  of  the  prisoners. 
Neither  have  I  yet  obtained  directly  from  Captain  Winslow,  any 
authentic  evidence  of  the  facts  attending  the  conflict.  I  have  some 
reason  to  suspect,  that  the  subject  has  already  been  under  the  con 
sideration  of  the  authorities  here." 

Mr.  Seward  and  Mr.  Adams  were  both  eminently  civilians. 
The  heads  of  both  of  them  were  muddled,  the  moment  they 
stepped  from  the  Forum  to  the  Campus  Martius.  Mr.  Adams 
was  now  busy  preparing  another  humiliation  for  the  great 
American  statesman.  Some  men  learn  wisdom  by  experience, 
and  others  do  not.  Mr.  Adams  seems  to  have  been  of  the 


766  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

latter  class.  He  had  made  a  great  many  demands  about  the 
Alabama,  which  had  been  refused,  and  was  now  about  to  make 
another  which  was  more  absurd  even  than  those  that  had  gone 
before.  The  "instructions"  coming  from  Mr.  Seward  in  due 
time,  the  -demand  was  made,  and  here  is  the  reply  of  Lord 
Russell :- 

"  Secondly," — [his  lordship  had  been  considering  another  point, 
which  Mr.  Adams  had  introduced  into  his  despatch,  not  material  to 
the  present  question,]  —  "I  have  to  state,  that  it  appears  to  her  Ma 
jesty's  Government,  that  the  commander  of  the  private  British 
yacht,  the  Deerhound,  in  saving  from  drowning  some  of  the  offi 
cers  and  crew  of  the  Alabama,  after  that  vessel  had  sunk,  performed 
a  praiseworthy  act  of  humanity,  to  which,  moreover,  he  had  been 
exhorted  by  the  officer  commanding  the  Kearsarge,  to  which  vessel 
the  Deerhound  had,  in  the  first  instance,  gone,  in  order  to  offer  to 
the  Kearsarge  any  assistance  which,  after  her  action  with  the  Ala 
bama,  she  might  stand  in  need  of;  and  it  appears  further,  to  her 
Majesty's  Government,  that,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
Mr.  Lancaster  was  not  under  any  obligation  to  deliver  to  the  captain 
of  the  Kearsarge  the  officers  and  men  whom  he  had  rescued  from  the 
waves.  But  however  that  may  be,  with  regard  to  the  demand  made 
by  you,  by  instructions  from  your  Government,  that  those  officers  and 
men  should  now  be  delivered  up  to  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  as  being  escaped  prisoners  of  war,  her  Majesty's  Govern 
ment  would  beg  to  observe,  that  there  is  no  obligation  by  interna 
tional  law,  which  can  bind  the  government  of  a  neutral  State,  to 
deliver  up  to  a  belligerent  prisoners  of  war,  who  may  have  escaped 
from  the  power  of  such  belligerent,  and  may  have  taken  refuge 
within  the  territory  of  such  neutral.  Therefore,  even  if  her  Ma 
jesty's  Government  had  any  power,  by  law,  to  comply  with  the 
above-mentioned  demand,  her  Majesty's  Government  could  not  do 
so,  without  being  guilty  of  a  violation  of  the  duties  of  hospitality. 
In  point  of  fact,  however,  her  Majesty's  Government  have  no  law 
ful  power  to  arrest,  and  deliver  up  the  persons  in  question.  They 
have  been  guilty  of  no  offence  against  the  laws  of  England,  and 
they  have  committed  no  act,  which  would  bring  them  within  the 
provisions  of  a  treaty  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
for  the  mutual  surrender  of  offenders,  and  her  Majesty's  Govern 
ment  are,  therefore,  entirely  without  any  legal  means  by  which, 
even  if  they  wished  to  do  so,  they  could  comply  with  your  above- 
mentioned  demand." 

This  reasoning  is  unanswerable,  and  adds  to  the  many 
humiliations  the  Federal  Government  received  from  England 
during  the  war  in  connection  with  the  Alabama,  through  the 
bungling  of  its  diplomatists.  The  Deerhound,  a  neutral  vessel, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      767 

was  not  only  under  no  obligation,  in  fact,  to  deliver  up  the 
prisoners  she  had  rescued  from  the  water,  but  she  could  not, 
lawfully,  have  put  herself  under  such  obligation.  The  pris 
oners  had  rights  in  the  premises  as  well  as  the  Deerhound. 
The  moment  they  reached  the  deck  of  the  neutral  ship,  ly 
whatever  means,  they  were  entitled  to  the  protection  of  the 
neutral  flag,  and  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  neutral  master, 
whether  by  agreement  with  the  opposite  belligerent  or  not,  to 
hand  them  over  to  the  latter,  would  have  been  an  exercise  of 
force  by  him,  and  tantamount  to  an  act  of  hostility  against  the 
prisoners.  It  would  have  been  our  right  and  our  duty  to  re 
sist  any  such  attempt ;  and  we  would  assuredly  have  done  so 
if  it  had  been  made.  It  will  be  observed  that  Lord  Russell 
does  not  discuss  the  question  whether  we  were  prisoners.  It 
was  not  necessary  to  his  argument ;  for  even  admitting  that 
we  were  prisoners,  hospitality  forbade  him  to  deliver  us  up. 

But  we  were  not  prisoners.  A  person,  to  become  a  prisoner 
must  be  brought  within  the  power  of  his  captor.  There  must 
be  a  manucaption,  a  possession,  if  even  for  a  moment.  I  never 
was  at  any  time,  during  the  engagement,  or  after,  in  the  power 
of  the  enemy.  I  had  struck  my  flag,  it  is  true,  but  that  did 
not  make  me  a  prisoner.  It  was  merely  an  offer  of  surrender. 
It  was  equivalent  to  saying  to  my  enemy,  "  I  am  beaten,  if  you 
will  take  possession  of  me,  I  will  not  resist."  Suppose  my 
ship  had  not  been  fatally  injured,  and  a  sudden  gale  had 
sprung  up,  and  prevented  the  enemy  from  completing  his  cap 
ture,  by  taking  possession  of  her,  and  I  had  escaped  with  her, 
will  it  be  pretended  that  she  was  his  prize  ?  There  have  been 
numerous  instances  of  this  kind  in  naval  history,  and  no  one 
has  ever  supposed  that  a  ship  under  such  circumstances  would 
be  a  prize,  or  that  any  person  on  board  of  her  would  be  a 
prisoner.  Nor  can  the  cause  which  prevents  the  captor  from 
taking  possession  of  his  prize,  make  any  difference.  If  from 
any  cause,  he  is  unable  to  take  possession,  he  loses  her.  If  she 
takes  fire,  and  burns  up,  or  sinks,  she  is  equally  lost  to  him, 
and  if  any  one  escapes  from  the  burning  or  sinking  ship  to 
the  shore,  can  it  be  pretended  that  he  is  a  prisoner  ?  And  is 
there  any  difference  between  escaping  to  the  shore,  and  to  a 
neutral  flag  ?  The  folly  of  the  thing  is  too  apparent  for  argu- 

49 


768  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

merit,  and  yet  the  question  was  pressed  seriously  upon  the 
British  Government ;  and  the  head  of  Mr.  Gideon  Welles,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Federal  Navy,  was,  for  a  long  time,  addled  on 
the  subject.  I  question,  indeed,  whether  the  head  of  the  old 
gentleman  has  recovered  from  the  shock  it  received,  to  this 
day.  He  afterward  had  me  arrested,  as  the  reader  will  see 
in  due  time,  and  conveyed  to  Washington  a  prisoner,  and  did 
all  in  his  power  to  have  rne  tried  by  a  military  commission, 
in  time  of  peace,  because  I  did  not  insist  upon  Mr.  Lancaster's 
delivering  me  up  to  Captain  Winslow !  Will  any  one  believe 
that  this  is  the  same  Mr.  Welles  who  approved  of  Captain 
Stellwagen's  running  off  with  the  Mercedita,  after  he  had  been 
paroled? 

But  here  is  another  little  incident  in  point,  which,  perhaps, 
Mr.  Welles  had  forgotten  when  he  ordered  my  arrest.  It 
arose  out  of  Buchanan's  gallant  fight  with  the  enemy's  fleet  in 
Hampton  Roads,  before  alluded  to  in  these  pages.  I  will  let 
the  Admiral  relate  it,  in  his  own  words.  He  is  writing  to 
Mr.  Mallonr,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  after  having 
described  the  ramming  and  sinking  of  the  Cumberland,  pro 
ceeds: — 

"  Having  sunk  the  Cumberland,  I  turned  our  attention  to  the 
Congress.  We  were  some  time  in  getting  our  proper  position,  in 
consequence  of  the  shoalness  of  the  water,  and  the  great  difficulty 
of  manoeuvring  the  ship,  when  in  or  near  the  mud.  To  succeed 
in  my  object,  I  was  obliged  to  run  the  ship  a  short  distance  above 
the  batteries  on  James  River,  in  order  to  wind  her.  During  all 
this  time  her  keel  was  in  the  mud ;  of  course  she  moved  but 
slowly.  Thus  we  were  subjected  twice  to  the  heavy  guns  of  all 
the  batteries,  in  passing  up  and  down  the  river,  but  it  could  not  be 
avoided.  We  silenced  several  of  the  batteries,  and  did  much  injury 
on  the  shore.  A  large  transport  steamer,  alongside  of  the  wharf, 
was  blown  up,  one  schooner  sunk,  and  another  captured  and  sent 
to  Norfolk.  The  loss  of  life  on  shore  we  have  no  means  of  ascer 
taining.  While  the  Virginia  was  thus  engaged  in  getting  her  posi 
tion  for  attacking  the  Congress,  the  prisoners  state  it  was  believed 
on  board  that  ship,  we  had  hauled  off;  the  men  left  their  guns, 
and  gave  three  cheers.  They  were  sadly  undeceived,  for,  a  few 
minutes  after,  we  opened  upon  her  again,  she  having  run  on  shore, 
in  shoal  water.  The  carnage,  havoc,  and  dismay,  caused  by  our 
fire,  compelled  them  to  haul  down  their  colors,  and  hoist  a  white 
flag  at  their  gaff,  and  half-mast  another  at  the  main.  The  crew 
instantly  took  to  their  boats  and  landed.  Our  fire  immediately 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      769 

ceased,  and  a  signal  was  made  for  the  Beaufort  to  come  within 
hail.  I  then  ordered  Lieutenant-Commanding  Parker  to  take  pos 
session  of  the  Congress,  secure  the  officers  as  prisoners,  allow  the 
men  to  land,  and  burn  the  ship.  He  ran  alongside,  received  Ler 
flag  and  surrender  from  Commander  William  Smith,  and  Lieutenant 
Pendergrast,  with  the  side-arms  of  these  officers.  They  delivered 
themselves  as  prisoners  of  war,  on  board  the  Beaufort,  and  after 
ward  were  permitted,  at  their  own  request,  to  return  to  the  Con 
gress,  to  assist  in  removing  the  wounded  to  the  Beaufort.  They 
never  returned,  and  I  submit  to  the  decision  of  the  Department, 
whether  they  are  not  our  prisoners  ?" 


Aye,  these  paroled  gentlemen  escaped,  and  Mr.  Welles  forgot 
to  send  them  back.  There  was  some  excuse  for  Mr.  Seward 
and  Mr.  Adams  making  the  blunder  they  did,  of  supposing 
that  the  rescued  officers  and  men  of  the  Alabama  were  prisoners 
to  the  Kearsarge,  but  there  was  none  whatever  for  Mr.  Welles. 
He  was  the  head  of  the  enemy's  Navy  Department,  and  it  was 
his  business  to  know  better ;  and  if  he  did  not  know  better, 
himself,  he  should  have  called  to  his  assistance  some  of  the 
clever  naval  men  around  him.  Nay,  if  he  had  taken  down 
from  its  shelf  almost  any  naval  history  in  the  library  of  his 
department,  he  could  have  set  himself  right  in  half  an  hour. 
James'  "  English  Naval  History  "  is  full  of  precedents,  where 
ships  which  have  struck  their  flags,  have  afterward  escaped 
—  the  enemy  failing  to  take  possession  of  them  —  and  no  ques 
tion  has  been  raised  as  to  the  propriety  of  their  conduct.  So 
many  contingencies  occur  in  naval  battles,  that  it  has  become 
a  sort  of  common  law  of  the  sea,  that  a  ship  is  never  a  prize, 
or  the  persons  on  board  of  her  prisoners,  until  she  has  actually 
been  taken  possession  of  by  the  enemy.  A  few  of  these  cases  will 
doubtless  interest  the  reader,  especially  as  they  have  an  inter 
est  of  their  own,  independently  of  their  application. 

THE    REVOLUTIONNAIRE    AND   THE    AUDACIOUS. 

Lord  Hood  fought  his  famous  action  with  the  French  fleet 
in  1794.  In  that  action,  the  French  ship  Revolutionnaire  struck 
her  colors  to  the  English  ship  Audacious,  but  the  latter  failing 
to  take  possession  of  her,  she  escaped.  The  following  is  the 
historian's  relation  of  the  facts :  — 


770  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  The  Audacious,  having  placed  herself  on  the  Revolutionnaire'' s 
lee  quarter,  poured  in  a  heavy  fire, .  and,  until  recalled  by  signal, 
the  Russell,  who  was  at  some  distance  to  leeward,  also  fired  on  her. 
The  Audacious  and  Revolutionnaire  now  became  so  closely  engaged, 
and  the  latter  so  disabled  in  her  masts  and  rigging,  that  it  was 
with  difficulty  the  former  could  prevent  her  huge  opponent  from 
falling  on  board  of  her.  Toward  ten  p.  M.,  the  Revolutionnaire, 
having,  besides  the  loss  of  her  mizzen-mast,  had  her  fore  and  main 
yards,  and  main-topsail  yard  shot  away,  dropped  across  the  hawse 
of  the  Audacious ;  but  the  latter  quickly  extricating  herself,  and 
the  French  ship,  with  her  fore-topsail  full,  but  owing  to  the  sheets 
being  shot  away,  still  flying,  directed  her  course  to  leeward.  The 
men  forward,  in  the  Audacious,  declared  that  the  Revolutionnaire 
struck  her  colors,  just  as  she  got  clear  of  them,  and  the  ship's  com 
pany  cheered  in  consequence.  The  people  of  the  Russell  declared, 
also,  that  the  Revolutionnaire,  as  she  passed  under  their  stern,  had 
no  colors  hoisted.  That  the  latter  was  a  beaten  ship,  may  be  in 
ferred  from  her  having  returned  but  three  shots  to  the  last  broad 
side  of  the  Audacious ;  moreover,  her  loss  in  killed  and  wounded, 
if  the  French  accounts  are  to  be  believed,  amounted  to  nearly  400 
men.  Still  the  Revolutionnaire  became  no  prize  to  the  British ; 
owing  partly  to  the  disabled  state  of  the  Audacious,  but  chiefly 
because  the  Thunderer,  on  approaching  the  latter,  and  being  hailed 
to  take  possession  of  the  French  ship,  made  sail  after  her  own 
fleet."  1  James,  132,  133. 

It  is  observable  in  the  above  extract,  that  the  historian  does 
not  complain  that  the  French  ship  escaped ;  does  not  deny  her 
right  to  do  so,  but  remarks,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  she  did 
not  become  a  prize,  because  she  was  not  taken  possession  of. 

THE   ACHILLE   AND   THE   BRUNSWICK. 

In  the  same  action,  the  French  ship  Achille,  struck  to  the 
British  ship  Brunswick,  and  not  being  taken  possession  of,  en 
deavored  to  escape.  The  relation  of  this  engagement  is  as  fol 
lows  :  — 

"  At  eleven  A.  M.,  a  ship  was  discovered  through  the  smoke,  bear 
ing  down  on  the  Brunswick's  larboard  quarter,  having  her  gang 
ways  and  rigging  crowded  with  men,  as  if  with  the  intention  of 
releasing  the  Vengeur,  [a  prize  made  by  the  Brunswick,"]  by  board 
ing  the  Brunswick.  Instantly  the  men  stationed  at  the  five  after 
most  lower-deck  guns,  on  the  starboard  side,  were  turned  over  on 
the  larboard  side ;  and  to  each  of  the  latter  guns,  already  loaded  with 
a  single  32-pounder,  was  added  a  double-headed  shot.  Presently, 
the  Achille,  for  that  was  the  ship,  advanced  to  within  musket-shot; 
when  five  or  six  rounds  from  the  Brunswick's  after-guns,  on  each 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      771 

deck,  brought  down  by  the  board  the  former's  only  remaining  mast, 
the  foremast.  The  wreck  of  this  mast,  falling  where  the  wreck  of 
the  main  and  mizzen-masts  already  lay,  on  the  starboard  side,  pre 
vented  the  Achille  from  making  the  slightest  resistance ;  and,  after 
a  few  unreturned  broadsides  from  the  Brunswick,  the  French  ship 
struck  her  colors.  It  was,  however,  wholly  out  of  the  Brunswick^s 
power  to  take  possession,  and  the  Achille  very  soon  rehoisted  her 
colors,  and  setting  her  sprit-sail  endeavored  to  escape." 

The  escape,  however,  was  prevented  by  the  appearance  of  a 
new  ship  upon  the  scene,  the  families.  This  ship,  after  dis 
patching  an  antagonist  with  which  she  had  been  engaged, 
perceiving  the  attempt  of  the  Achille,  made  sail  in  pursuit, 
and  coming  up  with  her,  took  possession  of  her,  and  thus,  for 
the  first  time,  made  her  a  prize.  1  James,  162-4. 

THE   BELLONA   AND   THE    MILLBROOK. 

In  the  year  1800,  the  French  ship  Bellona  struck  to  the 
British  ship  Millbrook,  and  afterward  escaped.  The  following 
is  the  account  of  the  engagement.  The  battle-having  continued 
some  little  time,  the  historian  proceeds  :  — 

"  The  carronades  of  the  Millbrook  were  seemingly  fired  with  as 
much  precision,  as  quickness ;  for  the  Bellona,  from  broadsides,  fell 
to  single  guns,  and  showed  by  her  sails  and  rigging,  how  much  she 
had  been  cut  up  by  the  schooner's  shot.  At  about  ten  A.  M.,  the 
ship's  colors  came  down,  and  Lieutenant  Smith  used  immediate 
endeavors  to  take  possession  of  her.  Not  having  a  rope  wherewith 
to  hoist  out  a  boat,  he  launched  one  over  the  gunwale,  but  having 
been  pierced  with  shot  in  various  directions,  the  boat  soon  filled 
with  water.  About  this  time,  the  Millbrook,  having  had  two  of  her 
guns  disabled,  her  masts,  yards,  sails,  and  rigging  shot  through, 
and  all  her  sweeps  shot  to  pieces,  lay  quite  unmanageable,  w^ith  her 
broadside  to  the  Bellona' s  stern.  In  a  little  while,  a  light  breeze 
sprung  up,  and  the  Bellona  hoisted  all  the  canvas  she  could,  and 
sought  safety  in  flight."  3  James,  57. 

THE   SAN   JOSE   AND   THE    GEASSHOPPER. 

In  1807,  off  the  coast  of  Spain,  the  Spanish  brig  San  Jose 
struck  to  the  British  brig   Grasshopper — having  first  run  on 
shore  —  when  the  greater  part  of  her  crew  escaped  before  she 
could  be  taken  possession  of.     The  affair  is  thus  related  :  — 

"  At  about  half  an  hour  after  noon,  having  got  within  range,  the 
Grasshopper  opened  a  heavy  fire  of  round  and  grape  upon  the  brig. 


772  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

A  running  fight  was  maintained  —  about  fifteen  minutes  of  its  close  — 
until  two  P.  M.,  when  the  latter,  which  was  the  Spanish  brig-of-war 
San  Jose,  of  ten  24-pounder  carronades,  and  two  long  sixes,  com 
manded  by  Lieutenant  Don  Antonio  de  Torres,  ran  on  shore  under 
Cape  Negrete,  and  struck  her  colors.  The  greater  part  of  her  crew, 
which,  upon  leaving  Carthagena,  on  the  preceding  evening,  num 
bered  99  men,  then  swam  on  shore,  and  effected  their  escape." 
4  James,  3T4. 

THE  VAR  AND  THE  BELLE  POULE. 

In  1809,  in  the  Gulf  of  Velona,  the  French  ship-of-war  Var, 
struck  to  the  British  frigate  Belle  Poule,  but  before  she  could  be 
taken  possession  of,  the  officers,  and  a  greater  part  of  the  crew 
escaped.  The  action  is  described  as  follows :  — 

"  On  the  15th,  at  daybreak,  the  Var  was  discovered  moored  with 
cables  to  the  fortress  of  Yelona,  mounting  fourteen  long  18  and  24- 
pounders,  and  upon  an  eminence  above  the  ship,  and  apparently 
commanding  the  whole  anchorage,  was  another  strong  fort.  A 
breeze  at  length  favoring,  the  Belle  Poule,  at  one  p.  M.,  anchored  in 
a  position  to  take,  or  destroy  the  Var,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to 
keep  in  check  the  formidable  force,  prepared,  apparently,  to  defend 
the  French  ship.  The  Belle  Poule  immediately  opened  upon  the 
latter  an  animated  and  well-directed  fire,  and,  as  the  forts  made  no 
efforts  to  protect  her,  the  Var  discharged  a  few  random  shots,  that 
hurt  no  one,  and  then  hauled  down  her  colors.  Before  she  could 
be  taken  possession  of,  her  officers,  and  a  greater  part  of  her  crew 
escaped  to  the  shore."  5  James,  154. 

THE   VIRGINIA   AND    THE    CONGRESS. 

In  the  year  1862,  one  Gideon  Welles  being  Secretary  of  the 
Federal  Navy,  Admiral  Buchanan,  of  the  Confederate  States 
Navy,  in  the  engagement  in  Hampton  Eoads,  already  referred 
to,  for  another  purpose,  sunk  the  frigate  Congress,  and,  before 
she  could  be  taken  possession  of,  the  crew  took  to  their  boats  and 
escaped.  Buchanan  did  not  claim  that  the  crew  of  the  Congress, 
that  had  thus  escaped,  were  his  prisoners  ;  he  only  claimed 
that  Commander  Smith,  and  Lieutenant  Pendergrast  were  his 
prisoners,  he  having  taken  possession  of  them,  and  they  having 
escaped,  in  violation  of  the  special  parole,  under  which  he  had 
permitted  them  to  return  to  their  ship. 

It  thus  appears,  that,  so  far  from  its  being  the  exception,  it  is 
the  rule,  in  naval  combats,  for  both  ship  and  officers,  and  crew, 
to  escape,  after  surrender,  if  possible.  The  enemy  may  prevent 


DUKING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        773 

it  by  force,  if  he  can,  but  if  the  escape  be  successful,  it  is  a 
valid  escape.  I  have  thus  far  been  considering  the  case,  as 
though  it  were  an  escape  with,  or  from  a  ship,  which  had  not 
been  fatally  injured,  and  on  board  which  the  officers  and  crew 
might  have  remained,  if  they  had  thought  proper.  If  the 
escape  be  proper  in  such  a  case  as  this,  how  much  more  must 
it  be  proper  when,  as  was  the  case  with  the  Alabama,  the  offi 
cers  and  crew  of  the  ship  are  compelled  to  throw  themselves  into 
the  sea,  and  struggle  for  their  lives  ?  Take  my  own  individ 
ual  case.  The  Federal  Government  complained  of  me  because  I 
threw  my  sword  into  the  sea,  which,  as  the  Federal  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  said,  no  longer  belonged  to  me.  But  what  was  I  to  do 
with  it?  Where  was  Mr.  Welles'  officer,  that  he  did  not  come 
to  demand  it  ?  It  had  been  tendered  to  him,  and  would  have 
belonged  to  him,  if  he  had  had  the  ability,  or  the  inclination  to 
come  and  take  it.  But  he  did  not  come.  I  did  not  betake 
myself  to  a  boat,  and  seek  refuge  in  flight.  I  waited  for  him, 
or  his  boat,  on  the  deck  of  my  sinking  ship,  until  the  sea  was 
ready  to  engulf  me.  I  was  ready  and  willing  to  complete  the 
surrender  which  had  been  tendered,  but  as  far  as  was  then  ap 
parent,  the  enemy  intended  to  permit  me  to  drown.  Was  I, 
under  these  circumstances,  to  plunge  into  the  water  with  my 
sword  in  my  hand  and  endeavor  to  swim  to  the  Kearsarge? 
Was  it  not  more  natural,  that  I  should  hurl  it  into  the  depths 
of  the  ocean  in  defiance,  and  in  hatred  of  the  Yankee  and  his 
accursed  flag  ?  When  rny  ship  went  down,  I  was  a  waif  upon 
the  waters.  Battles  and  swords,  and  all  other  things,  except 
the  attempt  to  save  life,  were  at  an  end.  I  ceased  from  that 
moment  to  be  the  enemy  of  any  brave  man.  A  true  sailor, 
and  above  all,  one  who  had  been  bred  to  arms,  when  he  found 
that  he  could  not  himself  save  me,  as  his  prisoner,  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  me  escape  from  him,  with  life,  whether  by 
my  own  exertions,  or  those  of  a  neutral.  I  believe  this  was  the 
feeling,  which,  at  that  moment,  was  in  the  heart  of  Captain 
Winslow.  It  was  reserved  for  William  H.  Seward  to  utter 
the  atrocious  sentiment  which  has  been  recorded  against  him, 
in  these  pages.  Mr.  Seward  is  now  an  old  man,  and  he  has 
the  satisfaction  of  reflecting  that  he  is  responsible  for  more  of 
the  woes  which  have  fallen  upon  the  American  people,  than 


774  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

any  other  citizen  of  the  once  proud  republic.  He  has  worked, 
from  first  to  last,  for  self,  and  he  has  met  with  the  usual  reward 
of  the  selfish — the  contempt  and  neglect  of  all  parties.  He  has 
need  to  utter  the  prayer  of  Cardinal  Wolsey,  and  to  add 
thereto,  "  Forgive,  0  Lord  !  him  who  never  did  forgive." 

With  the  permission  of  the  reader,  I  will  make  another 
brief  reference  to  Naval  History,  to  show  how  gallant  men  re 
gard  the  saving  of  life,  from  such  disasters  during  battle,  as  befell 
the  Alabama;  how,  in  other  words,  they  cease  to  be  the  enemies 
of  disarmed  men,  struggling  against  the  elements  for  their  lives. 

DESTRUCTION'    OF   L'ORIENT   AT   THE    BATTLE    OF   THE   NILE. 

At  the  battle  of  the  Nile,  fought  by  Lord  Nelson,  in  1798, 
with  Admiral  Brueyes,  the  flag-ship  of  the  French  fleet,  L' Ori 
ent,  took  fire  and  blew  up,  after  having  surrendered.  Admiral 
Ganteaume,  the  third  in  command  of  the  fleet,  was  on  board 
the  ill-fated  ship,  and  being  blown  into  the  water  by  the  ex 
plosion  of  the  magazine,  was  picked  up  by  one  of  his  boats 
and  conveyed  to  a  French  brig  of  war,  in  which  he  escaped  to 
Alexandria.  This  escape,  after  surrender,  was  regarded  as 
valid  by  Lord  Nelson.  The  disaster  is  thus  described  by  the 
historian.  After  giving  the  position  of  the  French  fleet,  at 
anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Aboukir,  and  describing  the  mode  of  at 
tack  by  the  English  fleet,  the  narrator  proceeds :  — 

"  It  was  at  nine  P.  M.,  or  a  few  minutes  after,  that  the  Swiftsure's 
people  discovered  a  fire  on  board  of  the  Orient,  and  which,  as  it 
increased,  presently  bore  the  appearance  of  being  in  the  ship's 
mizzen  chains.  It  was,  in  fact,  on  the  poop-deck,  and  in  the  admi 
ral's  cabin,  and  its  cause  we  shall  hereafter  endeavor  to  explain. 
As  many  of  the  Swiftsure's  guns  as  could  be  brought  to  bear  were 
quickly  directed  to  the  inflamed  spot,  with,  as  was  soon  evident, 
dreadful  precision.  After  spreading  along  the  decks,  and  ascending 
the  rigging  with  terrific  and  uncontrollable  rapidity,  the  flames 
reached  the  fatal  spot,  and  at  about  ten  p.  M.,  the  Orient  blew  up 
with  a  most  tremendous  explosion." 

The  historian  then  describes  the  terrible  night-scene  that 
followed ;  how  it  put  an  end,  for  the  time,  to  the  action,  and 
the  efforts  which  were  made  by  the  English  boats  to  save  life. 
We  have  only  to  do,  however,  with  Admiral  Ganteaume. 
This  gentleman  describes  his  escape  as  follows :  — 


DUKING    THE    WAK    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      775 

"  It  was  by  an  accident,  [he  is  writing  to  the  Minister  of  Marine,] 
which  I  cannot  yet  comprehend,  that  I  escaped  from  the  midst  of 
the  flames  of  the  Orient,  and  was  taken  into  a  yawl,  lying  under 
the  ship's  counter.  Not  being  able  to  reach  the  vessel  of  General 
Villeneuve,  [the  second  in  command,]  I  made  for  Alexandria.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  action,  Admiral  Brueyes,  all  the  superior  offi 
cers,  the  first  commissary,  and  about  twenty  pilots,  and  masters  of 
transports,  were  on  the  poop  of  the  Orient,  employed  in  serving 
musketry.  After  the  action  had  lasted  about  an  hour,  the  admiral 
was  wounded  in  the  body,  and  in  the  hand ;  he  then  came  down 
from  the  poop,  and  a  short  time  after  was  killed  on  the  quarter 
deck.  The  English  having  utterly  destroyed  our  van,  suffered  their 
ships  to  drift  forward,  still  ranging  along  our  line,  and  taking  their 
different  stations  around  us.  One,  however,  which  attacked,  and 
nearly  touched  us,  on  the  starboard  side,  being  totally  dismasted, 
ceased  her  fire,  and  cut  her  cable  to  get  out  of  reach  of  our  guns  ; 
but  obliged  to  defend  ourselves  against  two  others,  who  were  furi 
ously  thundering  upon  us  on  the  larboard  quarter,  and  on  the  star 
board  bow,  we  were  again  compelled  to  heave  in  our  cable.  The 
36  and  24-pounders  were  still  firing  briskly,  when  some  flames,  ac 
companied  with  an  explosion,  appeared  on  the  after-part  of  the 
quarter-deck,"  &c. 

Admiral  Ganteaume  does  not  mention  the  striking  of  the 
colors  of  this  ship,  and  the  fact  has  been  disputed.  But  Lord 
Nelson  believed  that  she  had  struck,  and  that  is  all  we  need 
for  our  purpose,  which  is  to  show  that,  with  the  belief  of  this 
fact,  he  did  not  pretend  to  regard  Admiral  Ganteaume  as  a 
prisoner.  In  2  Clarke's  "  Life  of  Lord  Nelson,"  p.  185,  occurs 
the  following  passage : — 

"  In  a  letter  to  his  Excellency,  Hon.  W.  Wyndham,  at  Florence, 
dated  the  21st  of  August,  1798,  Sir  Horatio  had  said,  that  on  ac 
count  of  his  indifferent  health  and  his  wound,  he  thought  of  going 
down  the  Mediterranean  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  Naples,  unless  he 
should  find  anything  very  extraordinary  to  detain  him ;  and  this 
determination  had  been  strongly  impressed  on  his  mind  by  some  of 
his  friends,  who  doubted  the  effect  of  his  going  into  winter-quarters 
at  Naples  [where  the  modern  Anthony  would  find  his  Cleopatra, 
in  the  person  of  the  then  charming  Lady  Hamilton]  might  have  on 
a  mind  by  no  means  adapted  to  cope  with  the  flattery  of  the  Sici 
lian  Court.  He  also  informed  Mr.  Wyndham,  that  L' 'Orient  cer 
tainly  struck  her  colors,  and  had  not  fired  a  shot  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour  before  she  took  fire." 

Admiral  Ganteaume  resumed  his  duties  as  a  naval  officer 
immediately  after  his  escape,  repairing  to  Cairo,  where  Napo 
leon  then  was,  to  put  himself  under  the  orders  of  the  Great 
Captain.  He  returned  with  his  distinguished  chief  to  France, 


776  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

in  the  frigate  Le  Muiron.  The  British  Government  did  not 
demand  him  of  the  French  Government  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 
This  case  was  almost  precisely  similar  with  my  own.  Both 
ships  struck  their  colors ;  both  ships  were  destroyed  before 
the  enemy  could  take  possession  of  them,  and  both  com 
manders  escaped ;  the  only  difference  being  that  Admiral 
Ganteaume  escaped  in  one  of  his  own  boats,  to  one  of  his  own 
brigs  of  war,  and  thence  to  Alexandria,  and  I  escaped  by 
swimming  to  a  neutral  ship,  and  to  the  cover  of  a  neutral  flag ; 
which,  as  before  remarked,  was  the  same  thing  as  if  I  had 
swum  to  neutral  territory.  Mr.  Lancaster  could  no  more  have 
thrust  me  back  into  the  sea,  or  handed  me  over  to  the  Kear- 
sarge,  than  could  the  keeper  of  the  Needles  light,  if  I  had  landed 
on  the  Isle  of  Wight. 

I  have  presented  several  contrasts  in  these  pages ;  I  desire  to 
present  another.  The  reader  has  seen  how  Mr.  Seward,  a  civil 
ian,  insisted  that  beaten  enemies,  who  were  struggling  for  their 
lives  in  the  water,  should  be  permitted  to  drown,  rather  than 
be  rescued  from  the  grasp  of  his  naval  commander  by  a  neu 
tral.  I  desire  to  show  how  a  Christian  admiral  forbade  his 
enemies  to  be  fired  upon,  when  they  were  engaged  in  rescuing 
their  people  from  drowning ;  even  though  the  consequence  of 
such  rescue  should  be  the  escape  of  the  prisoners.  I  allude  to 
Lord  Collingwood,  a  name  almost  as  well  known  to  American 
as  to  English  readers ;  the  same  Lord  Collingwood,  who  was 
second  in  command  to  Nelson  at  the  famous  battle  of  Trafal 
gar.  This  Admiral,  from  his  flag-ship,  the  Ocean,  issued  the 
following  general  order  to  the  commanders  of  his  ships :  — 

"  OCEAN,  September  19,  180T. 

"  In  the  event  of  an  action  with  the  enemy,  in  which  it  shall  hap 
pen  that  any  of  their  ships  shall  be  in  distress,  by  taking  fire,  or 
otherwise,  and  the  brigs  and  tenders,  or  boats  which  are  attached 
to  their  fleet,  shall  be  employed  in  saving  the  lives  of  the  crews  of 
such  distressed  ships,  they  shall  not  be  fired  on,  or  interrupted  in 
such  duty.  But  as  long  as  the  battle  shall  continue,  his  Majesty's 
ships  are  not  to  give  up  the  pursuit  of  such,  as  have  not  surren 
dered,  to  attend  to  any  other  occasion,  except  it  be  to  give  their  aid  to 
his  Majesty's  ships  which  may  want  it." —  Collingwood's  Letters,  235 

But  the  American  war  developed  "  grand  moral  ideas,"  and 
Mr.  Seward's,  about  the  drowning  of  prisoners,  was  one  of  them. 


CHAPTEK     LV. 

THE    FEDEEAL   GOVERNMENT   AND   THE    BRITISH   STEAM- 
YACHT    DEERHOUND MR.    SEWARD's    DESPATCH,    AND 

MR.  LANCASTER'S  LETTER  TO  THE  "  DAILY  NEWS  "  — 
LORD  RUSSELL'S  REPLY  TO  MR.  ADAMS  ON  THE  SUBJECT 
OF  HIS  COMPLAINT  AGAINST  MR.  LANCASTER PRESEN 
TATION  OF  A  SWORD  TO  THE  AUTHOR,  BY  THE  CLUBS  IN 
ENGLAND PRESENTATION  OF  A  FLAG  BY  A  LADY. 

fl  iHE  howl  that  went  up  against  Mr.  Lancaster,  the  owner 
of  the  Deerhound,  for  his  humane  exertions  in  saving  my 
crew  and  myself  from  drowning,  was  almost  as  rabid  as  that 
which  had  been  raised  against  myself.  Statesmen,  or  those 
who  should  have  been  such,  descended  into  the  arena  of  coarse 
and  vulgar  abuse  of  a  private  English  citizen,  who  had  no 
connection  with  them  or  their  war,  and  no  sympathies  that  I 
know  of,  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  Mr.  Welles,  in  one  of 
those  patriotic  effusions,  by  which  he  sought  to  recommend 
himself  to  the  extreme  party  of  the  North,  declared  among 
other  things,  that  he  was  "  not  a  gentleman !  "  Poor  Mr.  Lan 
caster,  to  have  thy  gentility  questioned  by  so  competent  a 
judge,  as  Mr.  Gideon  Welles !  If  these  gentlemen  had  con 
fined  themselves  to  mere  abuse,  the  thing  would  not  have  been 
so  bad,  but  they  gave  currency  to  malicious  falsehoods  con 
cerning  Mr.  Lancaster,  as  truths.  Paid  spies  in  England  re 
ported  these  falsehoods  at  Washington,  and  the  too  eager  Sec 
retary  of  State  embodied  them  in  his  despatches.  Mr.  Adams 
and  Mr.  Seward  have,  both,  since  ascertained  that  they  were 
imposed  upon,  and  yet  no  honorable  retraxit  has  ever  been 
made.  The  following  is  a  portion  of  one  of  Mr.  Seward's 
characteristic  despatches  on  this  subject.  It  is  addressed  to 
Mr.  Adams:  — 

777 


778  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  I  nave  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  despatch 
of  the  21st  of  June,  No.  724,  which  relates  to  the  destruction  of 
the  pirate-ship  Alabama,  by  the  Kearsarge,  off  Cherbourg.  This 
event  has  given  great  satisfaction  to  the  Government,  and  it  ap 
preciates  and  commends  the  bravery  and  skill  displayed  by  Cap 
tain  Winslow,  and  the  officers  and  crew  under  his  command.  Sev 
eral  incidents  of  the  transaction  seem  to  demand  immediate  atten 
tion  The  first  is,  that  this  Government  disapproves  the  proceed 
ings  of  Captain  Winslow,  in  paroling  and  discharging  the  pirates 
who  fell  into  his  hands,  in  that  brilliant  naval  engagement,  and  in 
order  to  guard  against  injurious  inferences  which  might  result  from 
that  error,  if  it  were  overlooked,  you  are  instructed  to  make  the 
fact  of  this  disapprobation  and  censure  known  to  her  Majesty's 
Government,  and  to  state,  at  the  same  time,  that  this  Government, 
adhering  to  declarations  heretofore  made,  does  not  recognize  the 
Alabama  as  a  ship  of  war  of  a  lawful  belligerent  power." 

Mr.  Seward;  when  this  despatch  was  penned,  had  hopes  that 
the  "  pirates  "  would  be  given  up  to  him,  and  the  caveat,  which 
he  enters,  may  give  some  indication  of  the  course  the  Yankee 
Government  intended  to  pursue  toward  the  said  "pirates," 
when  they  should  come  into  its  possession.  It  did  not  occur 
to  the  wily  Secretary,  that,  if  we  were  "pirates,"  it  was  as 
competent  for  Great  Britain  to  deal  with  us  as  the  United 
States;  and  that,  on  this  very  ground,  his  claim  for  extradi 
tion  might  be  denied,  —  a  pirate  being  hostis  humani  generis, 
and  punishable  by  the  first  nation  into  whose  power  he  falls. 
But  these  mistakes  were  common  with  Mr.  Seward. 

Laying  aside,  therefore,  all  his  trash  and  nonsense  about 
piracy,  let  us  proceed  with  that  part  of  his  despatch  which 
relates  to  Mr.  Lancaster :  — 

"  Secondly,  the  presence  and  the  proceedings  of  a  British  yacht, 
the  Deerhound,  at  the  battle,  require  explanation.  On  reading  the 
statements  which  have  reached  this  Government,  it  seems  impos 
sible  to  doubt  that  the  Deerhound  went  out  to  the  place  of  conflict, 
by  concert  and  arrangement  with  the  commander  of  the  Alabama, 
and  with,  at  least,  a  conditional  purpose  of  rendering  her  aid  and 
assistance.  She  did  effectually  render  such  aid,  by  rescuing  the 
commander  and  part  of  the  crew  of  the  Alabama  from  the  pursuit 
of  the  Kearsarge,  and  by  furtively  and  clandestinely  conveying 
them  to  Southampton,  within  British  jurisdiction.  We  learn  from 
Paris  that  the  intervention  of  the  Deerhound  occurred  after  the 
t  Alabama  had  actually  surrendered.  The  proceeding  of  the  Deer- 
hound,  therefore,  seems  to  have  been  directly  hostile  to  the  United 
States.  Statements  of  the  owner  of  the  Deerhound  are  reported 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      779 

here,  to  the  effect  that  he  was  requested  by  Captain  Winslow  to 
rescue  the  drowning  survivors  of  the  battle,  but  no  official  confirma 
tion  of  this  statement  is  found  in  the  reports  of  Captain  Winslow, 
Even  if  he  had  made  such  a  request,  the  owner  of  the  Deerhound 
subsequently  abused  the  right  of  interference,  by  secreting  the  rescued 
pirates,  and  carrying  them  away  beyond  the  pursuit  of  the  Kearsarge. 
Moreover,  we  are  informed  from  Paris,  that  the  Deerhound,  before 
going  out,  received  from  Semmes,  and  that  she  subsequently  con 
veyed  away  to  England,  a  deposit  of  money,  and  other  valuables, 
of  which  Semmes,  in  his  long  piratical  career,  had  despoiled  numer 
ous  American  merchantmen." 

There  was  not  one  word  of  truth  in  this  cock-and-a-bull 
story,  of  concert  between  Mr.  Lancaster  and  myself,  as  to  bis 
going  out  to  witness  the  combat,  as  to  his  receiving  money  or 
anything  else  from  the  Alabama,  or  as  to  any  other  subject 
whatever.  We  had  never  seen  each  other,  or  held  the  least 
communication  together,  until  I  was  drawn  out  of  the  water  by 
his  boat's  crew,  and  taken  on  board  his  yacht,  after  the  battle. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  Mr.  Seward's  Yankee  correspond 
ents  in  London  and  Paris,  and  Mr.  Seward  himself,  should  sup 
pose  that  money  and  stealings  had  had  something  to  do  with 
Mr.  Lancaster's  generous  conduct.  The  whole  American  war, 
on  the  Yankee  side,  had  been  conducted  on  this  principle  of 
giving  and  receiving  a  "consideration"  and  on  "stealings}'1 
Armies  of  hired  vagabonds  had  roamed  through  the  Southern 
States,  plundering  and  stealing  —  aye,  as  the  reader  has  seen, 
stealing  not  only  gold  and  silver,  but  libraries,  pianos,  pic 
tures,  and  even  the  jewelry  and  clothing  of  women  and  chil 
dren  !  The  reader  has  seen  into  what  a  mortal  fright  the  lady- 
passengers,  on  board  the  captured  steamship  Ariel,  were  thrown, 
lest  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Alabama  should  prove  to  be 
the  peers  of  Yankee  rogues,  epauletted  and  unepauletted. 
These  men  even  laid  their  profane  hands  on  the  sacred  word 
of  God,  if  it  would  pay.  Here  is  a  morceau,  taken  from  the 
"Journal  of  Commerce"  of  New  York,  a  Yankee  paper, 
quite  moderate  in  its  tone,  and  a  little  given,  withal,  to  reli 
gious  sniffling.  It  shows  how  a  family  Bible  was  stolen  from 
a  Southern  household,  and  sold  for  a  "consideration"  in  the 
"North,  without  exciting  so  much  as  a  word  of  condemnation 
from  press  or  people :  — 


780  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"  An  Old  Bible  Captured  from  a  Rebel.  —  H.  Jallonack,  of 
Syracuse,  New  York,  has  exhibited  to  the  editor  of  the  '  Journal ' 
of  that  city  a  valuable  relic  —  a  Protestant  Bible,  printed  in  Ger 
man  text,  225  years  ago,  the  imprint  bearing  date  1637.  The  book 
is  in  an  excellent  state  of  preservation,  the  printing  perfectly  legi 
ble,  the  binding  sound  and  substantial,  and  the  fastening  a  brass 
clasp.  The  following  receipt  shows  how  the  volume  came  in  Mr. 
Jallonack's  possession:  — 

"  'NEW  YORK,  Aug.  21,  1862. 

"  '  Received  of  Mr.  H.  Jallon^k  $150  for  a  copy  of  one  of  the  first 
Protestant  Bibles  published  in  the  Netherlands,  1637,  with  the  proc 
lamation  of  the  King  of  the  Netherlands.  This  was  taken  from  a 
descendant  Hollander  at  the  battle  before  Richmond,  in  the  rebel 
service,  by  a  private  of  the  Irish  Brigade. 

"  '  JOSEPH  HEIME,  M.  D.,  4  Houston  Street.'  " 

"Semmes,  in  his  long  piratical  career,"  scarcely  equalled 
these  doings  of  Mr.  Seward's  countrymen.  He  certainly  did 
not  send  any  stolen  Bibles,  published  in  the  Netherlands  or 
elsewhere,  to  the  Deerhound,  to  be  sold  to  pious  Jallonacks 
for  $150  apiece. 

But  to  return  to  Mr.  Lancaster,  and  the  gross  assault  that 
was  made  upon  him,  by  the  Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  Lancaster, 
being  a  gentleman  of  ease  and  fortune,  spent  a  portion  of  his 
summers  in  yachting,  as  is  the  case  with  a  large  number  of 
the  better  classes  in  England.  Being  in  France  with  his  fam 
ily,  he  ordered  his  yacht,  the  Deerhound,  to  meet  him,  at  the 
port  of  Cherbourg,  where  it  was  his  intention  to  embark  for  a 
cruise  of  a  few  weeks  in  the  German  Ocean.  A  day  or  two 
before  the  engagement  between  the  Alabama  and  the  Kearsarge, 
a  steam  yacht,  under  British  colors,  was  reported  to  me,  as 
having  anchored  in  the  harbor.  Beyond  admiring  the  beauti 
ful  proportions  of  the  little  craft,  we  paid  no  further  attention 
to  her;  and  when  she  steamed  out  of  Cherbourg,  on  the  morning 
of  the  engagement,  we  had  not  the  least  conception  of  what  her 
object  was.  With  this  preface,  I  will  let  Mr.  Lancaster  tell  Ms 
own  story.  He  had  been  assaulted  by  a  couple  of  Yankee  cor 
respondents,  in  the  London  "Daily  News,"  a  paper  in  the  inter 
ests,  and  reported  to  be  in  the  pay  of  the  Federal  Government. 
He  is  replying  to  those  assaults,  which,  as  the  reader  will  see, 
were  the  same  that  were  afterward  rehashed  by  Mr.  Seward,  in 
the  despatch  already  quoted. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       781 


"THE   DEEKHOUND,  THE   ALABAMA,  AND  THE   KEARSARGE. 

"To  THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  'DAILY  NEWS.'  SIR: —  As  two  cor 
respondents  of  your  journal,  in  giving  their  versions  of  the  fight 
between  the  Alabama  and  the  Kearsarge,  have  designated  my 
share  in  the  escape  of  Captain  Semmes,  and  a  portion  of  the  crew 
of  the  sunken  ship  as  'dishonorable,'  and  have  moreover  affirmed 
that  my  yacht,  the  Deerhound,  was  in  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg 
before  the  engagement,  and  proceeded  thence,  on  the  morning  of 
the  engagement  in  order  to  assist  the  Alabama,  I  presume  I  may 
trespass  upon  your  kindness  so  far  as  to  ask  an  opportunity  to  repu 
diate  the  imputation,  and  deny  the  assertion.  They  admit  that  when 
the  Alabama  went  down,  the  yacht,  being  near  the  Kearsarge,  was 
hailed  by  Captain  Winslow,  and  requested  to  aid  in  picking  up  the 
men  who  were  in  the  water ;  but  they  intimate  that  my  services 
were  expected  to  be  merely  ministerial ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  I 
was  to  put  myself  under  the  command  of  Captain  Winslow,  and 
place  my  yacht  at  his  disposal  for  the  capture  of  the  poor  fellows 
who  were  struggling  in  the  water  for  their  lives. 

"  The  fact  is,  that  when  we  passed  the  Kearsarge,  the  captain 
cried  out,  '  For  God's  sake,  do  what  you  can  to  save  them,'  and 
that  was  my  warrant  for  interfering,  in  any  way,  for  the  aid  and 
succor  of  his  enemies.  It  may  be  a  question  with  some,  whether, 
without  that  warrant,  I  should  have  been  justified  in  endeavoring 
to  rescue  any  of  the  crew  of  the  Alabama;  but  my  own  opinion  is, 
that  a  man  drowning  in  the  open  sea  cannot  be  regarded  as  an 
enemy,  at  the  time,  to  anybody,  and  is,  therefore,  entitled  to  the 
assistance  of  any  passer-by.  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  had  the  earnest 
request  of  Captain  Winslow,  to  rescue  as  man}7"  of  the  men  who 
were  in  the  water,  as  I  could  lay  hold  of,  but  that  request  was  not 
coupled  with  any  stipulation  to  the  effect  that  I  should  deliver  up 
the  rescued  men  to  him,  as  his  prisoners.  If  it  had  been,  I  should 
have  declined  the  task,  because  I  should  have  deemed  it  dishonor 
able —  that  is,  inconsistent  with  my  notions  of  honor  —  to  lend  my 
yacht  and  crew,  for  the  purpose  of  rescuing  those  brave  men  from 
drowning,  only  to  hand  them  over  to  their  enemies,  for  imprison 
ment,  ill-treatment,  and  perhaps  execution. 

"  One  of  your  correspondents  opens  his  letter,  by  expressing  a 
desire,  to  bring  to  the  notice  of  the  yacht  clubs  of  England,  the 
conduct  of  the  commander  of  the  Deerhound,  which  followed  the 
engagement  of  the  Alabama  and  Kearsarge.  Now  that  my  con 
duct  has  been  impugned,  I  am  equally  wishful  that  it  should  come 
under  the  notice  of  the  yacht  clubs  of  England,  and  I  am  quite 
willing  to  leave  the  point  of  honor  to  be  decided  by  my  brother 
yachtsmen,  and,  indeed,  by  any  tribunal  of  gentlemen.  As  to  my 
legal  right  to  take  away  Captain  Semmes  and  his  friends,  I  have 
been  educated  in  the  belief  that  an  English  ship  is  English  terri 
tory,  and  I  am,  therefore,  unable,  even  now,  to  discover  why  I  was 
more  bound  to  surrender  the  people  of  the  Alabama  whom  I  had 


782  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

on  board  my  yacht,  than  the  owner  of  a  garden  on  the  south  coast 
of  England  would  have  been,  if  they  had  swum  to  such  a  place, 
and  landed  there,  or  than  the  Mayor  of  Southampton  was,  when 
they  were  lodged  in  that  city ;  or  than  the  British  Government  is, 
now  that  it  is  known  that  they  are  somewhere  in  England. 

"  Your  other  correspondent  says  that  Captain  Winslow  declares 
that  '  the  reason  he  did  not  pursue  the  Deerhound,  or  fire  into  her 
was,  that  he  could  not  believe,  at  the  time,  that  any  one  carrying 
the  flag  of  the  royal  yacht  squadron,  could  act  so  dishonorable  a 
part,  as  to  carry  oif  the  prisoners  whom  he  had  requested  him  to 
save,  from  feelings  of  humanity.'  I  was  not  aware  then,  and  I  am 
not  aware  now,  that  the  men  whom  I  saved  were,  or  ever  had  been 
his  prisoners.  Whether  any  of  the  circumstances  which  had  pre 
ceded  the  sinking  of  the  Alabama  constituted  them  prisoners  was 
a  question  that  never  came  under  my  consideration,  and  one  which 
I  am  not  disposed  to  discuss  even  now.  I  can  only  say,  that  it  is 
a  new  doctrine  to  me,  that  when  one  ship  sinks  another,  in  warfare, 
the  crew  of  the  sunken  ship  are  debarred  from  swimming  for  their 
lives,  and  seeking  refuge  wherever  they  can  find  it;  and  it  is  a 
doctrine  which  I  shall  not  accept,  unless  backed  by  better  authority 
than  that  of  the  master  of  the  Kearsarge.  What  Captain  Wins- 
low's  notion  of  humanity  may  be  is  a  point  beyond  my  knowledge, 
but  I  have  good  reason  for  believing  that  not  many  members  of  the 
royal  yacht  squadron  would,  from  '  motives  of  humanity '  have 
taken  Captain  Semmes  from  the  water  in  order  to  give  him  up  to 
the  tender  mercies  of  Captain  Winslow,  and  his  compatriots.  An 
other  reason  assigned  by  your  correspondent  for  that  hero's  for 
bearance  may  be  imagined  in  the  reflection  that  such  a  performance 
as  that  of  Captain  Wilkes,  who  dragged  two  'enemies'  or  'rebels' 
from  an  English  ship,  would  not  bear  repetition.  [We  have  here 
the  secret  of  the  vindictiveness  with  which  Mr.  Seward  pursued 
Mr.  Lancaster.  It  was  cruel  of  Lancaster  to  remind  him  of  the 
'seven  days'  of  tribulation,  through  which  Lord  John  Russell  had 
put  him.] 

"  Your  anonymous  correspondent  further  says,  that  '  Captain 
Winslow  would  now  have  all  the  officers  and  men  of  the  Alabama, 
as  prisoners,  had  he  not  placed  too  much  confidence  in  the  honor 
of  an  Englishman,  who  carried  the  flag  of  the  royal  yacht  squadron.' 
This  is  a  very  questionable  assertion;  for  why  did  Captain  Wins- 
low  confide  in  that  Englishman  ?  Why  did  he  implore  his  inter 
ference,  calling  out,  '  For  God's  sake,  do  what  you  can  to  save 
them  ? '  I  presume  it  was  because  he  would  not,  or  could  not  save 
them,  himself.  The  fact  is,  that  if  the  Captain  and  crew  of  the 
Alabama  had  depended  for  safety  altogether  upon  Captain  Wins- 
low,  not  one  half  of  them  would  have  been  saved.  He  got  quite  as 
many  of  them  as  he  could  lay  hold  of,  time  enough  to  deliver  them 
from  drowning. 

"  I  come  now  to  the  more  definite  charges  advanced  by  your  cor 
respondents,  and  these  I  will  soon  dispose  of.  They  maintain  that 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       783 

my  yacht  was  in  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg,  for  the  purpose  of  as 
sisting  the  Alabama,  and  that  her  movements  before  the  action 
prove  that  she  attended  her  for  the  same  object.  My  impression 
is,  that  the  yacht  was  in  Cherbourg,  to  suit  my  convenience,  and 
pleasure,  and  I  am  quite  sure,  that  when  there,  I  neither  did,  nor 
intended  to  do  anything  to  serve  the  Alabama.  We  steamed  out 
on  Sunday  morning  to  see  the  engagement,  and  the  resolution  to 
do  so  was  the  result  of  a  family  council,  whereat  the  question  '  to 
go  out,'  or  'not  to  go  out,'  was  duly  discussed,  and  the  decision  in 
the  affirmative  was  carried  by  the  juveniles,  rather  against  the  wish 
of  both  myself,  and  my  wife.  Had  I  contemplated  taking  any  part 
in  the  movements  of  the  Alabama,  I  do  not  think  I  should  have 
been  accompanied  with  my  wife,  and  several  young  children. 

"  One  of  your  correspondents,  however,  says  that  he  knows  that 
the  Deerhound  did  assist  the  Alabama,  and  if  he  does  know  this, 
he  knows  more  than  I  do.  As  to  the  movements  of  the  Deerhound, 
before  the  action,  all  the  movements  with  which  I  was  acquainted, 
were  for  the  objects  of  enjoying  the  summer  morning,  and  getting  a 
good  and  safe  place  from  which  to  watch  the  engagement.  An 
other  of  your  correspondents  declares,  that  since  the  affair,  it  has 
been  discovered,  that  the  Deerhound  was  a  consort  of  the  Alabama, 
and  on  the  night  before  had  received  many  valuable  articles,  for 
safe-keeping,  from  that  vessel.  This  is  simply  untrue.  Before  the 
engagement,  neither  I  nor  any  member  of  my  family  had  any  knowl 
edge  of,  or  communication  with  Captain  Semmes,  or  any  of  his  offi 
cers  or  any  of  his  crew.  Since  the  fight  I  have  inquired  from  my  Cap 
tain  whether  he,  or  any  of  my  crew,  had  had  any  communication  with 
the  Captain  or  crew  of  the  Alabama,  prior  to  meeting  them  on  the 
Deerhound  after  the  engagement,  and  his  answer,  given  in  the  most 
emphatic  manner,  has  been,  'None  whatever.'  As  to  the  deposit 
of  chronometers,  and  other  valuable  articles,  the  whole  story  is  a 
myth.  Nothing  was  brought  from  the  Alabama  to  the  Deerhound, 
and  I  never  heard  of  the  tale,  until  I  saw  it,  in  an  extract  from 
your  own  columns. 

"After  the  fight  was  over,  the  drowning  men  picked  up,  and  the 
Deerhound  steaming  away  to  Southampton,  some  of  the  officers 
who  had  been  saved  began  to  express  their  acknowledgments  for 
my  services,  and  my  reply  to  them,  which  was  addressed,  also,  to 
all  who  stood  around,  was  '  Gentlemen,  you  have  no  need  to  give 
me  any  special  thanks.  I  should  have  done  exactly  the  same  for 
the  other  people,  if  they  had  needed  it.'  This  speech  would  have 
been  a  needless,  and,  indeed,  an  absurd  piece  of  hypocrisy,  if  there 
had  been  any  league  or  alliance  between  the  Alabama  and  the 
Deerhound.  Both  your  correspondents  agree  in  maintaining  that 
Captain  Semmes,  and  such  pf  his  crew  as  were  taken  away  by  the 
Deerhound,  are  bound  in  honor  to  consider  themselves  still  as 
prisoners,  and  to  render  themselves  to  their  lawful  captors  as  soon 
as  practicable.  This  is  a  point  which  I  have  nothing  to  do  with, 
and  therefore  I  shall  not  discuss  it.  My  object,  in  this  letter,  is 
50 


784  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

merely  to '  vindicate  my  conduct  from  misrepresentation ;  and  I 
trust  that  in  aiming  at  this,  I  have  not  transgressed  any  of  your 
rules  of  correspondence,  and  shall  therefore  be  entitled  to  a  place  in 
your  columns.  JOHN  LANCASTER." 

"  Mark  how  a  plain  tale  shall  put  him  down."  There  could 
not  be  a  better  illustration  of  this  remark,  than  the  above  re 
ply,  proceeding  from  the  pen  of  a  gentleman,  to  Mr.  Seward's 
charges  against  both  Mr.  Lancaster  and  myself,  Mr.  Adams 
having  complained  to  Lord  Eussell,  of  the  conduct  of  Mr. 
Lancaster,  the  latter  gentleman  addressed  a  letter  to  his  lord 
ship,  containing  substantially  the  defence  of  himself  which  he 
had  prepared  for  the  "  Daily  News."  In  a  day  or  two  after 
ward,  Lord  Eussell  replied  to  Mr.  Adams  as  follows :  — 

FOREIGN  OFFICE,  July  26,  1864. 

SIR:  —  With  reference  to  my  letter  of  the  8th  inst,  I  have  the 
honor  to  transmit  to  you,  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  have  received 
from  Mr.  Lancaster,  containing  his  answer  to  the  representations 
contained  in  your  letter  of  the  25th  ult.,  with  regard  to  the  course 
pursued  by  him,  in  rescuing  Captain  Semmes  and  others,  on  the 
occasion  of  the  sinking  of  the  Alabama ;  and  I  have  the  honor  to 
inform  you,  that  I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  take  any  further 
steps  in  the  matter.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  con 
sideration,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant.  RUSSELL. 

The  royal  yacht  squadron,  as  well  as  the  Government,  sus 
tained  their  comrade  in  what  he  had  done,  and  a  number  of 
officers  of  the  Eoyal  Navy  and  Army,  approving  of  my 
course,  throughout  the  trying  circumstances  in  which  I  had 
been  placed  —  not  even  excepting  the  hurling  of  my  sword 
into  the  sea,  under  the  circumstances  related  —  set  on  foot  a 
subscription  for  another  sword,  to  replace  the  one  which  I  had 
lost,  publishing  the  following  announcement  of  their  intention 
in  the  London  "  Daily  Telegraph  " :  — 

JUNIOR  UNITED  SERVICE  CLUB,  S.  W.) 
June  23,  1864.  f 

SIR:  —  It  will  doubtless  gratify  the  admirers  of  the  gallantry 
displayed  by  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  renowned  Alabama,  in 
the  late  action  off  Cherbourg,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  inform  them, 
through  your  influential  journal,  that  it  has  been  determined  to  pre 
sent  Captain  Semmes  with  a  handsome  sword,  to  replace  that 
which  he  buried  with  his  sinking  ship.  Gentlemen  wishing  to 


DURINO    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        785 

participate  in  this  testimony  to  unflinching  patriotism  and  naval 
daring,  will  be  good  enough  to  communicate  with  the  chairman, 
Admiral  Anson,  United  Service  Club,  Pall-Mall,  or,  sir,  yours,  &c. 

BEDFORD  PIM, 
Commander  H.  N.,  Hon.  Secretary. 

This  design  on  the  part  of  the  officers  of  the  British  Navy 
and  Army  was  afterward  carried  out,  by  the  presentation  to 
me  of  a  magnificent  sword,  which  was  manufactured  to  their 
order  in  the  city  of  London,  with  suitable  naval  and  Southern 
devices.  I  could  not  but  appreciate  very  highly  this  delicate 
mode,  on  the  part  of  my  professional  brethren,  of  rebutting 
the  slanders  of  the  Northern  press  and  people.  I  might  safely 
rely  upon  the  judgment  of  two  of  the  principal  naval  clubs  in 
England, — the  United  Service,  and  the  Junior  United  Service,  on 
whose  rolls  were  some  of  the  most  renowned  naval  and  mili 
tary  names  of  Great  Britain.  The  shouts  of  the  multitude  are 
frequently  deceptive ;  the  idol  of  an  hour  may  be  pulled  down 
in  the  succeeding  hour;  bat  the  approbation  of  my  brethren 
in  arms,  who  coolly  surveyed  my  career,  and  measured  it  by 
the  rules  which  had  guided  the  conduct  of  so  many  of  their 
own  soldiers  by  sea  and  by  land,  in  whose  presence  my  own 
poor  name  was  unworthy  to  be  mentioned,  was  indeed  beyond 
all  price  to  me. 

To  keep  company  with  this  sword,  a  noble  English  lady 
presented  me  with  a  mammoth  Confederate  flag,  wrought  with 
her  own  hands  from  the  richest  silk.  There  is  not  a  spot  on 
its  pure  white  field,  and  the  battle-cross  and  the  stars,  when 
unfolded,  flash  as  brightly  as  ever.  These  two  gifts  shall  be 
precious  heirlooms  in  my  family,  to  remind  my  descendants, 
that,  in  the  words  of  Patrick  Henry,  "  I  have  done  my  utmost 
to  preserve  their  liberty." 

"Furl  that  Banner,  for  'tis  weary; 
Round  its  staff  'tis  drooping  dreary; 

Furl  it,  fold  it,  it  is  best: 
For  there  's  not  a  man  to  wave  it, 
And  there's  not  a  sword  to  save  it, 
And  there 's  not  one  left  to  lave  it 
In  the  blood  which  heroes  gave  it; 
And  its  foes  now  scorn  and  brave  it; 
Furl  it,  hide  it  —  let  it  rest. 


786  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

"Furl  it!  for  the  hands  that  grasped  it, 
And  the  hearts  that  fondly  clasped  it, 

Cold  and  dead  are  lying  low ; 
And  that  Banner  —  it  is  trailing  ! 
While  around  it  sounds  the  wailing 
Of  its  people  in  their  woe. 


"Furl  that  Banner!  true  'tis  gory. 
Yet  'tis  wreathed  around  with  glory, 
And  'twill  live  in  song  and  story, 

Though  its  folds  are  in  the  dust- 
For  its  fame  on  brightest  pages, 
Penned  by  poets  and  by  sages, 
Shall  go  sounding  down  the  ages  — 
Furl  its  folds  though  now  we  must." 

Mr.  Mason,  our  Commissioner  at  the  Court  of  London, 
thanked  Mr.  Lancaster  for  his  humane  and  generous  conduct 
in  the  following  terms  :  — 

24  UPPER  SEYMOUR  STREET,  PORTMAN  SQUARE,  ) 
LONDON,  June  21,  1864.      j 

DEAR  SIR:  —  I  received  from  Captain  Semmes,  at  Southampton, 
where  I  had  the  pleasure  to  see  you,  yesterday,  a  full  report  of  the 
efficient  service  rendered,  under  your  orders,  by  the  officers  and  crew 
of  your  yacht,  the  Deerhound,  in  rescuing  him,  with  thirteen  of  his 
officers  and  twenty-seven  of  his  crew,  from  their  impending  fate, 
after  the  loss  of  his  ship.  Captain  Semmes  reports  that,  finding 
the  Alabama,  actually  sinking,  he  had  barely  time  to  dispatch  his 
wounded  in  his  own  boats,  to  the  enemy's  ship,  when  the  Alabama 
went  down,  and  nothing  was  left  to  those  who  remained  on  board,  but 
to  throw  themselves  into  the  sea.  Their  own  boats  absent,  there 
seemed  no  prospect  of  relief,  when  your  yacht  arrived  in  their  midst, 
and  your  boats  were  launched  ;  and  he  impressively  told  me,  that  to 
this  timely  and  generous  succor,  he,  with  most  of  his  officers  and 
a  portion  of  his  crew,  were  indebted  for  their  safety.  He  further 
told  me,  that  on  their  arrival  on  board  of  the  yacht,  every  care  and 
kindness  were  extended  to  them  which  their  exhausted  condition 
required,  even  to  supplying  all  with  dry  clothing.  I  am  fully 
aware  of  the  noble  and  disinterested  spirit  which  prompted  you  to 
go  to  the  rescue  of  the  gallant  crew  of  the  Alabama,  and  that  I  can 
add  nothing  to  the  recompense  already  received  by  you  and  those 
acting  under  you,  in  the  consciousness  of  having  done  as  you  would 
be  done  by ;  yet  you  will  permit  me  to  thank  you,  and  through  you, 
the  captain,  officers,  and  crew  of  the  Deerhound,  for  this  signal  ser 
vice,  and  to  say  that  in  doing  so,  I  but  anticipate  the  grateful  sen 
timent  of  my  country,  and  of  the  Government  of  the  Confederate 
States.  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  dear  sir,  most  respectfully  and 
truly,  your  obedient  servant,  J.  M.  MASON. 

JOHN  LANCASTER,  Esq.,  Hindley  Hall,  Wigan. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      787 

Subsequently,  upon  my  arrival  in  Richmond,  in  the  wintei 
of  the  same  year,  the  Confederate  Congress  passed  a  joint  reso 
lution  of  thanks  to  Mr.  Lancaster,  a  copy  of  which  it  requested 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  transmit  to  him.  In  the  confu 
sion  incident  to  the  downfall  of  the  Confederacy,  which  speedily 
followed,  Mr.  Lancaster  probably  never  received  a  copy  of  this 
resolution.  Thus,  with  the  indorsement  of  his  own  govern 
ment,  and  with  that  of  the  yacht-clubs  of  England,  and  of  the 
Congress  of  the  Confederate  States,  he  may  safely  despise  the 
malicious  diatribes  that  were  launched  against  him  by  a  fanati 
cal  and  infuriated  people,  who  were  thirsting  for  an  opportunity 
to  wreak  their  vengeance  upon  the  persons  of  the  men  whom 
he  had  saved. 

Upon  my  landing  in  Southampton,  I  was  received  with 
great  kindness  by  the  English  people,  ever  ready  to  sympa 
thize  with  the  unfortunate,  and  administer  to  the  wants  of  the 
distressed.  Though  my  officers  and  myself  were  not  to  be 
classed  in  this  latter  category,  as  my  drafts  on  the  house  of 
Frazer,  Trenholm  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool,  would  have  been  ac 
cepted  to  any  extent,  and  were  as  good  as  cash  in  the  market, 
there  were  many  generous  offers  of  pecuniary  assistance  made 
me.  I  cannot  forbear  to  speak  of  one  of  these,  as  it  came  from 
a  lady,  and  if,  in  doing  so,  I  trespass  upon  the  bounds  of  pro 
priety,  I  trust  the  noble  lady  will  forgive  me.  This  is  the  only 
means  left  me  of  making  her  any  suitable  acknowledgment. 
This  lady  was  Miss  Gladstone,  a  sister  of  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  who  wrote  me  a  long  letter,  full  of  sympathy,  and 
of  those  noble  impulses  which  swell  the  heart  of  the  true 
woman  on  such  occasions.  She  generously  offered  me  any  aid 
of  which  my  sailors  or  myself  might  be  in  need.  Letters  of 
condolence  for  my  loss,  and  congratulation  upon  my  escape  from 
the  power  of  a  ruthless  enemy,  came  in  upon  me  in  great  profu 
sion  ;  and,  as  for  volunteers,  half  the  adventurous  young  spirits 
of  England  claimed  the  privilege  of  serving  under  me,  in  my 
new  ship.  The  career  of  the  Alabama  seemed  to  have  fired 
the  imagination  of  all  the  schools  and  colleges  in  England,  if 
I  might  judge  by  the  number  of  ardent  missives  I  received 
from  the  young  gentlemen  who  attended  them.  Mr.  Mason, 
Captain  Bullock,  and  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Tremlett  came  post-haste 


788  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

to  Southampton,  to  offer  us  sympathy  and  services.  The  reader 
will  recollect  the  circumstances  under  which  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  the  latter  gentleman,  when  I  laid  up  the  Sumter 
at  Gibraltar,  and  retired  to  London.  He  now  came  to  insist 
that  I  should  go  again  to  my  "  English  home,"  at  his  house,  to 
recruit  and  have  my  wound  cared  for.  As  I  had  already  en 
gaged  quarters  at  Millbrook,  where  I  should  be  in  excellent 
hands,  and  as  duties  connected  with  the  welfare  of  my  crew 
would  require  my  detention  in  the  neighborhood  of  Southamp 
ton  for  a  week  or  two,  I  was  forced  to  forego  the  pleasure  for 
the  present. 

In  connection  with  the  gratitude  due  other  friends,  I  desire 
to  mention  the  obligations  I  am  under  to  Dr.  J.  Wiblin,  a  dis 
tinguished  surgeon  and  physician  of  Southampton,  who  at 
tended  my  crew  and  officers  whilst  we  remained  there,  without 
fee  or  reward.  The  reader  may  recollect,  that  previous  to  my 
engagement  with  the  Kearsarge,  I  had  sent  on  shore,  through 
my  paymaster,  the  ship's  funds,  and  the  books  and  papers 
necessary  to  a  final  settlement  with  my  crew.  The  paymaster 
now  recovered  back  these  funds,  from  the  bankers  with  whom 
they  had  been  deposited,  paid  off  such  of  the  officers  and  men  as 
were  with  us  at  Southampton,  and  proceeded  to  Liverpool, 
where  he  was  to  pay  off  the  rest  of  the  survivors  as  fast  as 
they  should  present  themselves.  Some  of  the  crew  were 
wounded,  and  in  French  hospitals,  where  they  were  treated 
with  marked  kindness  and  consideration ;  some  had  been  made 
prisoners,  and  paroled  by  Captain  Winslow,  with  the,  approba 
tion  of  Mr.  Adams,  under  the  mistaken  idea,  as  Mr.  Seward  after 
ward  insisted,  that  they  were  prisoners  of  war,  and  some  weeks 
elapsed,  consequently,  before  they  could  all  present  themselves 
at  the  paymaster's  table.  This  was  finally  accomplished,  how 
ever,  and  every  officer  and  seaman,  received,  in  full,  all  the  pay 
that  was  due  him.  The  amounts  due  to  those  killed  and 
drowned,  were  paid,  in  due  time,  to  their  legal  representatives ; 
and  thus  were  the  affairs  of  the  Alabama  wound  up. 


CHAPTEE    LYI. 

AUTHOR    MAKES    A    SHOET   VISIT    TO    THE   CONTINENT  — 
EETUENS   TO    LONDON,    AND    EMBAEKS    ON    HIS   EETUEN 

TO    THE    CONFEDEEATE    STATES LANDS    AT    BAGDAD, 

NEAE    THE    MOUTH    OF    THE    EIO    GEANDE JOUENEY 

THEOUGH   TEXAS EEACHES   LOUISIANA,  AND   CEOSSES 

THE    MISSISSIPPI;    AND    IN    A    FEW    DAYS     MOEE   IS   AT 
HOME,  AFTEE    AN   ABSENCE   OF    FOUE   YEAES. 

ICONSIDEKED  my  career  upon  the  high  seas  closed  by  the 
loss  of  my  ship,  and  had  so  informed  Commodore  Barron, 
who  was  our  Chief  of  Bureau  in  Paris.  We  had  a  number  of  gal 
lant  Confederate  naval  officers,  both  in  England  and  France, 
eager  and  anxious  to  go  afloat  —  more  than  could  be  provided 
with  ships — and  it  would  have  been  ungenerous  in  me  to 
accept  another  command.  Besides,  my  health  was  broken 
down  to  that  degree,  that  I  required  absolute  quiet,  for  some 
months,  before  I  should  again  be  fit  for  duty.  I,  therefore, 
threw  off  all  care  and  responsibility,  as  soon  as  I  had  wound 
up  the  affairs  of  the  Alabama,  and  went  up  to  enjoy  the  hos 
pitality  of  my  friend  Tremlett,  at  Belsize  Park,  in  London. 
Here  we  arranged  for  a  visit,  of  a  few  weeks,  to  the  continent, 
and  especially  to  the  Swiss  mountains,  which  was  carried  out 
in  due  time.  One  other  gentleman,  an  amiable  and  accom 
plished  sister  of  my  friend  Tremlett,  and  two  other  ladies, 
connections  or  friends  of  the  family,  accompanied  us. 

We  were  absent  six  weeks ;  landing  at  Ostend,  passing  hur 
riedly  through  Belgium  —  not  forgetting,  however,  to  visit  the 
battle-field  of  Waterloo — stopping  a  few  days  at  Spa,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  waters,  and  then  passing  on  to  the  Khine ;  up 
that  beautiful  and  historic  river  to  Mayence,  and  thence  to  the 
Swiss  lakes — drawing  the  first  long  breath  at  Geneva,  where 

789 


790  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

we  rested  a  few  days.  There,  reader !  I  have  given  you  my 
European  tour  in  a  single  paragraph ;  and  as  I  am  writing  of 
the  sea,  and  of  war,  and  not  of  the  land,  or  of  peace,  this  is 
all  the  space  I  can  appropriate  to  it.  I  must  be  permitted, 
however,  to  say  of  my  friend  Tremlett,  that  I  found  him  a 
veteran  traveller,  who  knew  how  to  smooth  all  the  difficulties 
of  a  journey ;  and  of  the  ladies  of  our  party,  that  their  cheer 
fulness,  good-humor,  and  kind  attention  to  me,  did  quite  as 
much  as  the  Swiss  mountain  air  toward  the  restoration  of 
my  health.  I  must  be  permitted  to  make  another  remark  in 
connection  with  this  journey.  I  found  a  number  of  exceed 
ingly  patriotic,  young,  able-bodied  male  Confederates,  of  a 
suitable  age  for  bearing  arms,  travelling,  with  or  without  their 
papas  and  mammas,  and  boasting  of  the  Confederacy!  Most  of 
these  carpet-knights  had  been  in  Europe  during  the  whole  war. 
Eeturning  to  London,  in  the  latter  days  of  September,  a  few 
days  in  advance  of  my  travelling  party,  I  made  my  prepara 
tions  for  returning  to  the  Confederate  States ;  and  on  the  3d 
of  October,  1864,  embarked  on  board  the  steamer  Tasmanian, 
for  Havana  via  St.  Thomas.  My  intention  was  to  pass  into 
Texas,  through  the  Mexican  port  of  Matamoras.  My  journey, 
by  this  route,  would  occupy  a  little  longer  time,  and  be 
attended,  perhaps,  with  some  discomfort,  but  I  should  avoid 
the  risk  of  the  blockade,  which  was  considerable.  The  enemy 
having  resorted,  literally,  to  the  starving  process,  as  being  the 
only  one  which  was  likely  to  put  an  end  to  the  war,  had  begun 
to  burn  our  towns,  lay  waste  our  corn-fields,  run  off  our  negroes 
and  cattle,  and  was  now  endeavoring  to  seal,  hermetically,  our 
ports.  He  had  purchased  all  kinds  of  steamers — captured 
blockade-runners  and  others — which  he  had  fitted  out  as 
ships  of  war,  and  he  now  had  a  fleet  little  short  of  five  hun 
dred  sail.  Acting,  as  before  stated,  on  the  principle  of  abandon 
ing  his  commerce,  he  had  concentrated  all  these  before  the 
blockaded  ports,  in  such  swarms,  that  it  was  next  to  impossible 
for  a  ship  to  run  in  or  out,  without  his  permission.  I  pre 
ferred  not  to  fall  into  the  enemy's  hands,  without  the  benefit 
of  a  capitulation.  The  very  mention  of  my  name  had,  as  yet, 
some  such  effect  upon  the  Yankee  Government  as  the  shaking 
of  a  red  flag  has  before  the  blood- shot  eyes  of  an  infuriated 


DUEING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.     791 

bull.  Mr.  Seward  gored,  and  pawed,  and  threw  up  the  dust; 
and,  above  all,  bellowed,  whenever  the  vision  of  the  Alabama 
flitted  across  his  brain  ;  and  the  "  sainted  Abe  "  was,  in  foreign 
affairs,  but  his  man  "  Friday." 

At  St.  Thomas  we  changed  steamers,  going  on  board  the 
Solent — the  transfer  of  passengers  occupying  only  a  few  hours. 
The  Solent  ran  down  for  the  coast  of  Porto  Eico,  where  she 
landed  some  passengers;  passed  thence  to  the  north  side  of  St. 
Domingo,  thence  into  the  Old  Bahama  Channel,  and  landed  us  at 
Havana,  in  the  last  days  of  October.  Here  we  were  compelled 
to  wait,  a  few  days,  for  a  chance  vessel  to  Matamoras,  there 
being  no  regular  packets.  This  enforced  delay  was  tedious 
enough,  though  much  alleviated  by  the  companionship  of  a 
couple  of  agreeable  fellow-passengers,  who  had  embarked  with 
me  at  Southampton,  and  who,  like  myself,  were  bound  to  Mata 
moras.  One  of  these  was  Father  Fischer,  and  the  other,  Mr.  H. 
N.  Caldwell,  a  Southern  merchant.  Father  Fischer  was  a  German 
by  birth,  but  had  emigrated  in  early  youth  to  Mexico,  where 
he  had  become  a  priest.  He  was  a  remarkable  man,  of  com 
manding  personal  appearance,  and  a  well- cultivated  and  vigor 
ous  intellect.  He  spoke  half  a  dozen  modern  languages, — 
the  English  among  the  rest,  with  great  precision  and  purity, — 
and  both  Caldwell  and  myself  became  much  attached  to  him. 
He  afterward  played  a  very  important  role  in  the  affairs  of 
Mexico,  becoming  Maximilian's  confessor,  and  one  of  his  most 
trusted  counsellors.  He  was  imprisoned  for  a  time,  after  the 
fall  of  the  Empire,  but  was  finally  released,  and  has  since 
made  his  way  to  Europe,  with  important  papers  belonging  to 
the  late  unfortunate  monarch,  and  will  no  doubt  give  us  a  his 
tory  of  the  important  episode  in  Mexican  affairs  in  which  he 
took  part. 

No  other  vessel  offering,  we  were  compelled  to  embark  in  a 
small  Yankee  schooner,  still  redolent  of  codfish,  though  wear 
ing  the  English  flag,  to  which  she  had  recently  been  trans 
ferred.  This  little  craft  carried  us  safely  across  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  after  a  passage  of  a  week,  and  landed  us  at  a  sea-shore 
village,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande,  rejoicing  in  the 
dreamy  eastern  name  of  Bagdad.  So  unique  was  this  little 
village,  that  I  might  have  fancied  it,  as  its  name  imported, 


792  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

really  under  the  rule  of  Caliphs,  but  for  certain  signs  of  the 
Yankee  which  met  my  eye.  The  ubiquity  of  this  people  is 
marvellous.  They  scent  their  prey  with  the  unerring  instinct 
of  the  carrion-bird.  I  had  encountered  them  all  over  the  world; 
chasing  the  omnipotent  dollar,  notwithstanding  the  gigantic 
war  they  were  carrying  on  at  home;  and  here  was  this  little 
village  of  Bagdad,  on  the  Texan  border,  as  full  of  them  as  an 
ant-hill  is  of  ants;  and  the  human  ants  were  quite  as  busy  as 
their  insect  prototypes.  Numerous  shanties  had  been  con 
structed  on  the  sands,  out  of  unplaned  boards.  Some  of  these 
shanties  were  hotels,  some  billiard-saloons,  and  others  grog 
shops.  The  beach  was  piled  with  cotton  bales  going  out,  and 
goods  coming  in.  The  stores  were  numerous,  and  crowded 
with  wares.  Teamsters  cracked  their  whips  in  the  streets,  and 
horsemen,  booted  and  spurred,  galloped  hither  and  thither. 
The  whole  panorama  looked  like  some  magic  scene,  which 
might  have  been  improvised  in  a  night.  The  population  was 
as  heterogeneous  as  the  dwellings.  Whites,  blacks,  mulat 
tos,  and  Indians  were  all  mixed.  But  prominent  above  all 
stood  the  Yankee.  The  shanties  were  his,  and  the  goods 
were  his.  He  kept  the  hotels,  marked  the  billiards,  and  sold 
the  grog. 

Pretty  soon  a  coach  drove  up  to  the  door  of  the  hotel  at 
which  we  were  stopping,  to  take  us  to  Matamoras,  a  distance 
of  thirty  miles.  Here  was  the  Yankee  again.  The  coach  had 
been  built  in  Troy,  New  York.  The  horses  were  all  northern 
horses — tall,  strong,  and  gaunt,  none  of  your  Mexican  mus 
tangs.  The  Jehu  was  Yankee,  a  tall  fellow,  with  fisherman's 
boots,  and  fancy  top-hamper.  The  dried-up  little  Mexicans 
who  attended  to  the  horses,  harnessing  and  unharnessing  them, 
on  the  road,  at  the  different  relay  stations,  evidently  stood  in 
great  awe  of  him.  He  took  us  into  Matamoras  "on  time"  and 
at  the  end  of  his  journey,  cracked  his  whip,  and  drew  up  his 
team  at  the  hotel-door,  with  a  flourish  that  would  have  done 
honor  to  Mr.  Samuel  Weller,  senior,  himself. 

As  great  a  revolution  had  taken  place  in  Matamoras  as  at 
Bagdad.  The  heretofore  quaint  old  Spanish  town  presented 
the  very  picture  of  a  busy  commercial  mart.  House-rent  was 
at  an  enormous  figure;  the  streets,  as  well  as  the  stores,  were 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      793 

piled  with  bales  and  boxes  of  merchandise,  and  every  one  you 
met  seemed  to  be  running  somewhere,  intent  on  business.  Ox 
and  mule  teams  from  the  Texan  side  of  the  river,  were  busy 
hauling  the  precious  staple  of  the  Southern  States,  which  put 
all  this  commerce  in  motion,  to  Bagdad,  for  shipment;  and 
anchored  off  that  mushroom  village,  I  had  counted,  as  I 
landed,  no  less  than  sixty  sail  of  ships — nearly  all  of  them 
foreign.  Fortunately  for  all  this  busy  throng,  Maximilian 
reigned  supreme  in  Mexico,  and  his  Lieutenant  in  Matamoras, 
General  Mejia,  gave  security  and  protection  to  person  and 
property,  at  the  same  time  that  he  raised  considerable  rev 
enue  by  the  imposition  of  moderate  taxes. 

Colonel  Ford,  the  commandant  at  Brownsville,  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  river,  came  over  to  see  me,  and  toward  night 
fall  I  returned  with  him  to  that  place.  We  crossed  the  river 
in  a  skiff  managed  by  a  Mexican,  and  as  my  foot  touched,  for 
the  first  time  in  four  years,  the  soil  of  my  native  South,  I  ex 
perienced,  in  their  full  force,  the  lines  of  the  poet :  — 

"Where  shall  that  land,  that  spot  of  earth  be  found? 
Art  thou  a  man?  —  a  patriot?  —  look  around; 
Oh !   thou  shalt  find,  howe'er  thy  footsteps  roam, 
That  land  thy  country,  and  that  spot  thy  home !  " 

There  were  no  hotels  at  Brownsville,  but  I  was  comfortably 
lodged  for  the  night,  with  Colonel  Beldon,  the  Collector  of  the 
port.  The  next  morning  I  breakfasted  with  a  large  party  at 
a  neighboring  restaurant,  who  had  assembled  thither  to  wel 
come  me  back  to  my  native  land ;  and  when  the  breakfast  was 
over,  a  coach  and  four,  which  was  to  take  me  on  my  way  to 
Shreveport,  in  Louisiana,  drew  up  at  the  door.  An  escort  of 
cavalry  had  been  provided,  to  accompany  me  as  far  as  King's 
Ranch,  a  point  at  which  the  road  approaches  the  coast,  and 
where  it  was  supposed  that  some  of  the  enemy's  gunboats 
might  attempt  to  ambuscade  me.  I  found,  upon  entering  the 
coach,  in  which  I  was  to  be  the  only  traveller,  that  my  friends 
had  provided  for  my  journey  in  true  Texan  style ;  my  outfit 
being  a  stout  pair  of  gray  blankets,  which  were  to  form  my 
bed  on  the  prairies  for  the  next  hundred  miles,  as  we  should 
have  to  travel  that  distance  before  we  reached  the  shelter  of  a 


794  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

roof;  a  box  containing  a  dozen  bottles  of  excellent  brandy, 
and  cigars  at  discretion !  As  the  driver  cracked  bis  whip,  to 
put  his  mustangs  in  motion,  and  my  escort  clattered  on  ahead  of 
me,  the  crowd  who  had  gathered  in  the  street  to  see  me  depart, 
launched  me  upon  the  prairie,  with  three  hearty  cheers,  such  as 
only  Texan  throats  can  give. 

It  so  happened,  that  my  major-domo  for  the  journey,  Ser 
geant  ,  was  the  same  who  had  conducted  my  friend,  Colonel 

Freemantle,  over  this  route,  some  two  years  before.  I  found 
him  the  same  invaluable  travelling  companion.  His  lunch- 
baskets  were  always  well  filled,  he  knew  everybody  along  the 
road,  was  unsurpassed  at  roasting  a  venison  steak  before  a 
camp-fire  on  a  forked  stick,  and  made  a  capital  cup  of  coffee. 
I  missed  the  Judge,  whom  Freemantle  so  humorously  describes, 
but  I  found  a  good  many  judges  on  the  road,  who  might  sit 
for  his  portrait.  And  now,  for  want  of  space,  I  must  treat 
this  journey  as  I  did  my  European  tour,  give  it  to  the  reader 
in  a  paragraph.  We  were  fourteen  days  on  the  road ;  passing 
through  San  Patricio  on  the  Nueces,  Gonzales  on  the  Guada- 
lupe,  Houston,  Hempstead,  Navasota,  Huntsville,  Eusk,  Hen 
derson,  and  Marshall,  arriving  on  the  27th  of  November  at 
Shreveport.  I  was  received,  everywhere,  with  enthusiasm  by 
the  warm-hearted,  brave  Texans,  the  hotels  being  all  thrown 
open  to  me,  free  of  expense,  and  salutes  of  artillery  greeting 
my  entrance  into  the  towns.  I  was  frequently  compelled  to 
make  short  speeches  to  the  people,  merely  that  they  might 
hear,  as  they  said,  "  how  the  pirate  talked ; "  and,  I  fear,  I 
drank  a  good  many  more  mint-juleps  than  were  good  for  me. 
At  table  I  was  always  seated  on  the  right  hand  of  the  "  land 
lady,"  and  I  was  frequently  importuned  by  a  bevy  of  bloom 
ing  lasses,  to  tell  them  "  how  I  did  the  Yankees."  Glorious 
Texas!  what  if  thou  art  a  little  too  much  given  to  the  Bowie-knife 
and  revolver,  and  what  if  grass-widows  are  somewhat  frequent 
in  some  of  thy  localities,  thou  art  all  right  at  heart !  Liberty 
burns  with  a  pure  flame  on  thy  prairies,  and  the  day  will  yet 
come  when  thou  wilt  be  free.  Thy  fate,  thus  far,  has  been  a 
hard  one.  In  a  single  generation  thou  hast  changed  thy  politi 
cal  condition  four  times.  When  I  first  knew  thee,  thou  wast 
a  Mexican  province.  You  then  became  an  independent  State. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      795 

In  an  evil  hour  you  were  beguiled  into  accepting  the  fatal  em 
brace  of  the  Yankee.  Learning  your  mistake,  ere  long,  you 
united  your  fortunes  with  those  of  the  Confederate  States,  in 
the  hope  again  to  be  free.  You  did  what  it  was  in  the  power 
of  mortals  to  do,  but  the  Fates  were  adverse,  and  you  have 
again  been  dragged  down  into  worse  than  Mexican  bondage. 
Bide  thy  time !  Thou  art  rapidly  filling  up  with  population. 
Thou  wilt  soon  become  an  empire  in  thyself,  and  the  day  is 
not  far  distant,  when  thou  mayest  again  strike  for  freedom  ! 

At  Shreveport,  I  was  hospitably  entertained  at  the  mansion 
of  Colonel  Williamson,  serving  on  the  staff  of  the  command 
ing  general  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Department,  Kirby  Smith. 
The  Mayor  and  a  deputation  of  the  Councils  waited  on  me, 
and  tendered  me  a  public  dinner,  but  I  declined.  I  remained 
with  Colonel  Williamson  a  couple  of  days,  and  the  reader  may 
imagine  how  agreeable  this  relaxation,  in  comfortable  quar 
ters,  was  to  me,  after  a  journey  of  fourteen  consecutive  days 
and  nights,  in  a  stage-coach,  through  a  rough,  and  compara 
tively  wild  country.  Governor  Allen  was  making  Shreve 
port  the  temporary  seat  of  government  of  Louisiana,  and  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  making  his  acquaintance,  and  dining  with 
him,  in  company  with  General  Smith  and  his  staff.  The  Gov 
ernor  was  not  only  a  genial,  delightful  companion,  but  a  gal 
lant  soldier,  who  had  rendered  good  service  to  the  Confederacy 
at  the  head  of  his  regiment.  He  had  been  terribly  wounded, 
and  was  still  hobbling  about  on  crutches.  He  seemed  to  be 
the  idol  of  the  people  of  his  State.  He  was  as  charitable  and 
kind-hearted  as  brave,  and  the  needy  soldier,  or  soldier's  wife, 
never  left  his  presence  without  the  aid  they  came  to  seek. 

My  object  in  taking  Shreveport  in  my  route,  instead  of 
striking  for  the  Eed  Eiver,  some  distance  below,  was  to  meet 
my  son,  Major  O.  J.  Semmes,  who,  I  had  been  informed  at 
Brownsville,  was  serving  in  this  part  of  Louisiana.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  war  he  withdrew  from  West  Point,  where  he 
was  within  a  year  of  graduating,  and  offered  his  sword  to  his 
State — Alabama.  I  had  not  seen  him  since.  He  was  now  a 
major  of  artillery,  commanding  a  battalion  in  General  Buck- 
ner's  army,  stationed  at  Alexandria.  Thither  I  now  directed 
my  course.  The  river  being  too  low  for  boating,  I  was  forced 


796  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

to  make  another  land  journey.  The  General  kindly  put  an 
ambulance  at  my  disposal,  and  my  host,  with  the  forethought 
of  a  soldier,  packed  me  a  basket  of  provisions.  My  friend 
and  travelling  companion,  viz.,  the  Jehu,  who  was  to  drive 
me,  was  an  original.  He  was  from  Ohio,  and  had  served 
throughout  the  war  as  a  private  soldier  in  the  Confederate 
army.  He  had  been  in  a  good  many  fights  and  skirmishes, 
and  was  full  of  anecdote.  If  he  had  an  antipathy  in  the 
world,  it  was  against  the  Yankee,  and  nothing  gave  him  half 
so  much  pleasure,  as  to  "  fight  his  battles  o'er  again."  As  I 
had  a  journey  of  four  or  five  days  before  me  —  the  distance 
being  140  miles  over  execrable  roads  —  the  fellow  was  invalu 
able  to  me.  We  passed  through  several  of  the  localities  where 
General  Banks  had  been  so  shamefully  beaten  by  General 
Dick  Taylor,  —  at  Mansfield,  Pleasant  Hill,  and  Monett's  Ferry. 
The  fields  were  still  strewn  with  the  carcasses  of  animals ;  a 
few,  unmarked  hillocks,  here  and  there,  showed  where  soldiers 
had  been  buried ;  and  the  rent  and  torn  timber  marked  the 
course  of  the  cannon-balls  that  had  carried  death  to  either  side. 
The  Vandals,  in  their  retreat,  had  revenged  themselves  on  the 
peaceful  inhabitants,  and  every  few  miles  the  charred  remains 
of  a  dwelling  told  where  some  family  had  been  unhoused,  and 
turned  into  the  fields  by  the  torch. 

At  Alexandria,  I  was  kindly  invited  by  General  Buckner  to 
become  his  guest  during  my  stay,  and  he  sent  a  courier  at 
once  to  inform  my  son,  who  was  encamped  a  few  miles  below 
the  town,  of  my  arrival.  The  latter  carne  to  see  me  the  same 
afternoon.  I  remained  in  the  hospitable  quarters  of  the  Gen 
eral  a  week  before  the  necessary  arrangements  could  be  made 
for  my  crossing  the  Mississippi.  The  enemy  being  in  full  pos 
session  of  this  river  by  means  of  his  gunboats,  it  was  a  mat 
ter  of  some  little  management  to  cross  in  safety.  The  trans- 
Mississippi  mails  to  Richmond  had  been  sent  over,  however, 
}uite  regularly,  under  the  personal  superintendence  of  a  young 
officer,  detailed  for  the  purpose,  and  the  General  was  kind 
enough  to  arrange  for  my  crossing  with  this  gentleman.  The 
news  of  my  passing  through  Texas  had  reached  the  enemy  at 
New  Orleans,  as  we  learned  by  his  newspapers,  and  great  vigi 
lance  had  beer  enjoined  on  his  gunboats  to  intercept  me,  if 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      797 

possible.  Our  arrangements  being  completed,  I  left  Alexan 
dria  on  the  10th  of  December,  accompanied  by  my  son,  who 
had  obtained  a  short  leave  of  absence  for  the  purpose  of  visit 
ing  his  home,  and  reached  the  little  village  of  Evergreen  the 
next  day.  Arrived  at  this  point,  we  were  joined  by  our  com 
panions  of  the  mail  service,  and  on  the  13th  we  crossed  both 
the  Red  and  Mississippi  Rivers  in  safety. 

The  journey  through  the  swamps,  leading  to  these  rivers, 
was  unique.  We  performed  it  on  horseback,  pursuing  mere 
bridle-paths  and  cattle-tracks,  in  single  file,  like  so  many  In 
dians.  Our  way  sometimes  led  us  through  a  forest  of  gigantic 
trees,  almost  entirely  devoid  of  under-growth,  and  resembling 
very  much,  though  after  a  wild  fashion,  the  park  scenery  of 
England.  At  other  times  we  would  plunge  into  a  dense, 
tangled  brake,  where  the  interlaced  grape  and  other  vines 
threatened  every  moment,  to  drag  us  from  our  saddles.  The 
whole  was  a  drowned  country,  and  impassable  during  the  sea 
son  of  rains.  It  was  now  low  water,  and  as  we  rode  along,  the 
high-water  marks  on  the  trees  were  visible,  many  feet  above 
our  heads.  From  this  description  of  the  country,  the  reader 
will  see  how  impossible  it  was  for  artillery  or  cavalry,  or 
even  infantry,  to  operate  on  the  banks  of  these  rivers,  during  a 
greater  part  of  the  year.  Except  at  a  few  points,  the  enemy's 
gunboats  were  almost  as  secure  from  attack  as  they  would 
have  been,  on  the  high  seas.  Occasionally,  we  had  to  swim  a 
deep  bayou,  whose  waters  looked  as  black  as  those  of  the 
Stygian  Lake ;  but  if  the  bayou  was  wide,  as  well  as  deep,  we 
more  frequently  dismounted,  stripped  our  horses,  and  sur 
rounding  them,  and  shouting  at  them,  made  them  take  the 
water  in  a  drove,  and  swim  over  by  themselves.  We  then 
crossed  in  skiffs,  which  the  mail-men  had  provided  for  the 
purpose,  and  caught  and  resaddled  our  horses  for  a  fresh 
mount. 

We  reached  the  bank  of  the  Mississippi  just  before  dark. 
There  were  two  of  the  enemy's  gunboats  anchored  in  the 
river,  at  a  distance  of  about  three  miles  apart.  As  remarked 
in  another  place,  the  enemy  had  converted  every  sort  of  a 
water  craft,  into  a  ship  of  war,  and  now  had  them  in  such 
number,  that  he  was  enabled  to  police  the  river  in  its  entire 


798  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

length,  without  the  necessity  of  his  boats  being  out  of  sight 
of  each  other's  smoke.  The  officers  of  these  river  craft  were 
mostly  volunteers  from  the  merchant  service,  whose  commis 
sions  would  expire  with  the  war,  and  a  greater  set  of  predatory 
rascals  was,  perhaps,  never  before  collected  in  the  history  of 
any  government.  They  robbed  the  plantations,  and  demoral 
ized  them  by  trade,  at  the  same  time.  Our  people  were  hard 
pressed  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  a  constant  traffic  was 
being  carried  on  with  them,  by  these  armed  river  steamers, 
miscalled  ships  of  war. 

It  would  not  do,  of  course,  for  us  to  attempt  the  passage  of 
the  river,  until  after  dark;  and  so  we  held  ourselves  under 
cover  of  the  forest,  until  the  proper  moment,  and  then  em 
barked  in  a  small  skiff,  sending  back  the  greater  part  of  our 
escort.  Our  boat  was  scarcely  able  to  float  the  numbers  that 
were  packed  into  her.  Her  gunwales  were  no  more  than  six 
inches  above  the  water's  edge.  Fortunately  for  us,  however, 
the  night  was  still,  and  the  river  smooth,  and  we  pulled  over 
without  accident.  As  we  shot  within  the  shadows  of  the  op 
posite  bank,  our  conductor,  before  landing,  gave  a  shrill  whis 
tle  to  ascertain  whether  all  was  right.  The  proper  response 
came  directly,  from  those  who  were  to  meet  us,  and  in  a  mo 
ment  more,  we  leaped  on  shore  among  friends.  We  found 
spare  horses  awaiting  us,  and  my  son  and  myself  slept  that 
night  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Colonel  Eose.  The  next 
morning  the  colonel  sent  us  to  Woodville,  in  his  carriage,  and 
in  four  or  five  days  more,  we  were  in  Mobile,  and  I  was  at 
home  again,  after  an  absence  of  four  years ! 


CHAPTBK    LYII. 

AUTHOR  SETS  OUT  FOR  RICHMOND IS   TWO  WEEKS    IN 

MAKING  THE  JOURNEY INTERVIEW  WITH  PRESIDENT 

DAVIS;  WITH  GENERAL  LEE AUTHOR  IS  APPOINTED 

A  REAR-ADMIRAL,  AND  ORDERED  TO  COMMAND  THE 
JAMES  RIVER  SQUADRON ASSUMES  COMMAND;  CON 
DITION  OF  THE  FLEET GREAT  DEMORALIZATION  — 

THE  ENEMY'S  ARMIES  GRADUALLY  INCREASING — 
LEE'S  LINES  BROKEN. 

ITELEGEAPHED  my  arrival,  immediately,  to  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Navy  at  Kichmond,  informing  him  of  my  in 
tention  to  proceed  to  that  capital  after  resting  for  a  few  days. 
The  following  reply  came  over  the  wires,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  hours.  "  Congratulate  you,  on  your  safe  arrival.  When 
ready  to  come  on,  regard  this  as  an  order  to  report  to  the 
Department."  I  did  not,  of  course,  dally  long  at  home.  The 
enemy  was  pressing  us  too  hard  for  me  to  think  of  sitting 
down  in  inglorious  ease,  so  long  as  it  was  possible  that  I 
might  be  of  service.  At  all  events,  it  was  my  duty  to  pre 
sent  myself  to  the  Government,  and  see  if  it  had  any  com 
mands  for  me.  Accordingly,  on  the  2d  of  January,  1865,  1 
put  myself  en  route  for  Richmond.  I  was  two  weeks  making 
my  way  to  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy,  owing  the  many 
breaks  which  had  been  made  in  the  roads  by  raiding  parties 
of  the  enemy,  and  by  Sherman's  march  through  Georgia. 
Poor  Georgia!  she  had  suffered  terribly  during  this  Yandal 
march  of  conflagration  and  pillage,  and  I  found  her  people 
terribly  demoralized.  I  stopped  a  day  in  Columbia,  the 
beautiful  capital  of  South  Carolina,  afterward  so  barbarously 
burned  by  a  drunken  and  disorderly  soldierly,  with  no  offi 
cer  to  raise  his  hand  to  stay  the  conflagration.  Passing  on, 
51  799 


800  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

as  soon  as  some  temporary  repairs  could  be  made  on  a  break 
in  the  road,  ahead  of  me,  I  reached  Richmond,  without  further 
stoppages,  and  was  welcomed  at  his  house,  by  my  friend  and 
relative,  the  Hon.  Thomas  J.  Semmes,  a  senator  in  the  Con 
federate  Congress  from  the  State  of  Louisiana. 

I  had  thus  travelled  all  the  way  from  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Mexico,  to  Kichmond,  by  land,  a  journey,  which,  perhaps, 
has  seldom  been  performed.  In  this  long  and  tedious  jour 
ney,  through  the  entire  length  of  the  Confederacy,.!  had  been 
painfully  struck  with  the  changed  aspect  of  things,  since  I  had 
left  the  country  in  the  spring  of  1861.  Plantations  were 
ravaged,  slaves  were  scattered,  and  the  country  was  suffering 
terribly  for  the  want  of  the  most  common  necessaries  of  life. 
Whole  districts  of  country  had  been  literally  laid  waste  by 
the  barbarians  who  had  invaded  us.  The  magnificent  valley 
of  the  Red  River,  down  which,  as  the  reader  has  seen,  I  had 
recently  travelled,  had  been  burned  and  pillaged  for  the  dis 
tance  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Neither  Alaric,  nor  Attila 
ever  left  such  a  scene  of  havoc  and  desolation  in  his  rear. 
Demoniac  Yankee  hate  had  been  added  to  the  thirst  for  plun 
der.  Sugar-mills,  saw-mills,  salt-works,  and  even  the  grist 
mills  which  ground  the  daily  bread  for  families,  had  been  laid 
in  ashes  —  their  naked  chimneys  adding  ghastliness  to  the 
picture.  Reeling,  drunken  soldiers  passed  in  and  out  of 
dwellings,  plundering  and  insulting  their  inmates ;  and  if  dis 
appointed  in  the  amount  of  their  plunder,  or  resisted,  applied 
the  torch  in  revenge.  Many  of  these  miscreants  were  foreign 
ers,  incapable  of  speaking  the  English  language.  The  few 
dwellings  that  were  left  standing,  looked  like  so  many  houses 
of  mourning.  Once  the  seats  of  hospitality  and  refinement, 
and  the  centres  of  thrifty  plantations,  with  a  contented  and 
happy  laboring  population  around  them,  they  were  now  shut 
up  and  abandoned.  There  was  neither  human  voice  in  the 
hall,  nor  neigh  of  steed  in  the  pasture.  The  tenantless  negro 
cabins  told  the  story  of  the  war.  The  Yankee  had  liberated 
the  slave,  and  armed  him  to  make  war  upon  his  former  mas 
ter.  The  slaves  who  had  not  been  enlisted  in  the  Federal 
armies,  were  wandering,  purposeless,  about  the  country,  in 
squads,  thieving,  famishing,  arid  dying.  This  was  the  charac- 


DUKING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      801 

ter  of  the  war  our  brethren  of  the  North  —  Grod  save  the  mark 
—  were  making  upon  us. 

To  add  to  the  heart-sickening  features  of  the  picture,  our 
own  people  had  become  demoralized !  Men,  generally,  seemed 
to  have  given  up  the  cause  as  lost,  and  to  have  set  themselves 
at  work,  like  wreckers,  to  save  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
sinking  ship.  The  civilians  had  betaken  themselves  to  specu 
lation  and  money-getting,  and  the  soldiers  to  drinking  and  de 
bauchery.  Such,  in  brief,  was  the  picture  which  presented  it 
self  to  my  eyes  as  I  passed  through  the  Confederacy.  The 
Alabama  had  gone  to  her  grave  none  too  soon.  If  she  had  not 
been  buried  with  the  honors  of  war,  with  the  howling  winds 
of  the  British  Channel  to  sing  her  requiem,  she  might  sooik 
have  been  handed  over  to  the  exultant  Yankee,  to  be  exhibited 
at  Boston,  as  a  trophy  of  the  war. 

My  first  official  visit  in  Richmond  was,  of  course,  to  the 
President.  I  found  him  but  little  changed,  in  personal  appear 
ance,  since  I  had  parted  with  him  in  Montgomery,  the  then 
seat  of  government,  in  April,  1861.  But  he  was  evidently 
deeply  impressed  with  the  critical  state  of  the  country,  though 
maintaining  an  outward  air  of  cheerfulness  and  serenity.  I  ex 
plained  to  him  briefly,  what,  indeed,  he  already  knew  too  well,  the 
loss  of  my  ship.  He  was  kind  enough  to  say  that,  though  he 
deeply  regretted  her  loss,  he  knew  that  I  had  acted  for  the 
best,  and  that  he  had  nothing  with  which  to  reproach  me.  I 
dined  with  him  on  a  subsequent  day.  There  was  only  one 
other  guest  present.  Mrs.  Davis  was  more  impressed  with 
events  than  the  President.  With  her  womanly  instinct,  she 
already  saw  the  handwriting  on  the  wall.  But  though  the 
coming  calamity  would  involve  her  household  in  ruin,  she 
maintained  her  self-possession  and  cheerfulness.  The  Con 
gress,  which  was  in  session,  received  me  with  a  distinction 
which  I  had  little  merited.  Both  houses  honored  me  by  a 
vote  of  thanks  for  my  services,  and  invited  me  to  a  privileged 
seat  on  the  floor.  The  legislature  of  Virginia,  also  in  session, 
extended  to  me  the  same  honors. 

As  soon  as  I  could  command  a  leisure  moment,  I  paid  Gen 
eral  Lee  a  visit,  at  his  headquarters  near  Petersburg,  and  spent 
a  night  with  him.  I  had  served  with  him  in  the  Mexican 


802  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

war.  We  discussed  together  the  critical  state  of  the  country, 
and  of  his  army, —  we  were  now  near  the  end  of  January,  1865, 
—  and  I  thought  the  grand  old  chieftain  and  Christian  gentle 
man  seemed  to  foreshadow,  in  his  conversation  —  more  by 
manner  than  by  words  —  the  approaching  downfall  of  the  cause 
for  which  we  were  both  struggling.  I  had  come  to  him,  I  told 
him,  to  speak  of  what  I  had  seen  of  the  people,  and  of  the 
army,  in  my  transit  across  the  country,  and  to  say  to  him,  that 
unless  prompt  measures  could  be  devised  to  put  an  end  to  the 
desertions  that  were  going  on  among  our  troops,  our  cause 
must  inevitably  be  lost.  He  did  not  seem  to  be  at  all  sur 
prised  at  the  revelations  I  made.  He  knew  all  about  the  con 
dition  of  the  country,  civil  and  military,  but  seemed  to  feel 
himself  powerless  to  prevent  the  downward  tendency  of  things. 
And  he  was  right.  It  was  no  longer  in  the  power  of  any  one 
man  to  save  the  country.  The  body-politic  was  already  dead. 
The  people  themselves  had  given  up  the  contest,  and  this  being 
the  case,  no  army  could  do  more  than  retard  the  catastrophe 
for  a  few  months.  Besides,  his  army  was,  itself,  melting  away. 
That  very  night  —  as  I  learned  the  next  morning,  at  the  break 
fast  table — 160  men  deserted  in  a  body!  It  was  useless  to 
attempt  to  shoot  deserters,  when  demoralization  had  gone  to 
this  extent. 

After  I  had  been  in  Richmond  a  few  weeks,  the  President 
was  pleased  to  nominate  me  to  the  Senate  as  a  rear-admiral. 
My  nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed,  and,  in  a  few  days 
afterward,  I  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  James  Eiver 
fleet.  My  commission  ran  as  follows :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  ) 

NAVY  DEPARTMENT,  RICHMOND,  February  10,  1865.  j 

REAR-ADMIRAL  RAPHAEL  SEMMES. 

SIR  : — You  are  hereby  informed  that  the  President  has  appointed 
you,  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate,  a  Rear-Admiral,  in  the 
Provisional  Navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  "for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct,  in  command  of  the  steam-sloop  Alabama." 
You  are  requested  to  signify  your  acceptance,  or  non-acceptance  of 
this  appointment. 

S.  R.  MALLORY, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      803 

An  old  and  valued  friend,  Commodore  J.  K.  Mitchell,  had 
been  in  command  of  the  James  River  fleet,  and  I  displaced 
him  very  reluctantly.  He  had  organized  and  disciplined  the 
fleet,  and  had  accomplished  with  it  all  that  was  possible, 
viz.,  the  protection  of  Richmond  by  water.  I  assumed  my 
command  on  the  18th  of  February,  1865.  My  fleet  consisted 
of  three  iron-clads  and  five  wooden  gunboats.  I  found  my 
old  first  lieutenant,  Kell,  who  had  preceded  me  to  Richmond, 
and  been  made  a  commander,  in  command  of  one  of  the  iron 
clads,  but  he  was  soon  obliged  to  relinquish  his  command,  on 
account  of  failing  health.  As  reorganized,  the  fleet  stood  as 
follows :  — 

Virginia,  iron-clad,  flag-ship,  four  guns,  Captain  Dunningtou. 

Richmond,  iron-clad,  four  guns,  Captain  Johnson. 

FredericJcsburg,  iron-clad,  four  guns,  Captain  Glassel. 

Hampton,  wooden,  two  guns,  Captain  Wilson,  late  of  the 
A  labama. 

Nansemond,  wooden,  two  guns,  Captain  Butt. 

Roanoke,  wooden,  two  guns,  Captain  Pollock. 

Beaufort,  wooden,  two  guns,  Captain  "Wyatt. 

Torpedo,  wooden,  one  gun,  Captain  Roberts. 

The  fleet  was  assisted,  in  the  defence  of  the  river,  by  several 
shore  batteries,  in  command  of  naval  officers;  as  Drury's  Bluff; 
Battery  Brooke;  Battery  Wood,  and  Battery  Semmes — the 
whole  under  the  command  of  my  old  friend,  Commodore  John 
R.  Tucker. 

I  soon  had  the  mortification  to  find  that  the  fleet  was  as 
much  demoralized  as  the  army.  Indeed,  with  the  exception 
of  its  principal  officers,  and  about  half  a  dozen  sailors  in  each 
ship,  its  personnel  was  drawn  almost  entirely  from  the  army. 
The  movements  of  the  ships  being  confined  to  the  head-waters 
of  a  narrow  river,  they  were  but  little  better  than  prison- ships. 
Both  men  and  officers  were  crowded  into  close  and  uncomfort 
able  quarters,  without  the  requisite  space  for  exercise.  I  reme 
died  this,  as  much  as  possible,  by  sending  squads  on  shore,  to 
drill  and  march  on  the  river-bank.  They  were  on  half  rations, 
and  with  but  a  scanty  supply  of  clothing.  Great  discontent 
and  restlessness  prevailed.  Constant  applications  were  coming 
to  me  for  leaves  of  absence  —  almost  every  one  having  some 


804  MEMOIES    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

story  to  tell  of  a  sick  or  destitute  family.  I  was  obliged,  of 
course,  to  resist  all  these  appeals.  "  The  enemy  was  thunder 
ing  at  the  gates,"  and  not  a  man  could  be  spared.  Desertion 
was  the  consequence.  Sometimes  an  entire  boat's  crew  would 
run  off,  leaving  the  officer  to  find  his  way  on  board  the  best 
he  might.  The  strain  upon  them  had  been  too  great.  It  was 
scarcely  to  be  expected  of  men,  of  the  class  of  those  who 
usually  form  the  rank  and  file  of  ships'  companies,  that  they 
would  rise  above  their  natures,  and  sacrifice  themselves  by 
slow  but  sure  degrees,  in  any  cause,  however  holy.  The  vis 
ions  of  home  and  fireside,  and  freedom  from  restraint  were  too 
tempting  to  be  resisted.  The  general  understanding,  that  the 
collapse  of  the  Confederacy  was  at  hand,  had  its  influence  with 
some  of  the  more  honorable  of  them.  They  reasoned  that 
their  desertion  would  be  but  an  anticipation  of  the  event  by  a 
few  weeks. 

To  add  to  the  disorder,  the  "Union  element,"  as  it  was 
called,  began  to  grow  bolder.  This  element  was  composed 
mainly  of  Northern-born  men,  who  had  settled  among  us  be 
fore  the  war.  In  the  height  of  the  war,  when  the  Southern 
States  were  still  strong,  and  when  independence  was  not  only 
possible,  but  probable,  these  men  pretended  to  be  good  South 
erners.  The  Puritan  leaven,,  which  was  in  their  natures,  was 
kept  carefully  concealed.  Hypocrisy  was  now  no  longer  ne 
cessary.  Many  of  these  men  were  preachers  of  the  various 
denominations,  and  schoolmasters.  These  white-cravatted  gen 
tlemen  now  sprang  into  unusual  activity.  Every  mail  brought 
long  and  artfully  written  letters  from  some  of  these  scoundrels, 
tempting  my  men  to  desert.  Some  of  these  letters  came  under 
my  notice,  and  if  I  could  have  gotten  hold  of  the  writers,  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  give  them  the  benefit  of  a  short 
shrift,  and  one  of  my  yard-arms.  If  I  had  had  my  fleet  upon 
the  sea,  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  restore  its  dis 
cipline,  but  my  ships  were,  in  fact,  only  so  many  tents,  into 
which  entered  freely  all  the  bad  influences  of  which  I  speak. 
I  was  obliged  to  perform  guard-boat  duty  on  the  river,  and 
picket  duty  on  shore,  and  these  duties  gave  my  men  all  the 
opportunities  of  escape  that  they  desired. 

With  regard  to  the  defence  of  Eichmond  by  water,  I  felt 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       805 

quite  secure.  No  fleet  of  the  enemy  could  have  passed  my 
three  iron-clads,  moored  across  the  stream,  in  the  only  avail 
able  channel,  with  obstructions  below  me,  which  would  hold 
it  under  my  fire,  and  that  of  the  naval  batteries  on  shore  by 
which  I  was  flanked.  Indeed,  the  enemy,  seeing  the  hopeless 
ness  of  approach  by  water,  had  long  since  given  up  the  idea. 
The  remainder  of  the  winter  passed  slowly  and  tediously 
enough.  A  few  months  earlier,  and  I  might  have  had  some 
thing  to  occupy  me.  For  a  long  time,  there  was  no  more  than 
a  single  iron-clad  in  the  lower  James,  the  enemy  being  busy 
with  Charleston  and  Wilmington.  An  attack  on  City  Point, 
Grant's  base  of  operations,  and  whence  he  drew  all  his  supplies, 
would  have  been  quite  practicable.  If  the  store-houses  at  that 
place  could  have  been  burned,  there  is  no  telling  what  might 
have  been  the  consequences.  But  now,  Charleston  and  Wil 
mington  having  fallen,  and  the  enemy  having  no  further  use 
for  his  iron-clad  fleet,  on  the  coasts  of  North  and  South  Caro 
lina,  he  had  concentrated  the  whole  of  it  on  the  lower  James, 
under  the  command  of  Admiral  Porter,  who,  as  the  reader  has 
seen,  had  chased  me,  so  quixotically,  in  the  old  frigate  Powhat- 
tan,  in  the  commencement  of  the  war.  At  first,  this  concentra 
tion  looked  like  a  preparation  for  an  attempted  ascent  of  the 
river,  but  if  any  attempt  of  the  kind  was  ever  entertained  by 
Porter,  he  had  the  good  sense,  when  he  came  to  view  the 
"situation,"  to  abandon  it. 

I  usually  visited  the  Navy  Department,  during  this  anxious 
period,  once  a  week,  to  confer  with  the  Secretary  on  the  state 
of  my  fleet,  and  the  attitude  of  the  enemy,  and  to  receive  any 
orders  or  suggestions  that  the  Government  might  have  to 
make.  Mr.  Mallory  was  kind  enough,  on  these  occasions,  to 
give  me  carte  blanche,  and  leave  me  pretty  much  to  myself. 
At  length  the  winter  passed,  and  spring  set  in.  The  winds 
and  the  sun  of  March  began  to  dry  the  roads,  and  put  them  in 
good  order  for  military  operations,  and  every  one  anticipated 
stirring  events.  As  I  sat  in  my  twilight  cabin,  on  board  the 
Virginia,  and  pored  over  the  map  of  North  Carolina,  and 
plotted  upon  it,  from  day  to  day,  the  approaches  of  Sherman, 
the  prospect  seemed  gloomy  enough.  As  before  remarked, 
Charleston  and  Wilmington  had  fallen.  With  the  latter,  we 


806  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

had  lost  our  last  blockade-running  port.  Our  ports  were  now 
all  hermetically  sealed.  The  anaconda  had,  at  last,  wound  his 
fatal  folds  around  us.  With  fields  desolated  at  home,  and  all 
supplies  from  abroad  cut  off)  starvation  began  to  stare  us  in 
the  face.  Charleston  was  evacuated  on  the  17th  of  February 
—  General  Hardee  having  no  more  than  time  to  get  his  troops 
out  of  the  city,  and  push  on  ahead  of  Sherman,  and  join  Gen 
eral  Joseph  E.  Johnson,  who  had  again  been  restored  to  com 
mand.  Fort  Anderson,  the  last  defence  of  Wilmington,  fell 
on  the  19th  of  the  same  month.  Sherman  was,  about  this 
time,  at  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  where  he  forever  disgraced 
himself  by  burning,  or  permitting  to  be  burned,  it  matters  not 
which,  that  beautiful  city,  which  had  already  surrendered  to 
his  arms.  The  opportunity  was  too  good  to  be  lost.  The 
Puritan  was  at  last  in  the  city  of  the  cavalier.  The  man  of 
ruder  habits  and  coarser  civilization,  was  in  the  presence  of 
the  more  refined  gentleman  whom  he  had  envied  and  hated 
for  generations.  The  ignoble  passions  of  race-hatred  and  re 
venge  were  gratified,  and  Massachusetts,  through  the  agency 
of  a  brutal  and  debauched  soldiery,  had  put  her  foot  upon  the 
neck  of  prostrate  South  Carolina !  This  was  humiliation  in 
deed  !  The  coarse  man  of  mills  and  manufactures  had  at  last 
found  entrance  as  a  master  into  the  halls  of  the  South  Carolina 
planter ! 

It  was  generally  expected  that  Sherman  would  move  upon 
Charlotte,  North  Carolina,  one  of  the  most  extensive  depots  of 
the  South,  and  thence  to  Danville,  and  so  on  to  Eichmond,  to 
unite  his  forces  with  those  of  Grant.  There  was  nothing  to 
oppose  him.  In  ten  days  at  the  farthest,  after  burning  Colum 
bia,  he  could  have  effected  a  junction  with  Grant  before  Peters 
burg.  But  the  "great  commander"  seemed  suddenly  to  have 
lost  his  courage,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  every  one,  soon 
after  passing  Winsboro',  North  Carolina,  which  lies  on  the  road 
to  Charlotte,  he  swung  his  army  off  to  the  right,  and  marched 
in  the  direction  of  Fayetteville  !  His  old  antagonist,  Johnston, 
was  endeavoring  to  gather  together  the  broken  remains  of  the 
Army  of  the  Tennessee,  and  he  was  afraid  of  him.  His  object 
now  was  to  put  himself  in  communication  with  Schofield,  who 
had  landed  at  Wilmington  and  at  Newbern  with  a  large  force, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.    807 

and  establish  a  new  base  of  operations  at  these  points.  He 
would  be  safe  here,  as  his  troops  could  be  fed,  and  in  case  of 
disaster,  he  could  fall  back  upon  the  sea,  and  upon  Porter's 
gunboats.  He  effected  the  contemplated  junction  with  Scho- 
field,  at  Goldsboro',  North  Carolina,  on  the  21st  of  March. 
He  had  not  touched  any  of  Lee's  communications  with  his 
depots  since  leaving  Winsboro';  the  destruction  of  which 
communications  Grant  had  so  much  at  heart,  and  which  had 
been  the  chief  object  of  his  —  Sherman's  —  "  great  march."  At 
Goldsboro'  he  was  still  150  miles  from  Grant's  lines,  and  he 
took  no  further  part  in  the  campaign. 

His  junction  with  Schofield  had  not  been  effected  without 
disaster.  At  Kinston,  Bragg  gained  a  victory  over  Schofield, 
utterly  routing  him,  and  taking  1500  prisoners ;  and  at  Ben- 
tonsville,  Johnston  checked,  and  gained  some  advantage  over 
Sherman.  As  the  reader  is  supposed  to  be  looking  over  the 
map  with  me,  we  will  now  stick  a  pin  in  the  point  representing 
Goldsboro',  and  throw  Sherman  and  Schofield  out  of  view. 

In  the  latter  part  of  March,  Sheridan,  having  overrun 
Early's  small  force,  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  found 
himself  at  liberty  to  join  General  Grant.  He  brought  with 
him  from  10,000  to  12,000  excellent  cavalry.  Grant's  army 
was  thus  swollen  to  160,000  men.  Adding  Sherman's  and 
Schofield's  forces  of  100,000,  we  have  260,000.  In  the 
meantime,  Lee's  half-starved,  ragged  army,  had  dwindled  to 
33,000.  With  this  small  number  of  men  he  was  compelled  to 
guard  an  intrenched  line  of  forty  miles  in  length,  extending 
from  the  north  side  of  the  James  River,  below  Eichmond,  to 
Hatcher's  Run,  south  of  Petersburg.  As  a  mere  general,  he 
would  have  abandoned  the  hopeless  task  long  ago,  extricating 
his  army,  and  throwing  it  into  the  field,  but  cui  bono  ?  With 
Virginia  in  the  enemy's  possession,  with  a  beaten  people,  and 
an  army  fast  melting  away  by  desertion,  could  the  war  be  con 
tinued  with  any  hope  of  success?  If  we  could  not  defend 
ourselves  before  Richmond,  could  we  defend  ourselves  any 
where  ?  That  was  the  question. 

Grant's  object  was  to  force  Lee's  right  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hatcher's  Run ;  but  he  masked  this  intention,  as  much  as  pos 
sible,  by  occasionally  threatening  the  whole  line.  I  had  fre- 


808  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT. 

quent  opportunity,  from  the  deck  of  my  flag-strip,  to  witness 
terrible  artillery  conflicts  where  nobody  was  killed.  Suddenly, 
on  a  still  night,  all  the  enemy's  batteries  would  be  ablaze,  and 
the  heavens  aroar  with  his  firing.  The  expenditure  of  powder 
was  enormous,  and  must  have  gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  Yan 
kee  contractors.  I  would  sometimes  be  aroused  from  slumber, 
and  informed  that  a  great  battle  was  going  on.  On  one  or  two 
occasions.  I  made  some  slight  preparations  for  defence,  myself, 
not  knowing  but  Porter  might  be  fool  enough  to  come  up  the 
river,  under  the  inspiration  of  this  powder-burning,  and  boom 
ing  of  cannon.  But  it  all  amounted  to  nothing  more  than 
Chinese  grimaces,  and  "  stink-pots,"  resorted  to  to  throw  Lee 
off  his  guard,  and  prevent  him  from  withdrawing  men  from  his 
left,  to  reinforce  his  right. 

The  final  and  successful  assault  of  Grant  was  not  long  de 
layed.  The  lines  in  the  vicinity  of  Petersburg  having  been 
weakened,  by  the  necessity  of  withdrawing  troops  to  defend 
Lee's  extreme  right,  resting  now  on  a  point  called  the  Five 
Forks,  Grant,  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  2d  of  April, 
made  a  vigorous  assault  upon  them,  and  broke  them.  Lee's 
army  was  uncovered,  and  Eichmond  was  no  longer  tenable  1 


CHAPTEE    LYIIT 

THE   EVACUATION    OF    RICHMOND     BY    THE    ARMY  —  THE 

DESTRUCTION      OF     THE     JAMES      RIVER      FLEET THE 

SAILORS  OF  THE    FLEET    CONVERTED    INTO    SOLDIERS 

THEIR    HELPLESS    CONDITION  WITHOUT    ANY   MEANS    OF 

TRANSPORTATION THE  CONFLAGRATION  OF  RICHMOND 

AND  THE  ENTRY  OF  THE  ENEMY  INTO  THE  CONFED 
ERATE  CAPITAL THE  AUTHOR  IMPROVISES  A  RAIL 
ROAD  TRAIN,  AND  ESCAPES  IN  IT  WITH  HIS  COMMAND, 
TO  DANVILLE,  VA. 

AS  I  was  sitting  down  to  dinner,  about  four  o'clock,  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  disastrous  day  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  on  board  my  flag-ship,  the  Virginia,  one  of  the  small 
steamers  of  my  fleet  came  down  from  Richmond,  having  on 
board  a  special  messenger  from  the  Navy  Department.  Upon 
being  introduced  into  my  cabin,  the  messenger  presented  rne 
with  a  sealed  package.  Up  to  this  time,  I  was  ignorant,  of 
course,  of  what  had  occurred  at  Petersburg  I  broke  the  seal 
and  read  as  follows :  — 

CONFEDERATE  STATES  OF  AMERICA,  \ 

EXECUTIVE  OFFICE,  RICHMOND,  VA.,  April  2,  1865.) 
REAR-ADMIRAL  RAPHAEL  SEMMES, 

Commanding  James  River  Squadron. 

SIR:  —  General  Lee  advises  the  Government  to  withdraw  from 
this  city,  and  the  officers  will  leave  this  evening,  accordingly.  I  pre 
sume  that  General  Lee  has  advised  you  of  this,  and  of  his  move 
ments,  and  made  suggestions  as  to  the  disposition  to  be  made  of 
your  squadron.  He  withdraws  upon  his  lines  toward  Danville,  this 
night ;  and  unless  otherwise  directed  by  General  Lee,  upon  you  is 
devolved  the  duty  of  destroying  your  ships,  this  night,  and  with 
all  the  forces  under  your  command,  joining  General  Lee.  Confer 
with  him,  if  practicable,  before  destroying  them.  Let  your  people 
be  rationed,  as  far  as  possible,  for  the  march,  and  armed  and 

809 


810  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

equipped  for  duty  in  the  field.     Very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

S.  R.  MALLORY,  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

This  was  rather  short  notice.  Richmond  was  to  be  evacu 
ated  during  the  night,  during  which  I  was  to  burn  my  ships, 
accoutre  and  provision  my  men,  and  join  General  Lee!  But 
I  had  become  used  to  emergencies,  and  was  not  dismayed.  1 
signalled  all  my  captains  to  come  on  board,  and  communicated 
to  them  the  intelligence  I  had  received,  and  concerted  with 
them  the  programme  of  the  night's  work.  It  was  not  possible 
to  attempt  anything  before  dark,  without  exciting  the  suspi 
cions  of  the  enemy,  as  we  were  no  more  than  four  or  five  miles 
from  his  lines ;  and  I  enjoined  upon  my  commanders  the  ne 
cessity  of  keeping  their  secret,  until  the  proper  moment  for 
action  should  arrive.  The  sun  was  shining  brightly,  the  after 
noon  was  calm,  and  nature  was  just  beginning  to  put  on  her 
spring  attire.  The  fields  were  green  with  early  grass,  the 
birds  were  beginning  to  twitter,  and  the  ploughman  had 
already  broken  up  his  fields  for  planting  his  corn.  I  looked 
abroad  upon  the  landscape,  and  contrasted  the  peace  and  quiet 
of  nature,  so  heedless  of  man's  woes,  with  the  disruption  of  a 
great  Government,  and  the  ruin  of  an  entire  people  which 
were  at  hand ! 

So  unsuspicious  were  the  Government  subordinates,  of  what 
was  going  on,  that  the  flag-of-truce  boats  were  still  plying  be 
tween  Richmond,  and  the  enemy's  head-quarters,  a  few  miles 
below  us,  on  the  river,  carrying  backward  and  forward  ex 
changed  prisoners.  As  those  boats  would  pass  us,  coming  up 
the  river,  filled  to  overflowing  with  our  poor  fellows  just  re 
leased  from  Yankee  prisons,  looking  wan  and  hollow-eyed,  the 
prisoners  would  break  into  the  most  enthusiastic  cheering  as 
they  passed  ray  flag.  It  seemed  to  welcome  them  home.  They 
little  dreamed,  that  it  would  be  struck  that  night,  forever,  and 
the  fleet  blown  into  the  air ;  that  their  own  fetters  had  been 
knocked  off  in  vain,  and  that  they  were  to  pass,  henceforth, 
under  the  rule  of  the  hated  Yankee.  I  was  sick  at  heart  as  I 
listened  to  those  cheers,  and  reflected  upon  the  morrow. 

General  Lee  had  failed  to  give  me  any  notice  of  his  disaster, 
or  of  what  his  intentions  were.  As  mine  was  an  entirely  in- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      811 

dependent  command,  he,  perhaps,  rightly  considered,  that  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Government  to  do  this.  Still, 
in  accordance  with  the  expressed  wishes  of  Mr.  Mallory,  I 
endeavored  to  communicate  with  him ;  sending  an  officer  on 
shore  to  the  signal  station,  at  Drury's  Bluff,  for  the  purpose. 
No  response  came,  however,  to  our  telegrams,  and  night  having 
set  in,  I  paid  no  further  attention  to  the  movements  of  the 
army.  I  plainly  saw  that  it  was  a  case  of  sauve  qui  pent,  and 
that  I  must  take  care  of  myself.  I  was  to  make  another  Ala 
Jama-plunge  into  the  sea,  and  try  my  luck.  Accordingly, 
when  night  drew  her  friendly  curtain  between  the  enemy  and 
myself,  I  got  all  my  ships  under  way,  and  ran  up  to  Drury's 
Bluff.  It  was  here  I  designed  to  blow  up  the  iron-clads,  throw 
their  crews  on  board  the  wooden  gunboats,  and  proceed  in  the 
latter  to  Manchester,  opposite  Richmond,  on  my  way  to  join 
General  Lee.  Deeming  secrecy  of  great  importance  to  the 
army,  in  its  attempted  escape  from  its  lines,  my  first  intention 
was  to  sink  my  fleet  quietly,  instead  of  blowing  it  up,  as  the 
explosions  would  give  the  enemy  notice  of  what  was  going  on. 
The  reader  may  judge  of  my  surprise,  when,  in  the  course  of 
an  hour  or  two  after  dark,  I  saw  the  whole  horizon,  on  the 
north  side  of  the  James,  glowing  with  fires  of  burning  quar 
ters,  materiel,  &c.,  lighted  by  our  own  troops,  as  they  succes 
sively  left  their  intrenchments !  Concealment  on  my  part  was 
no  longer  necessary  or  indeed  practicable. 

I  now  changed  my  determination  and  decided  upon  burning 
my  fleet.  My  officers  and  men  worked  like  beavers.  There 
were  a  thousand  things  to  be  done.  The  sailor  was  leaving 
the  homestead  which  he  had  inhabited  for  several  months. 
Arms  had  to  be  served  out,  provisions  gotten  up  out  of  the 
hold,  and  broken  into  such  packages,  as  the  sailors  could 
carry.  Hammocks  had  to  be  unlashed,  and  the  blankets  taken 
out,  and  rolled  up  as  compactly  as  possible.  Haversacks  and 
canteens  had  to  be  improvised.  These  various  operations  oc 
cupied  us  until  a  late  hour.  It  was  between  two  and  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  before  the  crews  of  the  iron-clads  were 
all  safely  embarked  on  board  the  wooden  gunboats,  and  the 
iron-clads  were  well  on  fire.  My  little  squadron  of  wooden 
boats  now  moved  off  up  the  river,  by  the  glare  of  the  burning 


812  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

iron-clads.  They  had  not  proceeded  far,  before  an  explosion, 
like  the  shock  of  an  earthquake,  took  place,  and  the  air  was 
filled  with  missiles.  It  was  the  blowing  up  of  the  Virginia, 
my  late  flag-ship.  The  spectacle  was  grand  beyond  descrip 
tion.  Her  shell-rooms  had  been  full  of  loaded  shells.  The 
explosion  of  the  magazine  threw  all  these  shells,  with  their 
fuses  lighted,  into  the  air.  The  fuses  were  of  different  lengths, 
and  as  the  shells  exploded  by  twos  and  threes,  and  by  the 
dozen,  the  pyrotechnic  effect  was  very  fine.  The  explosion 
shook  the  houses  in  Richmond,  and  must  have  waked  the 
echoes  of  the  night  for  forty  miles  around. 

There  are  several  bridges  spanning  the  James  between 
Drury's  Bluff  and  the  city,  and  at  one  of  these  we  were  de 
tained  an  hour,  the  draw  being  down  to  permit  the  passage  of 
some  of  the  troops  from  the  north  side  of  the  river,  who  had 
lighted  the  bonfires  of  which  I  have  spoken.  Owing  to  this 
delay,  the  sun  —  a  glorious,  unclouded  sun,  as  if  to  mock  our 
misfortunes  —  was  now  rising  over  Eichmond.  Some  windows, 
which  fronted  to  the  east,  were  all  aglow  with  his  rays,  mim 
icking  the  real  fires  that  were  already  breaking  out  in  vari 
ous  parts  of  the  city.  In  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  the  School- 
ship  Patrick  Henry  was  burning,  and  some  of  the  houses  near 
the  Navy  Yard  were  on  fire.  But  higher  up  was  the  principal 
scene  of  the  conflagration.  Entire  blocks  were  on  fire  here, 
and  a  dense  canopy  of  smoke,  rising  high  in  the  still  morning 
air,  was  covering  the  city  as  with  a  pall.  The  rear-guard  of 
our  army  had  just  crossed,  as  I  landed  my  fleet  at  Manchester, 
and  the  bridges  were  burning  in  their  rear.  The  Tredegar 
Iron  Works  were  on  fire,  and  continual  explosions  of  loaded 
shell  stored  there  were  taking  place.  In  short,  the  scene  can 
not  be  described  by  mere  words,  but  the  reader  may  conceive 
a  tolerable  idea  of  it,  if  he  will  imagine  himself  to  be  looking  on 
Pandemonium  broken  loose. 

The  population  was  in  a  great  state  of  alarm.  Hundreds 
of  men  and  women  had  sought  refuge  on  the  Manchester  side, 
in  the  hope  of  getting  away,  by  some  means  or  other,  they 
knew  not  how.  I  was,  myself,  about  the  most  helpless  man  in 
the  whole  crowd.  I  had  just  tumbled  on  shore,  with  their 
bags  and  baggage,  500  sailors,  incapable  of  marching  a  dozen 
miles  without  becoming  foot-sore,  and  without  any  means, 


,- 


. 


DURING     THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      813 

whatever,  of  transportation  being  provided  for  them.  I  "had 
not  so  much  as  a  pack-mule  to  carry  a  load  of  provisions.  I 
was  on  foot,  myself,  in  the  midst  of  my  men.  A  current  of 
horsemen,  belonging  to  our  retreating  column,  was  sweeping 
past  me,  but  there  was  no  horse  for  me  to  mount.  It  was 
every  man  for  himself,  and  d — 1  take  the  hindmost.  Some 
of  the  young  cavalry  rascals  —  lads  of  eighteen  or  twenty  — 
as  they  passed,  jibed  and  joked  with  my  old  salts,  asking  them 
how  they  liked  navigating  the  land,  and  whether  they  did  not 
expect  to  anchor  in  Fort  Warren  pretty  soon  ?  The  spectacle 
presented  by  my  men  was,  indeed,  rather  a  ludicrous  one ; 
loaded  down,  as  they  were,  with  pots,  and  pans,  and  mess- 
kettles,  bags  of  bread,  and  chunks  of  salted  pork,  sugar,  tea, 
tobacco,  and  pipes.  It  was  as  much  as  they  could  do  to  stag 
ger  under  their  loads  —  marching  any  distance  seemed  out  of 
the  question.  As  I  reviewed  my  "troops,"  after  they  had  been 
drawn  up  by  my  captains,  who  were  now  all  become  colonels, 
I  could  not  but  repeat  to  myself  Mr.  Mallory's  last  words  — 
"You  will  join  General  Lee,  in  the  field,  with  all  your  forces." 

Yes;  here  were  my  "forces,"  but  where,  the  d — 1,  was 
General  Lee,  and  how  was  I  to  join  him?  If  I  had  had  the 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  on  foot,  by  the  side  of  me,  I  rather 
think  this  latter  question  would  have  puzzled  him. 

But  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  —  I  must  do  something. 
The  first  thing,  of  course,  after  landing  my  men,  was  to  burn 
my  wooden  gunboats.  This  was  done.  They  were  fired,  and 
shoved  off  from  the  landing,  and  permitted  to  float  down  the 
stream.  1  then  "put  my  column  in  motion,"  and  we  "  marched  " 
a  distance  of  several  squares,  blinded  by  the  dust  kicked  up 
by  those  vagabonds  on  horseback,  before  mentioned.  When 
we  came  in  sight  of  the  railroad  depot,  I  halted,  and  inquired 
of  some  of  the  fugitives  who  were  rushing  by,  about  the 
trains.  "  The  trains ! "  said  they,  in  astonishment  at  my 
question ;  "  the  last  train  left  at  daylight  this  morning  —  it 
was  filled  with  the  civil  officers  of  the  Government."  Not 
withstanding  this  answer,  I  moved  my  command  up  to  the 
station  and  workshops,  to  satisfy  myself  by  a  personal  inspec 
tion.  It  was  well  that  I  did  so,  as  it  saved  my  command  from 
the  capture  that  impended  over  it.  I  found  it  quite  true,  that 
the  "last  train"  had  departed;  and,  also,  that  all  the  railroad- 


814  MEMOIKS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

men  had  either  run  off  in  the  train,  or  hidden  themselves  out 
of  view.  There  was  no  one  in  charge  of  anything,  and  no 
one  who  knew  anything.  But  there  was  some  material  lying 
around  me ;  and,  with  this,  I  resolved  to  set  up  railroading  on 
my  own  account.  Having  a  dozen  and  more  steam-engineers 
along  with  me,  from  my  late  fleet,  I  was  perfectly  independent 
of  the  assistance  of  the  alarmed  railroad-men,  who  had  taken 
to  flight. 

A  pitiable  scene  presented  itself,  upon  our  arrival  at  the  sta 
tion.  Great  numbers  had  flocked  thither,  in  the  hope  of 
escape ;  frightened  men,  despairing  women,  and  crying  chil 
dren.  Military  patients  had  hobbled  thither  from  the  hos 
pitals  ;  civil  employees  of  the  Government,  who  had  missed 
the  "last  train,"  by  being  a  little  too  late,  had  come  to  remedy 
their  negligence ;  and  a  great  number  of  other  citizens,  who 
were  anxious  to  get  out  of  the  presence  of  the  hated  Yankee, 
had  rushed  to  the  station,  they  scarcely  knew  why.  These 
people  had  crowded  into,  and  on  the  top  of,  a  few  straggling 
passenger-cars,  that  lay  uncoupled  along  the  track,  in  seeming 
expectation  that  some  one  was  to  come,  in  due  time,  and  take 
them  off.  There  was  a  small  engine  lying  also  on  the  track, 
but  there  was  no  fire  in  its  furnace,  no  fuel  with  which  to 
make  a  fire,  and  no  one  to  manage  it.  Such  was  the  condition 
of  affairs  when  I  "deployed"  my  "forces"  upon  the  open 
square,  and  "grounded  arms,"  —  the  butts  of  my  rifles  not 
ringing  on  the  ground  quite  as  harmoniously  as  I  could  have 
desired.  Soldiering  was  new  to  Jack  ;  however,  he  would  do 
better  by-and-by. 

My  first  move  was  to  turn  all  these  wretched  people  I  have 
described  out  of  the  cars.  Many  plaintive  appeals  were  made 
to  me  by  the  displaced  individuals,  but  my  reply  to  them  all 
was,  that  it  was  better  for  an  unarmed  citizen  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  than  a  soldier  with  arms  in  his  hands. 
The  cars  were  then  drawn  together  and  coupled,  and  my  own 
people  placed  in  them.  We  next  took  the  engine  in  hand.  A 
body  of  my  marine  "sappers  and  miners"  were  set  at  work  to 
pull  down  a  picket  fence,  in  front  of  one  of  the  dwellings,  and 
chop  it  into  firewood.  An  engineer  and  firemen  were  detailed 
for  the  locomotive,  and  in  a  very  few  minutes,  we  had  the  steam 
hissing  from  'ts  boiler.  I  now  permitted  as  many  of  the  fright- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       815 

ened  citizens  as  could  find  places  to  clamber  upon  the  cars. 
All  being  in  readiness,  with  the  triumphant  air  of  a  man  who 
had  overcome  a  great  difficulty,  and  who  felt  as  if  he  might 
snap  his  fingers  at  the  Yankees  once  more,  I  gave  the  order  to 
"go  ahead."  But  this  was  easier  said  than  done.  The  little 
locomotive  started  at  a  snail's  pace,  and  drew  us  creepingly 
along,  until  we  reached  a  slightly  ascending  grade,  which  oc 
curs  almost  immediately  after  leaving  the  station.  Here  it 
came  to  a  dead  halt.  The  firemen  stirred  their  fires,  the  en 
gineer  turned  on  all  his  steam,  the  engine  panted  and  strug 
gled  and  screamed,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  We  were  effectually 
stalled.  Our  little  iron  horse  was  incompetent  to  do  the  work 
which  had  been  required  of  it.  Here  was  a  predicament ! 

We  were  still  directly  opposite  the  city  of  Kichmond,  and 
in  full  view  of  it,  for  the  track  of  the  road  runs  some  distance 
up  the  river-bank,  before  it  bends  away  westward.  Amid 
flames  and  smoke  and  tumult  and  disorder,  the  enemy's  hosts 
were  pouring  into  the  streets  of  the  proud  old  capital.  Long 
lines  of  cavalry  and  artillery  and  infantry  could  be  seen,  mov 
ing  like  a  huge  serpent  through  the  streets,  and  winding  their 
way  to  State-House  Square.  As  a  crowning  insult,  a  regiment 
of  negro  cavalry,  wild  with  savage  delight  at  the  thought  of 
triumphing  over  their  late  masters,  formed  a  prominent  fea 
ture  in  the  grand  procession.  Alongside  of  the  black  savage 
marched  the  white  savage  —  worthy  compeers!  nay,  scarcely; 
the  black  savage,  under  the  circumstances,  was  the  more 
worthy  of  respect  of  the  two.  The  prophecy  of  Patrick 
Henry  was  fulfilled ;  the  very  halls,  in  which  he  had  thun 
dered  forth  the  prophecy,  were  in  possession  of  the  "stranger," 
against  whom  he  had  warned  his  countrymen!  My  temporary 
safety  lay  in  two  circumstances :  first,  the  enemy  was  so  drunk 
with  his  success,  that  he  had  no  eyes  for  any  one  but  himself 
and  the  population  of  the  proud  city  of  Kichmond  which  he 
was  seeking  to  abase;  and  secondly,  the  bridges  leading  across 
the  river  were  all  on  fire.  Whilst  I  was  pondering  what  was 
best  to  be  done,  whether  I  should  uncouple  a  portion  of  the 
train,  and  permit  the  rest  to  escape,  an  engineer  came  running 
to  me  to  say  that  he  had  discovered  another  engine,  which  the 
absconding  railroad  people  had  hidden  away  in  the  recesses 

of  their  work-shops.     The  new  engine  was  rolled  out  immedi- 
52 


81G  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

ately,  steam  raised  on  it  in  a  few  minutes,  and  by  the  aid  of 
the  two  engines,  we  gave  our  train,  with  the  indifferent  fuel 
we  had,  a  speed  of  five  or  six  miles  per  hour,  until  we  reached 
the  first  wood-pile.  Here  getting  hold  of  some  better  fuel,  we 
fired  up  with  better  effect,  and  went  thundering,  with  the  usual 
speed,  on  our  course. 

It  was  thus,  after  I  had,  in  fact,  been  abandoned  by  the 
Government  and  the  army,  that  I  saved  my  command  from 
capture.  I  make  no  charges  —  utter  no  complaints.  Perhaps 
neither  the  Government,  nor  the  army  was  to  blame.  The 
great  disaster  fell  upon  them  both  so  suddenly,  that,  perhaps, 
neither  could  do  any  better ;  but  the  naked  fact  is,  that  the 
fleet  was  abandoned  to  shift  for  itself,  there  being,  as  before 
remarked,  not  only  no  transportation  provided  for  carrying  a 
pound  of  provisions,  or  a  cooking-utensil,  but  not  even  a  horse 
for  its  Admiral  to  mount.  As  a  matter  of  course,  great  disorder 
prevailed,  in  all  the  villages,  and  at  all  the  way-stations,  by 
which  we  passed.  We  had  a  continual  accession  of  passen 
gers,  until  not  another  man  could  be  packed  upon  the  train. 
So  great  was  the  demoralization,  that  we  picked  up  "unat 
tached"  generals  and  colonels  on  the  road,  in  considerable 
numbers.  The  most  amusing  part  of  our  journey,  however, 
was  an  attempt  made  by  some  of  the  railroad  officials  to  take 
charge  of  our  train,  after  we  had  gotten  some  distance  from 
Richmond.  Conductors  and  engineers  now  came  forward,  and 
insisted  upon  regulating  our  affairs  for  us.  We  declined  the 
good  offices  of  these  gentlemen,  and  navigated  to  suit  our 
selves.  The  president,  or  superintendent  of  the  road,  I  forget 
which,  even  had  the  assurance  to  complain,  afterward,  to  Pres 
ident  Davis,  at  Danville,  of  my  usurping  his  authority !  Sim 
ple  civilian !  discreet  railroad  officer !  to  scamper  off  in  the 
manner  related,  and  then  to  complain  of  my  usurping  his 
authority !  My  railroad  cruise  ended  the  next  day  —  April 
4th  —  about  midnight,  when  we  reached  the  city  of  Danville, 
and  blew  off  our  steam,  encamping  in  the  cars  for  the  re 
mainder  of  the  night.  Our  escape  had  been  narrow,  in  more 
respects  than  one.  After  turning  Lee's  flank,  at  the  Five  Forks, 
the  enemy  made  a  dash  at  the  Southside  Railroad ;  Sheridan 
with  his  cavalry  tearing  up  the  rails  at  the  Burksville  Junction, 
just  one  hour  and  a  half  after  we  had  passed  it. 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

INTERVIEW    WITH      PRESIDENT     DAVIS     AND     SECRETARY 

MALLORY MY  COMMAND   ORGANIZED  AS  A  BRIGADE 

OF  ARTILLERY BRIGADE  MARCHES  TO  GREENSBORO*, 

NORTH  CAROLINA CAPITULATION  BETWEEN  GENERAL 

JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON  AND  SHERMAN DISPERSION  OF 

JOHNSTON'S    TROOPS  —  AUTHOR    RETURNS  HOME,  AND 
IS  ARRESTED — CONCLUSION. 

MY  memoirs  are  drawing  to  a  close,  for  the  career  of  the 
Confederacy,  as  well  as  my  own,  is  nearly  ended.  I 
found,  at  Danville,  President  Davis,  and  a  portion  of  his  cabi 
net —  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  among  the  rest.  Here  was 
temporarily  established  the  seat  of  Government.  I  called  on 
the  President  and  Secretary,  who  were  staying  at  the  same 
house,  at  an  early  hour  on  the  morning  after  my  arrival, 
and  reported  for  duty.  They  were  both  calm  in  the  pres 
ence  of  the  great  disaster  which  had  befallen  them  and  the 
country.  Mr.  Mallory  could  scarcely  be  said  now  to  have  a 
portfolio,  though  he  still  had  the  officers  and  clerks  of  his 
Department  around  him.  It  was  at  once  arranged  between 
him,  and  the  President,  that  my  command  should  be  organized 
as  a  brigade  of  artillery,  and  assigned  to  the  defences  around 
Danville.  The  question  of  my  rank  being  discussed,  it  was 
settled  by  Mr.  Davis,  that  I  should  act  in  the  capacity  of  a 
brigadier-general.  My  grade  being  that  of  a  rear-admiral,  I 
was  entitled  to  rank,  relatively,  with  the  officers  of  the  army, 
as  a  major-general,  but  it  was  folly,  of  course,  to  talk  of  rank,  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed,  and  so  I  contented 
myself  by  saying  pleasantly  to  the  President,  that  I  would 
waive  the  matter  of  rank,  to  be  discussed  hereafter,  if  there 
should  ever  be  occasion  to  discuss  it.  "That  is  the  right  spirit," 
eaid  he,  with  a  smile  playing  over  his  usually  grave  features. 

I  did  not  see  him  afterward.     He  moved  soon  to  Charlotte, 
in  North  Carolina,  and  in  a  few  weeks  afterward,  he  fell  into 

817 


818  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  reader  knows  the  rest  of  his 
history ;  how  the  enemy  gloated  over  his  captivity ;  how  he 
was  reviled,  and  insulted,  by  the  coarse  and  brutal  men  into 
whose  power  he  had  fallen;  how  lies  were  invented  as  to  the 
circumstances  of  his  capture,  to  please  and  amuse  the  Northern 
multitudes,  eager  for  his  blood ;  and  finally,  how  he  was  de 
graded  by  imprisonment,  and  the  manacles  of  a  felon!  His 
captors  and  he  were  of  different  races  —  of  different  blood. 
They  had  nothing  in  common.  He  was  the  "  Cavalier,"  en 
dowed  by  nature  with  the  instincts  and  refinement  of  the  gen 
tleman.  They  were  of  the  race  of  the  Eoundheads,  to  whom  all 
such  instincts  and  refinements  were  offensive.  God  has  cre 
ated  men  in  different  moulds,  as  he  has  created  the  animals.  It 
was  as  natural  that  the  Yankee  should  hate  Jefferson  Davis,  as 
that  the  cat  should  arch  its  back,  and  roughen  its  fur,  upon 
the  approach  of  the  dog.  I  have  said  that  the  American  war 
had  its  origin  in  money,  and  that  it  was  carried  on  through 
out,  "for  a  consideration."  It  ended  in  the  same  way.  The 
"long-haired  barbarian" — see  Gibbon's  "Decline  and  Fall  of 
the  Roman  Empire  " —  who  laid  his  huge  paw  upon  Jefferson 
Davis,  to  make  him  prisoner,  was  paid  in  money  for  the  gal 
lant  deed.  A  President  of  the  United  States  had  degraded 
his  high  office,  by  falsely  charging  Mr.  Davis  with  being  an 
accomplice  in  the  murder  of  President  Lincoln,  and  offered  a 
reward  for  his  apprehension ;  thus  gratifying  his  malignant 
nature,  by  holding  him  up  to  the  world  as  a  common  felon. 
All  men  now  know  this  charge  to  be  false,  the  libeller  among 
the  rest.  Gentlemen  retract  false  charges,  when  they  know 
them  to  be  such.  The  charge  made  by  Andrew  Johnson 
against  Jefferson  Davis  has  not  been  retracted. 

Upon  leaving  the  presence  of  the  President,  and  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  I  sought  out  my  old  friend,  Captain  Sydney 
Smith  Lee,  of  the  Navy,  the  Assistant  Secretary,  who  had  ac 
companied  Mr.  Mallory,  and  arranged  with  him;  and  afterward 
with  General  Cooper,  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  Army,  the 
transformation  of  my  sailors  into  soldiers.  There  were  a  great 
many  other  naval  officers,  besides  those  under  my  command, 
fugitives  in  Danville,  and  the  President  and  Secretary  had 
been  kind  enough  to  authorize  me  to  employ  such  of  them  in 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.       819 

my  new  organization,  as  I  might  desire.  But  the  difficulty 
was  not  in  the  want  of  officers ;  it  was  the  want  of  men. 
Already  my  command  of  five  hundred  had  dwindled  down  to 
about  four  hundred  on  my  retreat  from  Richmond,  and  since 
my  arrival  in  Danville.  I  broke  these  into  skeleton  regiments, 
so  as  to  conform  to  the  Brigade  organization,  and  appointed 
Dunnington,  late  Captain  of  my  flag-ship,  the  Colonel  of  one  of 
them,  and  Johnston,  late  Captain  of  the  Richmond,  Colonel  of 
the  other.  My  youngest  son,  who  had  been  a  midshipman  on 
board  the  School-ship  at  Richmond,  and  who  had  retreated 
thence  with  the  School,  on  the  night  before  the  surrender,  was 
ordered  by  Captain  Lee  to  report  to  me,  and  I  assigned  him  to 
a  position  on  my  staff,  with  the  rank  of  a  second  lieutenant. 
Mr.  Daniel,  my  secretary,  became  my  other  aide-de-camp,  and 
Captain  Butt,  late  commander  of  the  Nansemond,  was  appointed 
Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

We  remained  in  the  trenches  before  Danville  ten  days ;  and 
anxious,  and  weary  days  they  were.  Raiding  parties  were 
careering  around  us  in  various  directions,  robbing  and  mal 
treating  the  inhabitants,  but  none  of  the  thieves  ventured 
within  reach  of  our  guns.  Lee  abandoned  his  lines,  on  the 
3d  of  April,  and  surrendered  his  army,  or  the  small  remnant 
that  was  left  of  it,  to  Grant,  on  the  9th,  at  Appomattox  Court- 
House.  The  first  news  we  received  of  his  surrender,  came  to 
us  from  the  stream  of  fugitives  which  now  came  pressing  into 
our  lines  at  Danville.  It  was  heart-rending  to  look  upon  these 
men,  some  on  foot,  some  on  horseback,  some  nearly  famished 
for  want  of  food,  and  others  barely  able  to  totter  along  from 
disease.  It  was,  indeed,  a  rabble  rout,  Hopes  had  been  enter 
tained  that  Lee  might  escape  to  Lynchburg,  or  to  Danville, 
and  save  his  army.  The  President  had  entertained  this  hope, 
and  had  issued  a  proclamation  of  encouragement  to  the  peo 
ple,  before  he  left  Danville.  But  the  fatal  tidings  came  at  last, 
and  when  they  did  come,  we  all  felt  that  the  fate  of  the  Con 
federacy  was  sealed. 

A  new  impetus  was  given  to  desertions,  and  before  I  reached 
Greensboro',  North  Carolina,  to  which  point  I  was  now  re 
moved  by  the  orders  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  my  com 
mand  had  dwindled  to  about  250  men.  Commissioned  officers 


820  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

slunk  away  from  me  one  by  one,  and  became  deserters !   I  was 
ashamed  of  my  countrymen.     Johnston,  by  reason  of  his  great, 
personal  popularity,  and  of  the  confidence  which  the  troops 
had  in  his  ability,  was  enabled  to  gather  around  him  the  frag 
ments  of  several  armies,  whilst  Grant  had  been  pressing  Lee ; 
and  but  for  Lee's  disaster  would  soon  have  been  able  to  hold 
Sherman  in  check  very  effectually.     But  the  moment  the  news 
of  Lee's  surrender  reached  him,  there  was  a  stampede  from  his 
army.     It  melted  away  like  a  hillock  of  snow  before  the  sun 
shine.      Whole  companies  deserted  at  a  time.     Still,  many 
true  men  remained  with  him,  and  with  these  he  stood  so  defi 
antly  before  Sherman,  that  the  latter  was  glad  to  enter  into 
negotiations  with  him  for  the  dispersion  of  his  troops.      The 
reader  will  be  pleased  to  pay  attention  to   this   expression. 
Johnston  dispersed  his  troops,  under  the  capitulation  which  will 
presently  be  spoken  of.     He  never  surrendered  them  as  pris 
oners  to  the  enemy.     The  country  is  familiar  with  what  oc 
curred  at  Greensboro',  between   Johnston  and  Sherman,  and 
I  do  not  propose  to  rehearse  it  here.    Sherman,  yielding  to  the 
impulses  of  Johnston's  master-mind,  entered  into  an  agreement 
with  the  latter,  which  would  have  achieved  more  fame  for  him 
in  the  future  than  all  his  victories,  if  he  had  had  the  courage 
and  ability  to  stand  up  to  his  work.     This  agreement  was  that 
the  Southern  States  should  be  regarded  as  ipso  facto,  on  the 
cessation  of  the  war,  restored  to  their  rights  in  the  Union. 
The  stroke  was  one  of  a  statesman.     It  is  in  times  of  great 
revolutions  that  genius  shows  itself.    The  Federal  Government, 
at  the  time  that  this  convention  was  made,  was  prostrate  be 
neath  the  foot  of  the  soldier,  and  a  military  man  of  genius 
might  have  governed  it  with  the  crook  of  his  finger.     If  such 
a  one  had  arisen,  he  might  have  applied  the  scourge  to  the 
back  of  the  Northern  people,  and  they  would  have  yelped 
under  it    as   submissively  as  any  hound.      They  had  yelped 
under  the  scourging  of  Abraham  Lincoln.     But  Sherman  was 
not  the  man  to  conceive  the  emergency,  or  to  avail  himself  of 
it.     He,  on  the  contrary,  permitted  himself  to  be  scourged  by 
a  creature  like  Stanton,  the  Federal  Secretary  of  War,  and  if 
he  did  not  yelp  under  the  scourging,  he  at  least  submitted 
to  it  with  most  admirable  docility.     Stanton  insolently  re- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.        821 

jected  the  convention  which  had  been  entered  into  between 
the  two  generals,  and,  reminding  Sherman  that  he  was  nothing 
but  a  soldier,  told  him  to  attend  to  his  own  business.  Stanton 
knew  his  man,  and  Sherman  did,  afterward,  attend  to  his  own 
business ;  for  he  now  entered  into  a  purely  military  conven 
tion  with  Johnston. 

The  main  features  of  that  convention  were,  that  Johnston 
should  disperse  his  army,  and  Sherman  should,  in  considera 
tion  thereof,  guarantee  it  against  molestation  by  the  Federal 
authorities.  It  was  in  the  interval  between  these  two  conven 
tions,  that  my  camp  was  astounded  one  morning,  by  the  report 
that  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  was 
dead.  He  had  gone  to  a  small  theatre  in  the  city  of  Washing 
ton,  on  the  evening  of  Good  Friday,  and  had  been  shot  by  a 
madman !  It  seemed  like  a  just  retribution  that  he  should  be 
cut  off  in  the  midst  of  the  hosannas  that  were  being  shouted 
in  his  ears,  for  all  the  destruction  and  ruin  he  had  wrought 
upon  twelve  millions  of  people.  Without  any  warrant  for  his 
conduct,  he  had  made  a  war  of  rapine  and  lust  against  eleven 
sovereign  States,  whose  only  provocation  had  been  that  they 
had  made  an  effort  to  preserve  the  liberties  which  had  been 
handed  down  to  them  by  their  fathers.  These  States  had  not 
sought  war,  but  peace,  and  they  had  found,  at  the  hands  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  destruction.  As  a  Christian,  it  was  my 

duty  to  say,  "  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  his  soul ! "  but  the  d 1 

will  surely  take  care  of  his  memory. 

The  last  days  of  April,  and  the  first  days  of  May,  were  em 
ployed,  by  General  Johnston,  in  dispersing  his  army  according 
to  agreement.  Commissioners,  appointed  by  the  two  Generals 
to  arrange  the  dispersion,  and  provide  the  dispersed  troops 
with  the  guaranties  that  had  been  agreed  upon,  met  in  the 
village  of  Greensboro',  on  the  1st  of  May,  1865.  On  the  pre 
vious  evening,  I  had  called  at  the  headquarters  of  General 
Johnston,  where  I  had  met  Beauregard,  Wade  Hampton, 
Wheeler,  D.  H.  Hill,  and  a  host  of  other  gallant  spirits,  who 
formed  the  galaxy  by  which  he  was  surrounded.  He  was  kind 
enough  to  give  me  precedence,  in  the  matter  of  arranging  for 
my  departure  with  the  Federal  Commissioner.  Accordingly,  on 
the  morning  of  the  1st  of  May,  accompanied  by  my  staff;  I 


822  MEMOIES    OF    SEKVICE    AFLOAT 

rode  into  Greensboro',  and  alighted  at  the  Britannia  Hotel, 
where  the  Commissioners  were  already  assembled.  They  were 
Brevet  Brigadier  General  Hartsuff,  on  the  part  of  the  Federals, 
and  Colonel  Mason,  on  the  part  of  the  Confederates.  Each 
guaranty  of  non-molestation  had  been  prepared,  beforehand, 
in  a  printed  form,  and  signed  by  Hartsuff,  and  only  required 
to  be  filled  up  with  the  name  and  rank  of  the  party  entitled  to 
receive  it,  and  signed  by  myself  to  be  complete.  Upon  being 
introduced  to  General  Hartsuff,  we  proceeded  at  once  to  busi 
ness.  I  produced  the  muster-roll  of  my  command,  duly  signed 
by  my  Assistant  Adjutant-General ;  and  General  Hartsuff  and 
myself  ran  our  eyes  over  the  names  together,  and  when  we  had 
ascertained  the  number,  the  General  counted  out  an  equal 
number  of  blank  guaranties,  and,  handing  them  to  me,  said : 
"  You  have  only  to  fill  up  one  of  these  for  each  officer  and 
soldier  of  your  command,  with  his  name  and  rank,  and  sign 
it  and  hand  it  to  him.  I  have  already  signed  them  myself. 
You  can  fill  up  the  one  intended  for  yourself  in  like  manner." 
"  With  regard  to  the  latter,"  I  replied,  "I  prefer,  if  you  have 
no  objection,  to  have  it  filled  up  and  completed  here  in  your 
presence."  "  Oh !  that  makes  no  difference,"  he  replied. 
"Very  well,"  said  I,  "if  it  makes  no  difference,  then  you  can 
have  no  objection  to  complying  with  my  request."  He  now 
called  an  aide-de-camp,  and  desiring  him  to  be  seated  at  the 
table  where  we  were,  told  him  to  fill  up  my  guaranty  after  my 
dictation.  I  gave  him  my  titles  separately,  making  him  write 
me  down  a  "  Bear- Admiral  in  the  Confederate  States  Navy, 
and  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  Confederate  States  Army,  com 
manding  a  brigade."  When  he  had  done  this,  he  handed  me 
the  paper ;  I  signed  it,  and  put  it  in  my  pocket,  and,  turning  to 
the  General,  said,  "I  am  now  satisfied."  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  the  paper  :  — 

GREENSBORO',  NORTH  CAROLINA,  May  1,  1865. 
In  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  Military  Convention,  entered 
into  on  the  26th  day  of  April,  1865,  between  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  commanding  the  Confederate  Army,  and  Major-General 
W.  T.  Sherman,  commanding  the  United  States  Army,  in  North 
Carolina,  R.  Semmes,  Rear- Admiral,  and  Brigadier- General,  C.  S. 
Navy,  and  C.  S.  Army,  commanding  brigade,  has  given  his  solemn 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      823 

obligation,  not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  until  properly  released  from  this  obligation ;  and  is 
permitted  to  return  to  his  home,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United 
States  authorities,  so  long  as  he  observes  this  obligation,  and  obeys 
the  laws  in  force  where  he  may  reside. 

R.  SEMMES, 
Rear-Admiral  G.  S.  Navy,  and 

Brigadier-General  G.  S.  Army. 
WM.  HARTSUFP, 

Brevet  Brigadier-General  U.  S.  Army, 

Special  Commissioner. 

It  was  well  I  took  the  precautions  above  described,  in  deal 
ing  with  the  enemy,  for,  when  I  was  afterward  arrested,  as  the 
reader  will  presently  see,  the  Yankee  press,  howling  for  my 
blood,  claimed  that  I  had  not  been  paroled  at  all!  that  I  had 
deceived  the  paroling  officer,  and  obtained  my  parole  under 
false  pretences ;  the  said  paroling  officer  not  dreaming,  when 
he  was  paroling  one  Brigadier-General  Sernmes,  that  he  bad 
the  veritable  "pirate"  before  him.  I  dispersed  my  command; 
on  the  same  afternoon,  and  with  my  son,  and  half  a  dozen  of 
my  officers,  a  baggage-wagon,  and  the  necessary  servants,  made 
my  way  to  Montgomery,  in  Alabama,  and,  at  that  point,  took 
steamer  for  my  home,  in  Mobile,  which  I  reached  in  the  latter 
days  of  May. 

Andrew  Johnson,  the  Yice-President  of  the  United  States, 
had  succeeded  Mr.  Lincoln  as  President.  He  was  a  Southern 
man,  born  in  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  and  a  citizen  of 
Tennessee.  He  bad  been  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  a  short  time  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  war.  He 
had  belonged  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  had  arisen  from 
a  very  low  origin  —  his  father  having  belonged  to  the  com 
mon  class  of  laborers,  and  be  having  learned  the  trade  of  a 
tailor,  which  he  practised  after  he  had  grown  to  man's 
estate.  Gifted  by  nature  with  a  strong  intellect,  he  studied 
the  law,  and  afterward  embarked  in  politics.  The  word  "  em 
bark  "  expresses  my  idea  precisely,  for,  from  this  time  onward, 
be  became  a  mere  politician.  As  a  rule,  it  requires  an  un 
scrupulous  and  unprincipled  man  to  succeed  in  politics  in 
America.  Honorable  men  do,  sometimes,  of  course,  make  their 
way  to  high  places ;  but  these  form  the  exceptions,  not  the 


824  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

rule.  Andrew  Johnson  succeeded  in  politics.  In  the  earlier 
stages  of  our  troubles,  he  spoke  and  wrote  like  a  Southern 
man,  demanding,  in  behalf  of  the  South,  some  security  for  the 
future,  in  the  way  of  additional  guaranties.  But  when  these 
were  all  denied,  and  it  became  evident  that  his  State  would 
secede,  and  that  he  would  be  stripped  of  his  senatorial  honors 
so  recently  won,  if  he  abided  by  his  former  record,  and  went 
with  his  State,  he  abjured  his  record,  and  abandoned  his  State. 
Like  all  renegades,  he  became  zealous  in  the  new  faith  which 
he  had  adopted,  and  proved  himself  so  good  a  Eadical,  that 
President  Lincoln  sent  him  back  to  Tennessee  as  a  satrap,  to  gov 
ern,  with  a  rod  of  iron,  under  military  rule,  the  Sovereign  State 
for  which  he  had  so  recently  demanded  additional  securities. 

Still  growing  in  favor  with  his  new  party,  he  was  elected 
Vice- President,  upon  the  re-election  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  the  fall 
of  1864.  The  Presidential  mantle  having  fallen  upon  him,  by 
the  tragical  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  he  retained  the  cabinet  of 
his  predecessor,  and  made  his  zeal  still  more  manifest  to  his 
party,  by  insisting  on  the  necessity  of  making  "treason  odious" 
—  the  same  sort  of  treason  enjoined  upon  the  States  by  Jeffer 
son  in  his  Kentucky  Eesolutions  of  '98  and  '99,  which  formed 
the  basis  of  the  creed  of  the  Democratic  party,  to  which  Mr. 
Johnson  had  belonged  —  and  punishing  "traitors."  A  grand 
jury  in  Norfolk,  Ya.,  found  an  indictment  for  treason  against 
General  Lee,  and  but  for  the  interposition  of  General  Grant,  he 
would  have  been  tried,  under  Mr.  Johnson's  administration ; 
and  probably  tried  by  a  packed  jury  that  would  have  hung 
him.  Mr.  Davis  was  already  in  close  and  ignominious  confine 
ment,  as  has  been  related.  Captain  Wurz,  of  the  late  Confederate 
States  Army,  who  had  been,  for  a  short  time,  in  charge  of  the 
prison  at  Andersonville,  was  tried  by  a  Military  Commission, 
in  the  city  of  Washington,  under  the  shadow  of  the  Presi 
dent's  chair,  convicted,  and  executed,  notwithstanding  he  was 
a  paroled  prisoner  of  war.  Another  Military  Commission,  in 
time  of  peace,  had  convicted  and  executed  a  woman  —  Mrs. 
Surratt  —  on  the  false  charge,  as  is  now  admitted  by  the  whole 
country,  that  she  was  an  accomplice  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  assassi 
nation.  Mr.  Johnson  signed  her  death-warrant. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances,  that  on  the  night  of  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      825 

15th  of  December,  1865,  or  seven  months  and  a  half  after  I 
had  received  the  guaranty  of  General  Sherman,  at  Greensboro', 
North  Carolina,  that  I  should  not  be  molested  by  the  United 
States  authorities,  that  a  lieutenant  of  the  Marine  Corps,  with 
a  guard  of  soldiers,  surrounded  my  house  and  arrested  me,  on 
an  order  signed  by  Mr.  Gideon  Welles,  without  the  process  of 
any  court.  I  was  torn  from  my  family,  under  guard  —  the 
thieving  soldiery  committing  some  petty  thefts  about  my  prem 
ises —  and  hurried  off  to  Washington.  Arrived  here,  I  was 
imprisoned,  first,  in  the  Navy  Yard,  and  then  in  the  Marine 
Barracks.  I  was  kept  a  close  prisoner,  with  a  sentinel  at  my 
door,  for  nearly  four  months;  the  gentlemen  about  the  bar 
racks,  however,  doing  everything  in  their  power  to  render  my 
confinement  more  endurable.  It  was  the  intention  of  the  Gov 
ernment  to  throw  me,  as  it  had  thrown  Wurz,  as  a  sop  to  the 
extreme  Radicals  of  the  New  England  States,  whose  commerce 
I  had  destroyed ;  and  I  was  only  saved  by  the  circumstances 
which  will  be  presently  related.  But  before  I  relate  these  cir 
cumstances,  I  deem  it  pertinent  to  give  to  the  reader  the  fol 
lowing  letter  addressed  by  me  to  President  Johnson,  from 
my  place  of  confinement,  charging  his  Government  with  * 
breach  of  faith  in  arresting  me. 

To  His  EXCELLENCY  ANDREW  JOHNSON, 

President  of  the  United  States. 

SIR: —  Being  satisfied  that  you  are  anxious  to  arrive  at  a  correct 
decision  in  my  case, —  one  that  shall  accord,  at  the  same  time,  with 
the  honor  and  dignity  of  the  United  States,  and  with  justice  to  my 
self, —  I  venture  to  address  you  the  following  brief  exposition  of 
the  law  and  the  facts  of  the  case. 

On  the  26th  day  of  April,  1865,  the  following  military  convention 
was  entered  into  at  Greensboro',  N.  C.,  between  General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  commanding  the  Confederate  States  Armies  in  North 
Carolina,  and  Major-General  W.  T.  Sherman,  commanding  the 
United  States  Army  in  the  same  State,  viz :  — 

"  1.  All  acts  of  war  on  the  part  of  the  troops  under  General  John 
ston's  command  to  cease  from  this  date. 

"  2.  All  arms  and  public  property  to  be  deposited  at  Greensboro', 
and  delivered  to  an  ordnance  officer  of  the  United  States  Army. 

"  3.  Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one 
copy  to  be  retained  by  the  commander  of  the  troops,  and  the  other 
to  be  given  to  an  officer  to  be  designated  by  General  Sherman. 
Each  officer  and  man  to  give  his  individual  obligation,  in  writing, 


826  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
until  properly  released  from  this  obligation. 

"  4.  The  side-arms  of  officers,  and  their  private  horses  and  bag 
gage,  to  be  retained  by  them. 

"  5.  This  being  done,  all  the  officers  and  men  will  be  permitted  to 
return  to  their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States  au 
thorities  so  long  as  they  observe  their  obligation  and  the  laws  in 
force  where  they  may  reside. 

[Signed]    '  "  W.  T.  SHERMAN,  Major-General, 

"  Commanding  U.  S.  Forces  in  North  Carolina. 
[Signed]  "  JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON,  General, 

"Commanding  C.  S.  Forces  in  North  Carolina." 

Here,  Mr.  President,  was  a  solemn  military  convention,  entered 
into  by  two  generals,  who  had  opposing  armies  in  the  field,  in 
which  convention  the  one  and  the  other  general  stipulated  for  cer 
tain  terms,  —  General  Johnston  agreeing  to  lay  down  his  arms  and 
disband  his  forces,  and  General  Sherman  agreeing,  in  consideration 
thereof,  that  the  forces  thus  disbanded  shall  proceed  to  their  homes, 
and  there  remain  undisturbed  by  the  United  States  authorities.  I 
beg  you  to  observe  the  use  of  the  word  "  undisturbed,"  one  of  the 
most  comprehensive  words  in  our  language.  I  pray  you  also  to 
remark  the  formalities  with  which  this  convention  was  drawn.  We 
were  treated  as  officers  commanding  armies,  representing,  of  course, 
if  not  a.  de  jure,  at  least  a  de  facto  government.  Our  proper  mili 
tary  titles  were  acknowledged.  I  was  myself  styled  and  treated 
in  the  muster-rolls,  and  other  papers  drawn  up  by  both  parties,  a 
brigadier-general  and  a  rear-admiral.  The  honors  of  war  usual 
upon  surrenders,  upon  terms,  were  accorded  to  us,  in  our  being  per 
mitted  to  retain  our  side-arms,  private  horses,  and  baggage.  In 
short,  the  future  historian,  upon  reading  this  convention,  will  be 
unable  to  distinguish  it  in  any  particular  from  other  similar  papers, 
agreed  upon  by  armies  of  recognized  governments.  At  the  date  of, 
and  some  weeks  prior  to  the  ratification  of  this  convention,  I  com 
manded  a  brigade  of  artillery,  forming  a  part  of  the  army  of  Gene 
ral  Johnston.  I  was,  of  course,  included  in  the  terms  of  the  con 
vention.  I  complied  with  those  terms,  under  orders  received  from 
General  Johnston,  by  turning  over  my  arms  to  the  proper  officer, 
and  disbanding  my  forces.  The  convention  was  approved  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States.  Your  Excellency  may  recollect 
that  the  first  convention  entered  into  between  General  Johnston 
and  General  Sherman,  which  provided,  among  other  things,  for  the 
return  of  the  Southern  States  to  their  functions  under  the  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States,  was  disapproved  by  the  Government, 
on  the  ground  that  General  Sherman,  in  undertaking  to  treat  of 
political  matters,  had  transcended  his  authority.  The  armistice 
which  had  been  declared  between  the  two  armies  was  dissolved, 
and  hostilities  were  renewed.  A  few  days  afterward,  however, 
new  negotiations  were  commenced,  and  the  convention  with  which 
we  have  to  do  was  the  second  convention  entered  into  by  those 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      827 

Generals,  and  which  was  a  substantial  readoption  of  the  military 
portion  of  the  first  convention.  It  was  this  latter  convention  which 
was  formally  approved,  both  by  General  Grant,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief,  under  whose  orders  General  Sherman  acted,  and  by  the 
Executive  at  Washington. 

Confiding  in  the  good  faith  of  the  Government,  pledged  in  a  sol 
emn  treaty  as  above  stated,  I  returned  to  my  home  in  Alabama, 
and  remained  there  for  the  space  of  seven  months,  engaging  in  civil 
pursuits  as  a  means  of  livelihood  for  my  dependent  family,  and 
yielding  a  ready  obedience  to  the  laws.  I  had,  in  fact,  become  an 
officer  of  the  law,  having  established  myself  as  an  attorney.  It 
would  have  been  easy  for  me,  at  any  time  within  these  seven 
months,  to  pass  out  of  the  country,  if  I  had  had  any  doubt  about 
the  binding  obligation  of  the  Greensboro'  convention,  or  of  the  good 
faith  of  the  Government.  But  I  had  no  doubt  on  either  point,  nor 
have  I  any  doubt  yet,  as  I  feel  quite  sure  that  when  you  shall  have 
informed  yourself  of  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  you  will  come  to  the 
conclusion  that  my  arrest  was  entirely  without  warrant,  and  order 
my  discharge.  While  thus  remaining  quietly  at  my  home,  in  the 
belief  that  I  was  "  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States  author 
ities,"  I  was,  on  the  15th  of  December,  1865,  in  the  night-time, 
arrested  by  a  lieutenant  and  two  sergeants  of  the  Marine  Corps, 
under  an  order  signed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  and  placed 
under  guard ;  a  file  of  soldiers  in  the  meantime  surrounding  my 
house.  I  was  informed  by  the  officer  making  the  arrest  that  I  was 
to  proceed  to  Washington  in  his  custody,  there  to  answer  to  a 
charge,  a  copy  of  which  he  handed  me.  This  charge,  and  the  pro 
test  which  I  tiled  the  next  day  with  the  Commanding  General  of 
the  Department  of  Alabama,  against  my  arrest,  your  Excellency 
has  already  seen.  The  question  for  you  then  to  decide,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  is  the  legality  of  this  arrest.  Can  I,  in  violation  of  the  terms 
of  the  military  convention  already  referred  to,  and  under  which  1 
laid  down  my  arms,  be  held  to  answer  for  any  act  of  war  committed 
anterior  to  the  date  of  that  convention  ?  I  respectfully  submit  that 
I  cannot  be  so  held,  either  during  the  continuance  of  the  war,  (and 
the  political  power  has  not  yet  proclaimed  the  war  ended,)  or  after 
the  war  shall  have  been  brought  to  a  close  by  proclamation,  and 
the  restoration  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  without  a  flagrant  vio 
lation  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  If  it  be  admitted 
that  I  might  be  tried  for  any  act  dehors  the  war,  and  having  no 
connection  with  it  —  as,  for  instance,  for  a  forgery  —  it  is  quite  clear 
that  I  cannot  be  arrested  or  arraigned  for  any  act  manifestly  of 
war,  and  acknowledged  as  such,  (as  the  act,  for  instance,  for  which 
I  was  arrested,)  whether  such  act  be  in  consonance  with  the  laws 
of  war  or  in  violation  thereof;  and  this  for  the  simple  reason  that 
the  military  convention  was  a  condonation  and  an  oblivion  of  all 
precedent  acts  of  war,  of  what  nature  soever  those  acts  might  be. 
I  am  "  not  to  be  disturbed,"  says  the  military  convention.  Dis 
turbed  for  what?  Why,  manifestly,  for  any  act  of  war  theretofore 
committed  against  the  United  States.  This  is  the  only  common- 


828  MEMOIES    OF    SEEVICE    AFLOAT 

sense  view  of  the  case  ;  and  if  the  convention  did  not  mean  this,  it 
could  mean  nothing ;  and  I  laid  down  my  arms,  not  upon  terms,  a? 
I  had  supposed,  but  without  terms.  If  I  was  still  at  the  mercy  of 
the  conqueror,  and  my  arrest  asserts  as  much,  I  was  in  the  condi 
tion  of  one  who  had  surrendered  unconditionally ;  but  it  has  been 
seen  that  I  did  not  surrender  unconditionally,  but  upon  terms  — 
terms  engrafted  upon  a  treaty  ratified  and  approved  by  the  con 
queror's  Government.  Nor  is  it  consistent  with  good  faith  to  qual 
ify  or  restrain  those  terms,  so  as  to  make  them  inapplicable  to  acts 
of  war  that  may  be  claimed  to  have  been  in  violation  of  the  laws 
of  war ;  for  this  would  be  to  refine  away  all  the  protection  which 
has  been  thrown  around  me  by  treaty,  and  put  me  in  the  power  of 
the  opposite  contracting  party,  who  might  put  his  own  construction 
upon  the  laws  of  war.  This  very  attempt,  Mr.  President,  has 
been  made  in  the  case  before  you.  I  claim  to  have  escaped,  after 
my  ship  had  sunk  from  under  me  in  the  engagement  off  Cher 
bourg,  and  I  had  been  precipitated  into  the  water,  the  enemy  not 
having  taken  possession  of  me,  according  to  the  laws  and  usages 
of  war,  as  your  Excellency  may  read  in  almost  every  page  of  naval 
history ;  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  claiming  the  contrary.  The  true, 
and  the  only  just  and  fair  criterion,  is,  was  the  act  for  which  the 
arrest  was  made  an  act  of  war?  If  so,  there  is  an  end  of  the 
question,  and  I  must  be  discharged,  for,  as  before  remarked,  the 
convention,  if  it  is  anything,  is  an  oblivion  of  all  acts  of  war  of 
whatever  nature. 

But  it  may  be  said  that,  although  I  cannot  be  tried  by  a  military 
tribunal  during  the  war,  I  may  yet  be  tried  by  a  civil  tribunal  after 
the  war.  Let  us  look  at  this  question  also.  I  was,  undoubtedly, 
amenable  to  the  civil  tribunals  of  the  country,  as  well  after  as  before 
the  convention,  for  any  offence  of  a  purely  civil  nature,  not  founded 
upon  an  act  of  war  —  to  instance,  as  before,  the  crime  of  forgery. 
If  I  had  committed  a  forgery  in  North  Carolina,  I  could  not,  upon 
arraignment,  plead  the  military  convention  in  bar  of  trial.  Why 
not  ?  Because  that  convention  had  reference  only  to  acts  of  war. 
I  was  treated  with,  in  my  capacity  of  a  soldier  and  a  seaman.  But, 
does  it  follow  that  I  may  be  tried  for  treason  ?  And  if  not,  why 
not  ?  The  Attorney-General  tells  you  that  treason  is  a  civil  offence, 
and  in  his  opinion  triable  exclusively  by  the  civil  courts,  and  he 
hopes  you  will  give  him  plenty  of  occupation  in  trying  "  many 
whom  the  sword  has  spared."  (See  his  letter  to  you  of  the  4th  of 
January,  1866.)  But  does  not  that  officer  forget  that  treason  is 
made  up  of  acts  of  war  ;  and  is  it  not  apparent  that  you  cannot 
try  me  for  an  act  of  war  ?  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
which  the  Attorney-General  says  he  loves  even  better  than  blood, 
declares,  in  words,  that  treason  against  the  United  States  shall  con 
sist  only  in  levying  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  ene 
mies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort — all  of  which  adherence,  giving 
of  aid  and  comfort,  &c.,  are  equally  acts  of  war.  There  is  no  con- 
structiv?  treason  in  this  country.  Thus  I  can  neither  be  tried  by  a 
military  tribunal  during  the  war,  nor  a  civil  tribunal  after  the  war, 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      829 

for  any  act  of  war,  or  for  treason  which  consists  only  of  acts  of 
war. 

But  it  may  further  be  said  that  this  convention,  of  which  I  am 
claiming  the  protection,  is  not  a  continuing  convention,  and  will  ex 
pire  with  the  war,  when,  as  Mr.  Speed  thinks,  you  may  hand  me 
over  to  the  civil  tribunals.  Whence  can  such  a  conclusion  be  drawn  ? 
Not  from  the  terms  of  the  convention,  for  these  contradict  the  con 
clusion  ;  not  by  implication  merely,  but  in  totidem  verbis.  The 
terms  are,  "  not  to  be  disturbed,  so  long  as  they  shall  observe  their 
obligation  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they  may  reside."  A  mis 
use  of  terms,  Mr.  President,  sometimes  misleads  very  clever  minds. 
And  I  presume  it  is  by  a  misuse  of  terms  that  the  Attorney-Gene 
ral  has  fallen  into  this  error.  (See  his  letter  to  your  Excellency, 
before  referred  to.)  That  officer,  while  he  admits  that  PAROLE  pro 
tects  the  party  paroled  from  trial  during  the  war,  yet  contends  that 
it  does  not  protect  him  from  trial  by  a  civil  tribunal,  for  treason, 
after  the  war.  As  I  have  shown  that  treason  can  only  consist  of 
acts  of  war,  and  that  the  military  convention  is  an  oblivion  of  all 
acts  of  wrar,  the  Attorney-General,  wrhen  he  says  that  a  paroled 
party  may  be  tried  for  treason  at  the  end  of  the  war,  (the  parole 
being  no  longer  a  protection  to  him,)  must  mean  that  the  parole 
will  have  died  with  the  war.  This  is  entirely  true  of  a  mere  parole, 
for  a  parole  is  only  a  promise,  on  the  part  of  a  prisoner  of  war,  that 
if  released  from  imprisonment,  he  will  not  take  up  arms  again  unless 
he  is  exchanged.  This  parole  is  as  frequently  given  by  prisoners 
of  war,  who  have  surrendered  unconditionally,  as  by  those  who  have 
surrendered  upon  terms.  There  cannot  be  any  parole,  then,  with 
out  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  the  status  of  prisoner  of  war  ceasing,  the 
parole  ceases  —  cessante  ratione  cessat  etipsa  lex.  Thus  far  the  At 
torney-General  is  quite  logical,  but  by  confounding  in  his  mind  the 
certificates  given  to  the  officers  and  men  of  General  Johnston's 
army,  stating  the  terms  of  the  Greensboro'  convention,  and  guaran 
teeing  those  officers  and  men  against  molestation,  in  accordance 
with  those  terms,  with  PAROLES,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  mistake  I 
am  exposing  can  have  been  made.  But  the  convention  made  be 
tween  General  Johnston  and  General  Sherman  was  not  a  mere  re 
lease  of  prisoners  on  parole  ;  nor,  indeed,  had  it  anything  to  do  with 
prisoners,  for  none  of  the  officers  and  men  of  General  Johnston's 
army  ever  were  prisoners,  as  may  be  seen  at  a  glance  by  an  in 
spection  of  the  terms  of  the  convention.  It  \vas  a  treaty  between 
commanding  generals  in  the  field,  in  which  the  word  parole  is  not 
once  used,  or  could  be  used  with  propriety  ;  a  treaty  in  which  mu 
tual  stipulations  are  made,  one  in  consideration  of  another,  and 
there  is  no  limit  as  to  time  set  to  this  treaty. 

On  the  contrary,  it  was  expressly  stated  that  the  guaranties  con 
tained  in  it  were  to  continue  and  be  in  force,  so  long  as  the  parties 
to  whom  the  guaranties  were  given,  should  perform  their  part  of 
the  treaty  stipulations.  It  was  made,  not  in  contemplation  of  a 
continuation  of  the  war,  but  with  a  view  to  put  an  c  nd  to  the  war, 
and  the  guaranties  were  demanded  by  us  as  peace  g  'laranties.  It 


830  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

did,  in  effect,  put  a  a  end  to  the  war  and  pacify  the  whole  country ; 
General  Taylor  in  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  and  General  Buckner 
and  others  in  Texas,  following  the  lead  of  General  Johnston.  Are 
we  to  be  told  now  by  an  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States, 
that  the  moment  the  object  of  the  convention,  to  wit,  the  restoration 
of  peace,  was  accomplished,  the  convention  itself  became  a  nullity, 
its  terms  powerless  to  protect  us,  and  that  General  Johnston's  army 
surrendered,  in  fact,  without  any  terms  whatever?  You  cannot 
sustain  such  an  opinion,  Mr.  President.  It  will  shock  the  common 
sense  and  love  of  fair  play  of  the  American  people.  But  to  show 
still  further  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  parties  that  this  should 
be  a  continuing  convention,  the  words  used  were,  "  not  to  be  dis 
turbed  by  the  United  States  Authorities,"  these  words  being  co-ex 
tensive  with  the  whole  power  of  the  Government.  We  were  not 
only  "  not  to  be  disturbed  "  by  General  Sherman,  or  any  other  mili 
tary  commander  or  authority,  but  by  any  authority  whatever,  civil 
or  military.  Nor  will  it  do  to  say  that  General  Sherman,  being 
merely  a  military  man,  had  no  authority  to  speak  for  the  civil  branch 
of  the  Government,  for  his  action,  as  we  have  seen,  was  approved 
by  the  Administration  at  Washington. 

One  more  remark,  Mr.  President,  and  I  will  forbear  to  trespass 
further  on  your  time  and  patience.  The  act  of  war  for  which  I 
was  arrested,  was  well  known  to  the  Department  of  the  Government 
making  the  arrest,  ten  months  before  the  convention  was  entered 
into  at  Greensboro'.  It  was  also  well  known  to  the  same  Depart 
ment,  that  about  the  middle  of  February,  1865,  I  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  James  River  Squadron,  near  Richmond,  with 
the  rank  of  a  rear-admiral;  being  thus  promoted  and  employed  by 
my  Government,  after  the  alleged  illegal  escape  off  Cherbourg.  If 
the  Federal  Government  then  entertained  the  design,  which  it  has 
since  developed,  of  arresting  and  trying  me  for  this  alleged  breach  of 
the  laws  of  war,  was  it  not  its  duty,  both  to  itself  and  to  me,  to  have 
made  me  an  exception  to  any  military  terms  it  might  have  been 
disposed  to  grant  to  our  armies  ?  I  put  it  to  you,  Mr.  President, 
as  a  man  and  a  magistrate  to  say,  and  I  will  rest  my  case  on  your 
answer,  whether  it  was  consistent  with  honor  and  fair  dealing,  for 
this  Government  first  to  entrap  me,  by  means  of  a  military  conven 
tion,  and  then,  having  me  in  its  power,  to  arrest  me  and  declare 
that  convention  null  and  void,  for  the  course  recommended  to  you 
by  Mr.  Speed  comes  to  this  —  nothing  more,  nothing  less. 

I  have  thus  laid  before  you,  tediously  I  fear,  and  yet  as  concisely 
as  was  consistent  with  clearness,  the  grounds  upon  which  I  claim 
at  your  hands,  who  are  the  guardian  of  the  honor  of  a  great  nation, 
my  discharge  from  arrest  and  imprisonment.  I  have  spoken  freely 
and  frankly,  as  it  became  an  American  citizen  to  speak  to  the  Chief 
Magistrate  of  the  American  Republic.  We  live  in  times  of  high 
party  excitement,  when  men,  unfortunately,  are  but  too  prone  to 
take  counsel  of  their  passions;  but  passions  die,  and  men  die  with 
them,  and  after  death  comes  history.  In  the  future,  Mr.  President, 
when  America  shall  have  a  history,  my  record  and  that  of  the  gal- 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      831 

lant  Southern  people  will  be  engrafted  upon,  and  become  a  part  of 
your  history,  the  pages  of  which  you  are  now  acting ;  and  the 
prayer  of  this  petition  is,  that  you  will  not  permit  the  honor  of  the 
American  name  to  be  tarnished  by  a  perfidy  on  those  pages.  In 
this  paper  I  have  stood  strictly  upon  legal  defences ;  but  should 
those  barriers  be  beaten  down,  conscious  of  the  rectitude  of  my 
conduct,  throughout  a  checkered  and  eventful  career,  when  the  com 
merce  of  half  a  world  was  at  my  mercy,  and  when  the  passions  of 
men,  North  and  South,  were  tossed  into  a  whirlwind,  by  the  cur 
rent  events  of  the  most  bloody  and  terrific  war  that  the  human 
race  had  ever  seen,  I  shall  hope  to  justify  and  defend  myself  against 
any  and  all  charges  affecting  the  honor  and  reputation  of  a  man 
and  a  soldier.  Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  me,  I  have,  at  least, 
brought  no  discredit  upon  the  American  name  and  character. 
I  am,  very  respectfully,  &c., 

EAPHAEL  SEMMES. 
WASHINGTON  CITY,  January  15,  1866. 

At  the  time  of  my  arrest,  there  was  a  newspaper  called  the 
"  Kepublican,"  published  in  the  city  of  Washington,  in  the 
interests  of  President  Johnson.  There  had  been  some  little 
struggle  between  Congress  and  the  President,  as  to  who  should 
take  the  initiative  in  the  wholesale  hanging  of  "  traitors " 
which  had  been  resolved  upon.  The  "  .Republican,"  speaking 
for  President  Johnson,  declares,  in  the  article  which  will  be 
found  below,  his  readiness  to  act.  He  is  only  waiting,  it  says, 
for  Congress  to  move  in  the  matter.  Here  is  the  article :  — 

"WHY    DON'T   CONGRESS   ACT? 

"  As  long  ago  as  last  October,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
commenced  an  earnest  effort  to  initiate  the  trials  of  prominent  trai 
tors,  beginning  with  the  arch-traitor  Jefferson  Davis.  It  is  now  a 
historical  record,  and  officially  in  the  possession  of  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  that,  upon  application  to  the  Chief  Justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  to  know  at  what  time,  if  any,  the  United  States 
Court  for  the  District  of  Virginia  would  be  ready  to  try  certain 
high  crimes  against  the  National  Government,  the  President  re 
ceived  an  answer  from  Chief-Justice  Chase,  that  the  Court  would 
not  sit  in  that  district,  while  that  territory  was  under  military  con 
trol,  and  suggested  the  propriety  of  delaying  action  in  the  matter, 
until  Congress  acted.  Congress  assembled.  The  President  referred 
the  whole  subject,  respectfully,  to  the  consideration  of  Congress 
in  his  annual  message,  and  subsequently,  in  answer  to  a  resolution 
of  inquiry,  he  sent,  by  special  message,  the  correspondence  alluded 
to  above,  between  himself  and  Chief-Justice  Chase. 

"All  the  facts  were  thus  legitimately  laid  before  the  legislative 
branch  of  the  Government  three  and  a  half  months  ago  !    The  Presi- 
53 


832  MEMOIRS    OF    SERVICE    AFLOAT 

dent,  some  time  in  November  last,  stopped  the  work  of  pardoning, 
except  in  a  few  cases  where  the  applications  were  accompanied  by 
the  most  positive  evidence  of  good  intentions  toward  the  Govern 
ment.  From  among  those  who  have  applied  for  pardon,  the  Presi 
dent  has  reserved  for  trial  about  Jive  hundred  of  the  military  and 
political  leaders  of  the  rebel  Government — a  sufficient  number  to 
begin  with  at  least.  This  number,  as  classified  by  the  President, 
we  published,  by  permission,  some  time  since. 

"  Now,  in  view  of  the  above  statement  of  facts,  what  has  Congress 
done?  Has  Congress  passed  any  law  directing  how  the  rebels 
shall  be  tried?  No.  Has  Congress  passed  any  resolution  request 
ing  the  President  to  order  a  military  court  for  the  trial  of  Davis 
&  Co.  ?  No.  Has  Congress  agitated  the  subject  at  any  time,  in 
any  manner,  looking  to  a  trial  of  the  cases  referred  to  ?  No. 

"But  what  have  Congressmen  done  in  their  individual  capacity? 
Many  of  them,  from  day  to  day,  have  spoken  sneeringly  of  the 
President,  because  he  has  not  done  what  he  began  to  do,  but  which 
the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  prevented,  by  refusing  to 
hold  the  court,  and  which  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  has 
wholly  neglected,  or  purposely  ignored.  The  people,  through  the 
press  of  the  country,  and  in  private  communication,  are  beginning 
to  inquire  why  Congress  don't  act.  Governors  of  States,  ignorant 
of  the  facts,  are  haranguing  the  people  about  the  indisposition  or 
neglect  of  the  President  to  try  traitors.  Why  don't  Congress  act? 
The  President  is  ready,  and  has  been  ready  from  the  beginning,  to 
co-operate  with  Congress  in  any  constitutional  measure  by  which  trai 
tors  can  be  tried,  to  the  end,  that  treason  may  thereby  be  made  odious. 
We  repeat  the  question  with  which  we  commenced,  and  which  is 
echoed  by  the  people  everywhere,  '  Why  don't  Congress  act  ?'" 

There  is  an  old  adage  which  says,  "  When  rogues  fall  out, 
honest  men  get  their  rights."  Fortunately  for  the  "traitors" 
of  the  South,  Andrew  Johnson,  and  the  Congress  quarrelled. 
Johnson  undertook  to  reconstruct  the  Southern  States,  in  his 
interests,  and  Congress  claimed  the  right  to  reconstruct  them 
in  its  interests.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
equally  disregarded  by  them  both.  Johnson  had  no  more  re 
spect  for  it  than  Congress.  His  mode  of  reconstruction  equally 
violated  it,  with  that  of  Congress.  It  was  a  struggle  between 
usurpers,  which  should  be  master  —  that  was  all.  Johnson, 
with  a  single  stroke  of  the  pen,  struck  down  all  the  State  gov 
ernments,  called  conventions  of  the  people,  and  told  the  con 
ventions  what  they  should  do.  Congress  might  go  a  little 
further,  but  its  violation  of  the  Constitution  could  not,  well,  be 
more  flagrant.  The  breach  widened  from  day  to  day,  and  the 
quarrel  at  last  became  bitter.  Neither  party,  opposed  by  the 


DURING    THE    WAR    BETWEEN    THE    STATES.      833 

other,  could  afford  to  become  the  hangman  of  the  Southern 
people,  and  the  very  pretty  little  programme,  which,  according 
to  the  "  Eepublican  "  newspaper,  had  been  arranged  between 
the  rogues,  naturally  fell  to  the  ground. 

Johnson  finding  that  his  quarrel  with  Congress  had  ruined 
him  with  his  party,  now  set  about  constructing  a  new  one  — 
a  Johnson  party.  His  scheme  was  to  ignore  both  the  Demo 
cratic,  and  the  Eepublican  parties.  If  he  could  succeed  in  re 
constructing  the  Southern  States,  to  the  exclusion  of  Congress, 
he  might  hope  to  get  the  votes  of  those  States  in  the  next  Presi 
dential  election.  But  to  conciliate  these  States,  it  would  not  do 
to  hang  ufive  hundred  of  the  military  and  political  leaders  of 
the  rebel  Government,"  as  a  mere  "  beginning."  He  must 
pursue  a  different  policy.  He  now  issued  first  one  amnesty 
proclamation,  and  then  another  —  doling  out  amnesty,  grudg 
ingly,  in  broken  doses  —  until  he  had  issued  three  of  them. 
By  the  last  of  these  proclamations,  the  writer  of  these  pages, 
who  was  true  to  his  State,  was  "  graciously  pardoned  "  by  An 
drew  Johnson,  who  had  not  only  been  a  traitor  to  his  State, 
but  had  betrayed,  besides,  two  political  parties.  A  glorious 
opportunity  presented  itself  for  him  to  show  himself  a  states 
man.  He  has  proved  a  charlatan  instead.  He  cowered  in  his 
struggle  with  Congress,  and  that  body  has  shorn  him  of  his 
prerogatives,  and  reduced  him  to  the  mere  position  of  a  clerk. 
This  is  the  second  act  of  the  drama,  the  first  act  of  which  was 
the  secession  of  the  Southern  States.  The  form  of  govern 
ment  having  been  changed  by  the  revolution,  there  are  still 
other  acts  of  the  drama  to  be  performed. 


THE   END. 


Rl 
TC 


-B 

m 

or 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 

or  to  the 

NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Bldg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renewals  and  recharges  may  be  made 
4  days  prior  to  due  date 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


FEB182003 


DD20   15M  4-02 
FGiwv\  INVJ.  uuo 


LD  21A-50m-4,'60 
(A9562slO)476B 


Uniretsitr  of  California 
Berkeley 


VC  58185 


tot 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


